Henning Wehn: That German Comedian

Henning Wehn brought his latest stand-up comedy show, Henning Knows Bestest, to Canterbury's The Gulbenkian Theatre on Saturday, May 11th. I travelled from London to see him, and it was definitely worth the journey, and missing Doctor Who; after all, you can't iPlayer theatre.

Regardless, beforehand I had only really seen him on comedy panel shows, on Dave's One Night Stand and occasionally on Radio 4, so it was a slight gamble. However, it was one of the best comedy nights I have had. It started off with him being his own warm-up act. Unfortunately, the material he used in this section of the show seemed to be his go-to jokes he uses on TV; witty, satirical observations. For example, in the week following this show, he was on 10 O'Clock Live, providing a few jokes about Europe, all of which I had heard just days earlier.

That's not to say I did not enjoy the first half-hour. He was still funny and provided much belly-laughter, but some jokes I had already heard. But also, I don't think there is another comedian who can start a show with the German national Anthem, and get the whole audience clapping along. For me, that is proof that UKIP won't be ruling the country anytime soon.

After a short interval, his main show began, with its own theme tune, which unashamedly repeats his name over and over and again. The audience clapped along with this too. Canterbury is now well-known for their unwillingness to take part and join in (apart from when drunks heckle), but he managed to get us clapping in tune to music, which is the most I've witnessed at least.

Anyway, the second part of the show was well constructed, with it following a story arc about the past 10 years of his life; with him attempting (and succeeding) to get into stand-up comedy. I'm aware some comedians tell untrue stories about their life, to help the humour ensue. However, I don't believe that was the case for him. Everything seemed true and believable, and you can't help but become endeared to him. I think I fell in love with him very slightly.

The show climaxed with him 'emotionally' telling the story of how he has been typecast as 'The German comedian', and is called upon by shows when discussing topics like Germany and Europe; a fact which was illustrated by his appearance on 10 O'Clock Live. However, when explaining who I was explaining to people who I was going to see, I was at a loss of how else to explain who he was, other than 'the German comedian'. But on his website, he embraces this, calling himself  the 'German Comedy Ambassador To The UK'.

Other stories he told included his experience of being a German living in Britain, German beer fests and sharing his views of Scottish independence. The evening as a whole was marvellous. He is not only a great comedian, but a great storyteller. And honestly, I wondered whether I would struggle to understand him at times, but ultimately, his German/South London accent is easy to understand, and even enhances the comedic effect of some of the things he says.

Best of all though, I got a free, branded pen. Now that's another thing that has never happened to me at a comedy gig before.