Helmut

Helmut's Half Hour

What is your show all about?

Helmut is Germany's finest comedian. In a rare moment of inefficiency he has misplaced the 1/2 hr of comedy required for his show. How will he fill the allotted time? With talk of the Brits, Europe, Toblerone? And what of Mutti, an everpresent shadow? You would be foolish to miss what promises to be a most amusing hour.

Where and when can we see it?

Das Unterbelly. Auf Cowgate. Venue 61. At precisely 19.50 pm each evening.

Do you love Edinburgh or is it a chore?

Ich liebe Edinburgh! This may be a hasty judgement.

What will you be doing with the other 23 hrs of the day?

Sampling the delights of Scots cuisine. Placing a towel on Portobello beach. Possibly torturing some drama students, or jugglers.

What's the best thing you've ever seen on the fringe?

A play concerning the life of Alaistair Crowley (the black magician), set in total darkness in a crypt. I felt quite at home.

What's the worst thing you've seen?

I have paid good money to repress this memory.

What's the most curious thing that's happened to you in Edinburgh?

In 1990 I fell off a stool. Much hilarity ensued.

If you could persuade one VIP to come to your show who would it be? Why?

Sir Ben Elton. He might teach me much of the british humour and how to lose your principles.

If the Edinburgh fairy could grant your wish, what would your wish for?

World peace. Failing that, that I do not poison my liver with excess drinking, nor do I become comically portly from the pies and chips with salt and sauce, and that my fears are allied and my hopes met.

What advice do you have for first time Edinburgh punters?

It would be churlish to recomend my show at 7.50 pm at the Underbelly, so instead may I suggest that they attend some Opera, the book festival or perhaps a daily perambulation in the direction of Arthur's Seat? Danke.