Dear Friends of German Comedy,
Greetings from the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Luckily I am staying at South Australia’s finest infirmary not as a result of a shark attack or a school massacre but because all other accommodation had been booked up months ago by fans of Clipsal 500, the world’s biggest V8 Supercar Championship Series race (why anyone would shell out to attend a car race without Michael Schumacher on the grid is beyond me but never mind).
Hence Herr Kuhnle, myself and plenty of other Adelaide Fringe performers are staying in the nurses’ wing of the RAH. This might sound saucy but let me assure you it’s not. The dingy rooms, 6am wake-up calls, bolted windows and strict ‘no visitors’ rule remind me of Shawshank Redemption if anything.
Other than this – all is well and German Humour continues to go from strength to strength. Audience figures are healthy which doesn’t surprise considering how much German ancestry there is here in South Australia. Like with most ex-pat communities the Adelaidian Mueller, Meier und Schulze are more patriotic than their namesakes in Berlin, Munich or Hamburg.
In fact they are so familiar with old German traditions that Herr Kuhnle has been corrected on his Schuhplattlerl moves and I for singing the old railway song ‘Auf der Schwaebischen Eisenbahn’ incorrectly and out of tune.
This means 1000 Years of German Humour will be more accurate than ever when we bring it to the Melbourne Festival in April and around the UK in May.
Sorry for not mentioning any current goings on in Britain in this month’s bulletin. It’s not for a lack of wanting but unfortunately our prison director doesn’t allow TV or newspapers.
Have a great month
Henning
