Henning Wehn

Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal

Henning Wehn has an advantage over most UK stand-ups; he has an outsider’s perspective on Britain. His observations are sharp, funny and refreshingly European. He can also make comments which might be politically unacceptable from a British comedian.

Henning played to a packed Malt Room at The Brewery (”Is it coincidence that they’ve put me on in the bunker?”) and for the most part it was a splendid gig. He’s astute and engaging, veering from bad puns (holds up sausages: “This is the wurst joke in the show”) to politics and national stereotypes: ”In Germany we don’t swear as much as you Brits: Things work.”

Half-way through the second half something strange happened - he started to lose the audience. It began with a polemic about charity shops and then veered into talking about himself. This is rarely interesting in a comedian. His statement, “Most of my jokes are blunt statements delivered with a twinkle in my eye,” began to seem true and, for this reviewer, the gig ended on a flat note.

A shame. The rest of the evening was excellent and it’s well-worth catching Germany’s premier comedy ambassador.

Colin Shelbourn