Let me tell you about someone rather special. His name is Hans Teeuwen (pronounced toy-wen, I think) and he is a comedian (I use the term loosely). He is an off-the-wall act - he’s confrontational, challenging, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, loud, neurotic and perhaps psychotic. He is all of these things and more. The problem is - he’s not particularly funny.
On Saturday evening last, at the Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival, we went along to Adam and Jason’s Spotlight on…Hans Teeuwen. We weren’t entirely sure what to expect. The rumour was that Hans didn’t exist and that Adam Hills and Jason Byrne had made him up. Sadly, that was not the case. When going to see Hans, I think it important to bring with you your own stock pile of irony. His act, which includes referencing probably non-existent Dutch TV shows, sing-alongs that don’t work, criticising Disney’s overly romanticised take on the Holocaust and ‘songs’ where he just shouts at the audience for miutes on end is meticulously designed to fail. It’s orchestrated to make people feel uncomfortable, to make them question their own concept of comedy, to see how far people can be pushed before they crack.
A huge number of people walked out. There were heckles abound and one of the hecklers even retorted Hans strange licking attack with a kiss on his cheek. People talked right through his act, staring at each other, desperating seeking the comedy in the act. The rare laugh-out-loud moments were enough to keep the momentum going for me, though much of his rambling routine was devoid of humour. I was convinced we were on PJ Gallagher’s new hidden camera show.
“Don’t you think we have created a nice atmosphere?” asks Teeuwen.
Finally, after an act that went on far too long, heleft the stage to a relief of applause. That is when the show really kicked off. Adam Hills and Jason Byrne, two of the funniest comedians I have ever encountered, returned to the stage looking as lost and bewildered as the rest of us. Legend has it that Adam and Jason first took to the stage together in Edinburgh when they were double-booked to MC a gig. The pair decided to do the gig together and proved a roaring success. They have since performed their ad-libbed act together a number of times.
The night of the Hans Teeuwen gig was truly one of those you had to have been there moments. What began as frivolity, descended into farce, plunged deeper into chaos before emerging as one of the most surreal, hilarious and unforgettable nights of my life.
From the interplay between Jason Byrne’s madcap style and Adam Hills more controlled set-ups to the introduction of a potted plant; from the collapse and seizure of one of the audience members to the numerous walk outs; from the booing of Hans to the rapturous cheers and laughs given to the duo who did not want to leave the stage. And in truth, we didn’t want them to leave either. Adam Hills summed it up well when he suggested that no matter how disastrous things seem in life, it’s always worth sticking around to the end.
Nostradumus, Nostradamus, Nostradamus with his trousers green and tight - he looked alright.
Had a very similar experience with Jason Trachtenberg of the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players last year at the Iveagh Gardens thing. I don’t have your powers of presistence and I walked out after about 20 mins…
“I remember once, back when I was….”
Hans
“Funny?”
Audience Member
I admire your positive perspective on the farce but am far too cynical to share it. It was terrible. I drifted into a small coma and didn’t even notice when he left the stage. I was even Twittering for goodness sake.
I’m writing to Jason Byrne for a refund and Im writting to Adam Hills just for the sake of it.
Teeuwen (Tay-u-en) is the hotest comic property over here. Shouty and divisive, loved or hated.
*shudder*