Maassen won two of the biggest comedy contests in the Netherlands in 1990, the Groninger Studenten Cabaret Festival(GSCF), and Cameretten. The GSCF jury was not pleased with the quality of the contestants that year, and gave Maassen the first prize, remarking he was the best of the year, but still not very good. In the following years, however, Maassen fame grew steadily, especially amongst students. Maassens style was based on stand-up comedy: Alone on stage, telling jokes and stories to amuse the public, without any musical support (a thing common for most Dutch comedians up to that point). Since 2000, Maassens shows are shown on Dutch national television, making him more and more a household name.
In his first comedy special the Flemish comedian Pieter Verelst tells a bizarre story about his childhood, which he spent with his brother (existing or not) in a boring village in Flanders. Together they tackle this dullness and use it as a source of inspiration for a strange creativity.
Herman Finkers: Take it easy, on the double
Caribbean Combo: Ze ZIJN er weer!
Registration of the fourth theatre program by the Dutch comedian Theo Maassen.
Thomas Smith: Alienman Smith
Bijbabbelen Met Arie Koomen, Wilko Terwijn en Menno Stam
Registration of the second theatre program by the Dutch comedian Paulien Cornelisse.
Stage registration of the seventh comedy special 'Troosten' by the Dutch comedian Jochen Otten. His inability to make his daughter stop crying was the reason for Otten to make this performance about emotions. How can you reach someone's emotions.
Thomas Smith: Will set you free
Jandino Asporaat riffs on the challenges of raising kids and serenades the audience with a rousing rendition of "Sex on Fire" in his comedy show.
We like to convince ourselves of things. Trivialities that bring some order to the chaos of our thoughts, things that make life a little more exciting. But what if these thoughts turn against us? What if we convince ourselves of things that aren't necessary? What if we become paranoid about that one unanswered text message, uncertain about the future of our clothing, and afraid that our hero status is unsustainable? It is these illusions that comedian Thomas Smith wants to expose and puncture. And he is looking for a useful answer to the question of life: what to do when you receive good news while you have a headache?
Jan Jaap van der Wal: Onderbewust
Registration of the second comedy special by the Dutch comedian Ronald Goedemondt, about growing up and facing your fears.
André van Duin - Ja Hoor... Daar Is Ie Weer!
Javier Guzman: Delirium
This comedy/theatre show is the sequel to 'Micha Wertheim: Somewhere Else'. This second show starts exactly where the first show ended: in the same theatrical scenery, with the same robot. But this time Wertheim surprises his audience by showing up. He tells about how the first experimental comedy show was received and contemplates about the magic of theatre and art in a society about the right to exist of art in a society that allows less and less doubt and confusion. When Robot falls into a depression, the boundaries between theater and reality begin to blur.
In the show, Jochem talks about his love for nature. Jochem: 'If you're going to talk about something four hundred times, you have to choose something you really want to talk about. Jokes are fun, but I want to talk about things that interest me. My three big hobbies are fishing, theater, and birds. The book De Gorgels is also about nature. I've already incorporated my passion for biology into it, and now I want to show that on stage as well.
Hans Teeuwen: Echte Rancune
Hans Liberg: De Negende