A comedy lesson

Prospect Magazine

A comedy lesson

by
/ / Leave a comment

Henning Wehn explains the subtle differences between British and German humour

Guten Tag! My name is Henning Wehn and I am the German Comedy Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Not the easiest of jobs because people always say we don’t have a sense of humour. Well, I don’t find this funny.

Let’s get one thing straight. Germans like a laugh. Just like the Brits. It’s just Germans laugh once the work is done. Brits laugh instead of doing any work.

In stark contrast to the usual trademark modesty and understatement, no Brit will ever get tired of letting the world know about his or her great sense of humour, which all other nationalities, and in particular Germans, lack.

It might come as a surprise but pub jokes in Britain and Germany are largely identical. An old codger falling over or getting a cake in the face is always funny. Even during a famine. Also, two fat blokes, a cannibal or a

You need to be logged in to see this part of the content. Please Login to access.

Leave a comment



Author



Share this





Most Read


Get a Free Trial Issue
Get a FREE Trial Issue






Prospect Buzz



Prospect Reads

  • Do China’s youth care about politics? asks Alec Ash
  • Joanna Biggs on Facebook and feminism
  • Boris Berezosky was a brilliant man, says Keith Gessen—but he nearly destroyed Russia