Paco Erhard (born Erhard Hübener on July 16, 1975) is a German stand-up comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for touring the worldwide, English-language comedy festival circuit.

Early life

Erhard was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany on July 16, 1975. He was named after his great-grandfather

Erhard Hübener Dr. Erhard Hübener (4 August 1881 – 3 June 1958) was a Weimar Republic, German politician and member of the german Democratic Party, German Democratic Party (DDP) until 1933. After World War II he engaged in rebuilding structures of self-r ...

, who was the first prime minister of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

Career

Comedy

Erhard is best known for his first solo show, ''5-Step Guide to Being German'', which premiered in 2011 at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. He has also performed a variation of the original called ''5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0.'' Both shows have received critical acclaim, sold out at comedy festivals around the world, and have been named one of the top shows in several festivals. ''5-Step Guide to Being German'' was nominated for a

Perth Fringe World Fringe World, formerly Fringe World Festival, is an annual multi-arts fringe festival held in Perth, Western Australia during the city's summer festival season of January/February. The annual program of events features artists and acts from a r ...

Best Comedy Award in 2013. ''5-Step Guide to Being German 2.0'' won the Pick of the Fringe award in the 2018

Vancouver Fringe Festival The Vancouver Fringe Festival is an annual Fringe theatre, alternative theatre festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada established in 1985. The event is organized and sponsored by the First Vancouver Theatrespace Society, a volunteer ...

. Both versions of the show are still touring. Erhard has appeared as a cultural commentator on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

, SBS, and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. He has written about Germany and Europe for the ''Irish Times''. He has worked with cultural organisations such as the

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

and the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad. Erhard's more recent comedy is driven by social commentary on international current affairs. He draws on his experiences as a world traveler. His shows ''Paco Erhard: Djerman Unchained'' (2013), ''Paco Erhard: Worst. German. Ever.'' (2014), and ''A (very brief) History of German Humour'' (2016) are "irreverent, provocative social satire" on topics such as nationalism, racism, homophobia, religion, and terrorism. After being seen by German comedian and TV host

Ingolf Lück Ingolf Lück (born 26 April 1958) is a German actor, comedian and television host. Lück was born in Bielefeld. He hosted several sketch comedy shows; the best known, '' Die Wochenshow'', aired on Sat.1 between 1996 and 2002. He also hosted ' ...

at the

in 2012, Erhard started performing in German in addition to English. He has two German-language shows: ''Paco Erhard: Hard an der Grenze'' and ''Paco Erhard: Hallodri für Europa''. Erhard has appeared on German television shows '' StandUpMigranten,'' '' NDR'' ''Comedy Contest,'' and '' Vereinsheim Schwabing.'' In January 2015, he won the Stuttgart Comedy Clash.

Influences and themes

Erhard uses stories from his experiences as a world traveler to promote international understanding and communication across cultures. His stand-up routines reference time spent living in America, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the UK, as well as shorter adventures around the world. Erhard uses recurring themes of German identity and the psychological differences between Germans and other citizens. His comedy traces the historical development of these differences, making light of historical figures such as

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

, and 19th century

German nationalists German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one nat ...

Personal life

Travel

Erhard is well-traveled and has lived internationally for many years. Inspired by the writings of

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian a ...

, he hitchhiked out of Germany in 2000, traveling the world and living in Italy, Spain, and the UK. While in Spain, he acquired the nickname "Paco" from a neighbor, which inspired his stage name. Inspired by his work as a comedy MC for British tourists in

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Erhard moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 2009 to pursue stand-up comedy full-time.

Education

Erhard studied literature and philosophy in university. His thesis paper on

postcolonial literature Postcolonial literature is the literature by people from formerly colonized countries. It exists on all continents except Antarctica. Postcolonial literature often addresses the problems and consequences of the decolonization of a country, especia ...

was awarded the

University of Hagen The University of Hagen (german: link=no, FernUniversität in Hagen, informally often referred to as FU Hagen) is a public research university that is primarily focused on distance teaching. While its main campus is located in Hagen, North Rh ...

's Award of Excellence in 2009.

Live shows

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erhard, Paco German male comedians 1975 births Living people People from Munich