Erwin Grosche: PIPIFAX Deluxe. Vom Nutzen der Nebengeräusche - Cabaret & Performing Arts

Look up "PIPIFAX" in the dictionary and you'll find it means "foolish nonsense" - which is exactly what Erwin Grosche has been doing on stage for 50 years, hiding touching philosophical thoughts and genuinely meant insights inside every bit of absurdity. He often has a little song on his lips, accompanying himself on a blue children's accordion or a toy piano. Sometimes he sings about something he's actually good at; other times he delivers an ode to poppy-seed cake and the strange thoughts it inspires. And as if that weren't enough, he plays the accordion with his double chin. Hard to top that - unless a miracle intervenes: the wonderfully resurrected garden-waste bag.

There's a feel for language and wordplay here, intelligent ambiguity rather than cheap double meanings, and a talent for portraying human weaknesses with affection while making the audience laugh without ridiculing anyone. What a gift. This is humour all the way to the fifth dimension. The multiply award-winning cabaret artist has received, among other honours, the Deutschen Kleinkunstpreis and the Prix Pantheon.