December 2015
Dear Friends of German Comedy…
Woohoo, it’s December! Ihr Kinderlein kommet, Klinggloeckchenklingelingeling and all that. Unfortunately this year I have missed the big opening of the German Christmas Market in Birmingham, a fascinating event! Last time I was there I was truly gob-smacked as to how many of my countrymen these days are fluent in Romanian.
Anyway, now it’s time for the tale of my favourite Christmas present of all time.
Let me take you back all the way to 1987, when Weihnachtsmann [only recently did I find out it was actually my Mutter!!!] gave me a cassette tape of Kemal Ozturk, a stand-up who is virtually unknown in Turkey but became reasonably well-known in Germany, his adopted home country.
I clearly remember the striking blue and yellow colour combination of the tape’s sleeve. Or is it ‘cover’? No-one knows.
Either way, I had only ever seen Ozturk on panel shows, where his presence led to everyone cracking some tired jokes about invading Cyprus. It’s fair to say he wasn’t for me. I much preferred Helge Schneider and Gerhard Polt and Otto Kuhnle and such like.
God knows therefore why Weihnachtsmann [my Mutter!!!] bought me Ozturk’s ‘Hallo Gastarbeiter’ tape but seeing there’s only so many repeats of Tutti-Frutti one can watch I finally put it in the recorder and what can I say: his stand-up was so much better than I expected. He was so much more than just ‘that Turkish bloke’.
His style of humour was rooted in traditional political Kabarett; most his jokes were blunt statements, delivered with a twinkle in his eye. He was not only a great writer but also a very skilled performer and when I discovered he had been going for more than a decade I couldn’t believe I had been missing out on him all that time.
Luckily he was selling tapes of all his previous shows at his gigs and this gave me the opportunity to build a complete collection of all his shows. I will forever be grateful to Weihnachtsmann [my Mutter!!!] for this amazing present.
Frohe Weihnachten and have a good start to 2016
Henning
PS: If you’re googling Kemal Ozturk and you’re not getting any results it only illustrates the extreme fickleness of success in the entertainment business.
PPS: Eins, Zwei, DIY is out on DVD! Get it here: DVD on Amazon | Download at iTunes
As you can see there are some very encouraging reviews already.
PPPS: Please find below a list of upcoming gigs. I’ll be adding loads more 2016 gigs in the next few days and weeks.
Please revisit the website for the latest updates.
May 2022
7th -
Cardiff - St Davids Hall -
TICKETS
8th -
Southampton - Mayflower -
TICKETS
12th -
Barnstaple - Queens Theatre -
TICKETS
13th -
Yeovil - Westlands -
TICKETS
14th -
Weston super Mare - The Playhouse -
TICKETS
15th -
Port Talbot - Princess Royal Theatre -
TICKETS
20th -
Torquay - Babbacombe Theatre -
TICKETS
June 2022
3rd -
Shanklin IOW - Shanklin Theatre -
TICKETS
4th -
Bournemouth - Pavilion -
TICKETS
5th -
Weymouth - Pavilion -
TICKETS
9th -
Nottingham - Playhouse -
TICKETS
10th -
Nottingham - Playhouse -
TICKETS
11th -
Reading - The Hexagon -
TICKETS
16th -
Doncaster - The Cast -
TICKETS
17th -
York - The Barbican -
TICKETS
18th -
Bradford - St Georges Hall -
TICKETS
30th -
Douglas Isle of Man - Gaiety Theatre -
TICKETS
July 2022
2nd -
Kendal - Leisure Centre -
TICKETS
31st -
Macclesfield - Gawsworth Hall -
TICKETS
August 2022
4th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
5th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
6th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
11th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
12th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
13th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
18th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
19th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
20th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
25th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
26th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
27th -
Edinburgh - The Queen's Hall -
TICKETS
September 2022
22nd -
Epsom - Playhouse -
TICKETS
23rd -
Aldershot - Princes Hall -
TICKETS
24th -
Redhill - Harlequin -
TICKETS
30th -
Worthing - Pavilion -
TICKETS
October 2022
1st -
Brighton - Dome -
TICKETS
6th -
Harrogate - Royal Hall -
TICKETS
7th -
Birmingham - Town Hall -
TICKETS
8th -
Birmingham - Town Hall -
TICKETS
14th -
London - Palladium -
TICKETS
15th -
Portsmouth - Guildhall -
TICKETS
20th -
Chelmsford - Civic Theatre -
TICKETS
21st -
Ipswich - Regent Theatre -
TICKETS
22nd -
Dunstable - Grove Theatre -
TICKETS
28th -
Tunbridge - Assembly Hall -
TICKETS
November 2022
11th -
Rhyl - Pavilion Theatre -
TICKETS
12th -
Warwick - Butterworth Hall -
TICKETS
17th -
Oxford - Playhouse -
TICKETS
18th -
Oxford - Playhouse -
TICKETS
February 2023
24th -
Leeds - City Varieties -
TICKETS
25th -
Leeds - City Varieties -
TICKETS
March 2023
3rd -
Horsham - Capitol Theatre -
TICKETS
4th -
Dorking - Halls -
TICKETS
5th -
Canterbury - Marlowe Theatre -
TICKETS
10th -
St Albans - Arena -
TICKETS
11th -
Colchester - Charter Hall -
TICKETS
12th -
Norwich - Theatre Royal
- TICKETS SOON
17th -
Chesterfield - Winding Wheel
- TICKETS SOON
18th -
Stockport - Plaza -
TICKETS
19th -
Lichfield - Garrick Theatre
- TICKETS SOON
23rd -
New Brighton - Floral Pavilion -
TICKETS
24th -
Hull - City Hall
- TICKETS SOON
25th -
Middlesborough - Town Hall
- TICKETS SOON