| Volker Pispers | |
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Volker Pispers on September 7, 2006 |
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| Born | January 18, 1958 Mönchengladbach-Rheydt |
| Medium | Cabaret, books, radio |
| Nationality | German |
| Years active | 1983 – present |
| Genres | Observational comedy, Wit/Word play, Political satire, Black comedy |
| Subject(s) | German culture, German language, German and American politics |
| Website | www.volker-pispers.de (german) |
Volker Pispers (born January 18, 1958 in Mönchengladbach-Rheydt) is a German Kabarett artist, who is well known for his drastic and sometimes sarcastic commentary on current events, especially about the political situation in Germany but also about the politics of the United States since 9/11 and during the Iraq War.
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After his Abitur, Pispers moved to Bonn and later Münster where he studied english studies, theology and pedagogy. From 1979 to 1980 he worked as a foreign language assistant in England, where he developed a liking for black comedy.
After returning to Germany, he worked as a member of several children's theatre and cabaret arrangements. His first solo program, Kabarette sich, wer kann, 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 in Düsseldorf and later on its artistic director. However, in 1991, he gave up this position to tour Germany with his solo programs. 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 program ...bis neulich ("...until recently"), which was originally conceived as a Best of of his twenty years in cabaret. It was extremely successful and made him a lot more popular, especially due to his harsh criticism of the Bush administration and the Iraq War, which were very unpopular in Germany at the time. Due to its huge success, Pispers continues to tour Germany with the program, which he frequently updates according to recent developments. He has also become a staunch critic of capitalism.
He currently lives in Düsseldorf-Oberkassel in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.