Is Henning Wehn the ultimate outsider comedian?
With decades of stereotyping embedded in the British psyche that Germans have no sense of humour, this North Rhine Westphalia-born, London-based stand-up has been forging his own path (and a very humorous one it is too, thanks very much Basil Fawlty) for the best part of 20 years.
But call him an alternative comedian and he will baulk at that notion (even though he did appear in a stand-up TV showcase called The Alternative Comedy Experience on Comedy Central in 2013).
“I would see myself as the ultimate representative of the establishment,” Henning insists ahead of his It’ll All Come Out In The Wash tour which is heading to Dundee and Arbroath.
“I suppose what I do might be called subversive but I don’t feel I’m part of a big movement.
“It’s all about ticket-shifting ability; everyone in a certain bracket will be in a certain theatre, so you could have tribute bands, Jason Donovan, Stewart Lee, Jim Davidson and me in the same place.
“Whoever it is, we’re in there for one evening and making sure the restaurant next door is having people in.”
The economy on his mind
The economy is one of the things on Henning’s mind with his new show which he describes as ‘an unbiased look at the Covid crisis’.
This follows his equally even-handed previous comedic investigations into Brexit and immigration.
“If I can look back at the last show, the Brexit one, I found it quite easy to be ambivalent about it, because it doesn’t really affect me one way or another.
“It’s different if you worked in a particular industry such as export, which then becomes harder with more paperwork to deal with.
“But this one was a very different story such as if you had a business for 15 years and all of a sudden, through no fault of your own, you’re told you can’t run it.
“Covid certainly does have more impact on people’s lives. There are plenty jokes to be made about all that but you have to be willing to see them.”
Greatest hits and a pandemic twist
This show is essentially a greatest hits package in the first half before he takes on the pandemic in part two.
Whether people will emerge knowing what Henning’s real opinion is on coronavirus as well as the world’s reaction to it is up for debate.
But there’s one thing he’s convinced everyone will find a common ground on.
“When it comes to conspiracy theorists, well, we need a definition of that.
Idiots and conspiracy theories
“For me, a conspiracy theorist is someone who challenges the prevailing narrative, and I don’t think that’s a crime. It certainly shouldn’t define someone as a loon or something.
“With Covid, everyone will agree that there are far more idiots in the country than we previously thought. While we can all agree on that, we can’t agree on who the idiots are: the ones who followed the guidelines or the ones who didn’t?”
Henning has been performing on the British comedy circuit and at festivals here for 19 years now and with shows such as Westphalia Is Not An Option and Eins, Zwei, DIY, he has landed a large following.
With such success on stage comes its inevitable small-screen benefits, and he’s been on TV in Comedians Giving Lectures, 8 Out Of Ten Cats, Have I Got News For You, and Guessable.
Playing live is where it’s at
But playing live is where it’s at for Henning. This is a lengthy tour. Already underway, it takes a residency at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall in August and stretches all the way through to next March.
So there is likely to be a distinct change from the first show to the last.
“You always tweak, though I’m not sure how noticeable that would be to an audience. But at the very least you need to keep it interesting for yourself.
“To keep it fresh you just shift your focus, perform it slightly differently, a gesture here and there, or swap those two words round here and there.”
But does he have an over-riding message for those thinking about popping along to see It’ll All Come Out In The Wash: “everyone is welcome!”
- Henning Wehn: It’ll All Come Out In The Wash, Webster Theatre, Arbroath, April 21; Whitehall Theatre, Dundee, April 22.
