Henning Wehn: Acid Wehn at the Lighthouse Poole Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mel S-W

Having seen Henning Wehn on appearances on “Have I Got News For You” (BBC1), “Would I Lie To You” (BBC1), and “8 Out Of Cats Does Countdown” (Channel 4), I was very excited to see Henning Wehn on his Acid Wehn Tour which he announced would go through to next year. When we arrived, the staff were very attentive as always and pointed out the times of the show so we knew what was happening. The bar was going to be closed during the performance which was great as people wouldn’t be leaving throughout. It was also great that there was no warm up act and we would be getting two acts from Henning Wehn which is great and I feel great value for money.

The Concert Hall was packed and the audience was buzzing, all excited and ready to be entertained by the “self-appointed German Comedy Ambassador.” Henning arrived each time from the back of the hall, instantly leading into jokes about the German population being miffed by his tardiness and the show starting a few minutes late.

The show was split into two parts, the first, a 40 minute education of what it’s like being a foreigner (or immigrant) in good ol’ Blighty. A lot of humour and stereotypes that only a German man would be able to get away with! Imagine the jokes about the war and of course about football but his rendition of “There were 10 German Bombers in the air” to the tune of 10 green bottles really tickled us. Like I said, there was humour and funny moments that only a German could land. I really enjoyed his humour, jokes landed really well but if they didn’t land, his reaction to the audience got us laughing.

After a 20 minute interval, we were off again with Henning’s second show, Acid Wehn. The show “takes an unbiased look at climate change,” which is a hot topic in today’s society… everyone loves talking about the weather … especially us Brits! In this show his specialist subject was climate change where he was able to give his suggestions with a humorous twist. Covering topics like overpopulation, overcoming consumption and our fascination of making everything electric with his straight faced wit. There were so many parts that tickled me, that I was able to regale to family afterwards his tongue in cheeky wit on how to get birth rate down and carbon footprint.

When we got to our seats before the show we had a postcard and a pen on our seats at which posed a climate change question. A select few bespoke answers were used from the cards at the end of the show. Henning also asked for feedback from the show as he wanted to make it great, and he also raced out of the Concert Hall so he could take part in a meet and greet after the show.

Some of the well known papers have called the tour “Wunderbar” (The Times) and “Cor blimey” (The Guardian) and I would agree with these completely, so funny!

This was a one night only show and the tickets started from £26.50. The first part of the show was 40 minutes, with a 50 minute second half. The interval was for 20 minutes.

I would rate this show 4 out of 5 simple because there were just a few references that I didn’t personally understand.

Rating: 4/5

For upcoming shows at the Lighthouse visit their What’s On Guide here https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/whats-on/
The full address is Lighthouse, Arts and Entertainment, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG