Dear Friends of German Comedy,
What a tragic month this has been so far for the Fatherland! Firstly mourning the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and then mourning the suicide of our goalkeeper. (Please spare me of any “I-am-not-one-to-give-advice-to-professional-goalkeeprs-but-Robert-Enke-should-have-come-off-the-line-a-bit-quicker” jokes. I have heard quite enough of those for one month.)
But things in Britain aren’t much better: a tabloid campaign against the Prime Minister for being blind in one eye and hence having a less than perfect hand-writing? Disgusting!
If only I had sent this newsletter at the beginning of November, I would have got round dealing with those depressing issues.
But it wasn’t to be as I was travelling the length and breadth of Britain supporting Stewart Lee on tour.
The tour itself was extremely enjoyable – the most surreal moment came at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, which had two events on that night. Stewart Lee and Mike Tyson! Yes, the former heavyweight boxer was in town to give a speech about his life and I managed to sneak in.
If anyone is any doubt whether boxing should be banned, go and see Iron Mike. You will see a figure bereft of any sense, garbling through what he believes to be his life story whilst fighting his brain damage by trying to keep his balance when standing up. A truly upsetting picture.
Talking of mindless violence – on tour I also went to see a rugby union match for the first time. A full-strength Leeds Carnegie beat Leicester Tigers, who had all their best players on international duty.
Soldier, fire-fighter and stand-up comedian are widely regarded as the hardest jobs in the world – turns out that’s not true. The single hardest job in the world must surely be rugby manager, a profession that requires you to identify “nearly” men; players that will come good but not good enough to represent their country.
Being the German Comedy Ambassador I obviously know all about representing my country and its wonderful culture. I am therefore delighted to invite you to an authentic German-style Christmas Do at the Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon.
Just like last year there will be stand-up interspersed with renditions of everybody’s favourite carols such as ‘Oh Tannenbaum’, ‘Stille Nacht – heilige Nacht’, and ‘Klingglöckchen klingelingelingelingelingeling’.
Unfortunately I left the venue booking very late and have to make do with only two dates – Dec 7 and 9. Early booking advisable (for all of us).
Tickets: https://www.henningwehn.de
Have a great month!
Henning