The Local Germany

25 jokes from the GDR that show the Stasi couldn't silence laughter

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 09:45:59 +0200

Citizens of former East Germany were subjected to communist dictators, an all-imposing secret police and material shortages. Yet these issues became the butt of many knee-slapping jokes.

A laughing matter: Looking beyond the stereotype of the serious German

Mon, 17 Sep 2018 17:19:44 +0200

Germans have long been stereotyped for being humourless, and even have a word, Treppenwitz, that implies getting to a joke too late. Is it true that Germans miss the punchline?

The best TV comedies to improve your German while making you laugh

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 16:04:38 +0200

Do you need an excuse to watch more comedy TV? We have researched and compiled a list of our favourite German TV comedies ranging from sitcoms to slapstick - all guaranteed to make you laugh.

Remembering the celebrated satirist 'who taught Germans how to laugh'

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 12:29:11 +0200

In a country that was voted in 2011 the least funny in the world, being crowned Germany’s King of Comedy isn’t quite so impressive. But since his death in the same year, no German comedian has come close to dethroning the hilarious satirist and national treasure Loriot.

This viral hit perfectly skewers bland German pop music

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 19:30:37 +0200

Germany's favourite comedian Jan Böhmermann is up to his old tricks again - this time getting primates to make a monkey out of German pop music.

Turkey's complaint could land German comedian in jail

Mon, 11 Apr 2016 12:32:31 +0200

Turkey has officially complained to the German Foreign Ministry about a defamatory poem read on air by TV comedian Jan Böhmermann, meaning he could be prosecuted under a little-used German law.

German comedian could face jail for insulting Erdogan

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:17:06 +0200

Germany’s hippest young comedian faces a jail sentence of up to five years if Turkey decides to press charges over a poem he wrote insulting its head of state.

Hitler really did have just one ball: historian

Fri, 18 Dec 2015 15:55:01 +0100

Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler really did have only one testicle, a German historian has claimed, apparently confirming an urban legend that has persisted for decades.

Germans strip off for 'No Pants Subway Ride'

Mon, 12 Jan 2015 13:26:00 +0100

U-Bahn travelers from Munich to Berlin dropped trou on Sunday and joined in on a global pantless subway ride.

Bill Bailey's lyrical love affair with German

Fri, 30 May 2014 20:37:00 +0200

Germany may not be British comedy's natural home, but it hasn't stopped comic Bill Bailey visiting Berlin on his whistle-stop Europe tour. The Local caught up with him under a giant fish tank to pick his brains.

'If you want an adventure, learn a language'

Fri, 31 Jan 2014 17:36:00 +0100

Making Germans laugh can seem a thankless prospect in any language and trying in freshly learned German might seem the project of a masochist. Eddie Izzard tells The Local why he is game.

'My routines are sexual, it works in Germany'

Fri, 22 Nov 2013 10:13:00 +0100

US comedian Margaret Cho is heading for Germany as part of her latest tour. She told The Local why she is looking forward to trying out her rather rude routines on a German audience.

Leading opera singer turns to comedy

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 16:43:00 +0200

Thomas Quasthoff left behind a sparkling career as a concert bass-baritone last year to pursue new projects. Now he stars in a comedy show in Berlin's West End. One of the country's most acclaimed performers, he is our German of the Week.

US comedian tells tales from the Mosque

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:30:00 +0200

An American comedian who spent 30 days visiting Mosques across the US is bringing his stand-up show about the trip to Germany. Aman Ali spoke to The Local.

Kerkeling turns down "Wetten, dass..?" gig

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:40:00 +0100

Comedian Hape Kerkeling, the favourite to succeed host Thomas Gottschalk to host Germany's top television show Wetten, dass..?, told an audience of nearly 10 million on Saturday that he did not want the job.

Beloved humorist Loriot dies

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:17:00 +0200

One of the most popular German comedians of the post-war period, Vicco von Bülow, better known by his stage name Loriot, has died at the age of 87.

Hugh 'House' Laurie plays New Orleans blues in Hamburg

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:24:00 +0200

British actor Hugh Laurie, best known as “House” from the hit US medical drama, will make his German musical debut in Hamburg on Wednesday.

Bob Edwards: From US soldier to musical maestro

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:00:00 +0100

The Local's series "Making it in Germany" presents Bob Edwards, a former US soldier who has conducted his way to the top of the country’s musical scene.

Comedian brightens dull election campaign

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0200

With the Obama-inspired slogan "Yes Weekend" and a pledge to make a bunny the national symbol, a mock candidate for German chancellor has injected some much-needed humour into a drab election campaign. AFP’s Richard Carter reports.

Making it in Germany: an American jokester

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:16:00 +0200

The Local's series "Making it in Germany" presents John Doyle, an American comedian with a knack for turning the foibles of expat life into German-language stand-up.