Volker Pispers (born 18 January 1958) is a German

kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. It ...

artist who is well known for his

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

.Schnabel, Dieter (2003
''Zuweilen muß einer da sein, der gedenkt: Blätter der Erinnerung an Komponisten, Schriftsteller und Theaterleute''
p.150 His comic style includes drastic and sometimes sarcastic commentary on current events, especially about the political situation in Germany but also about the politics of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

since

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

and during the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

Biography

After his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

, Pispers moved to

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

and later

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

where he studied

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

. From 1979 to 1980 he worked as a

foreign language assistant A foreign language assistant (FLA) is an assistant teacher, usually a native speaker, assisting a teacher of modern foreign languages in another country in lessons about the native language of the assistant. The programs are meant to be of benefit ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he developed a liking for

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

. After returning to West Germany, he worked as a member of several children's theatre and cabaret arrangements. His first solo programme, ''Kabarette sich, wer kann'' (a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on ''"rette sich, wer kann"'' – "save yourself if you can"), first opened in 1983. In the same year he finished his education and started working as an English teacher. In 1990, he became a member of the ensemble of the

Kom(m)ödchen The Kom(m)ödchen is a cabaret stage in Düsseldorf. The Kom(m)ödchen was created in 1947 as a political-literary cabaret by Kay Lorentz, Kay and Lore Lorentz. Other participants in the initial program ''"Positiv dagegen"'', which had its premiere ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and later on its artistic director. However, in 1991, he gave up this position to tour Germany with his solo programmes. Over the 1990s he received a number of awards and became a well-known figure in German political cabaret. In 2002 he first went on tour with his programme ''...bis neulich'' ("...until recently"), which was originally conceived as a

Best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

his twenty years in cabaret. It was extremely successful and made him a lot more popular, especially due to his harsh criticism of the

George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic in ...

and the

. Due to its huge success, Pispers continued to tour Germany with the programme, which he frequently updated according to recent developments, until 2015. He has also become a staunch critic of unregulated

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

. He currently lives in

Düsseldorf-Oberkassel Oberkassel ( li, Ueverkassel) is a part of Düsseldorf's Borough 4. Oberkassel lies on the west side of the river Rhine, the opposite side of the central district of Düsseldorf. It has an area of , and 19,052 inhabitants (2020). Oberkassel ...

in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

Works

Books

* 1996: ''Volkerkunde'' * 2001: ''Gefühlte Wirklichkeiten'' * 2003: ''Volkerkunde'' (Anniversary Edition)

CDs

* 1995: ''Frisch gestrichen'' * 1996: ''Ein Wort ergab das andere'' * 1999: ''Damit müssen Sie rechnen'' (2 CDs) * 2000: ''Update 2000'' – ''Damit müssen Sie rechnen'' (2 CDs) * 2002: ''… bis neulich'' (2 CDs) * 2004: ''… bis neulich 2004 … aktualisierte Fassung'' (2 CDs) * 2007: ''Kabarett Sampler: 3. Politischer Aschermittwoch'' (2 CDs) * 2007: ''… bis neulich 2007… live in Bonn'' (2 CDs) * 2009: ''Volker Pispers live 2009'' (2 CDs) * 2010: ''… bis neulich 2010 … aktualisierte Fassung'' (2 CDs) * 2012: ''… live 2012'' (2 CDs) * 2014: ''… bis neulich 2014'' (2 CDs) * 2016: ''… bis neulich – Der letzte Abend'' (2 CDs)

DVDs

* 2004: ''live in Berlin. … bis neulich'' (Live in Berlin) * 2007: ''… bis neulich 2007… live in Bonn'' * 2010: ''… bis neulich 2010'' * 2014: ''… bis neulich 2014''

Awards

* 1988 – (Mönchen)- Gladbach satire award * 1989 – Kulturpreis der Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland (Sponsorship award) * 1996 – Mindener Stichling; Deutscher Kleinkunstpreis (cabaret category) * 1998 – Memminger Maul; Kleinkunstmaske Garching; Gaul von Niedersachsen * 2000 – ''AZ-Stern des Jahres'' of Abendzeitung aus München * 2003 – Obernburger Ehrenmühlstein * 2004 – Bocholter Pepperoni * 2005 – Cabaret award "Knurrhahn" sponsored by the city of

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

; Deutscher Kabarettpreis (Main award) * 2006 – Bayerischer Kabarettpreis (Main award) * 2007 – Morenhovener Lupe

References

External links

* *
Homepage of Volker Pispers

Volker Pispers at con anima publishers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pispers, Volker 1958 births Living people People from Mönchengladbach Kabarettists German cabaret performers