Throughout the month of June, De Graanrepubliek in the city of Groningen will be hosting a series of stand-up nights with English-language performances titled OMG: Open Mic Groningen.
So far, line-ups have been announced for the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th of June, and each of the shows will feature a mix of Dutch and foreign comedians. Each of the June shows will be hosted by local stand up Nicole Huber, who is a member of a stand-comedy group called No Restrictions.
Huber, who was born in Russia and raised in Austria, says that she performs in English and has a wide network of other comedians across the Netherlands and in Berlin. The goal of the stand-up series is to provide a podium for well-known Groningen performers, international comics and amateurs alike. “We have a lot of English speaking comedians and a big English speaking audience. I could feel it in previous shows a lot, that Groningen needed more of international stand-up comedy”, she says.
Huber says that her comedy group had been doing monthly shows at The Cabin (see box “English-language comedy in Groningen” below). The evenings have proven so popular that they have had to seek out a slightly bigger space, but Huber says that The Cabin shows will also continue in the future.
“De Graanrepuliek looked like a good place to start out; however, it looks like the popularity is growing fast, therefore I might switch to a bigger venue at some point”, Huber says. De Graanrepubliek is a literary café which regularly hosts improvisational comedy events, such as the Spanish-language Improvísame show, and lectures by Dutch literary and cultural figures.
The first shows in June are intended to be the beginning of a regular event, but the stand-up nights will take a break over the summer holidays. Huber says that she plans to pick up where they left off when the next academic year gets underway.
| English-language comedy in Groningen
OMG is not the only recurring English-language comedy event in the city: The Cabin also periodically hosts stand-up and improv events, coordinated by TgEntropy. If you are looking for a more introspective English-language evening, TgEntropy also organises monthly Mezrab in the House with storytelling and musical performances. And Stranger Things Have Happened, an English-language improv and sketch comedy group, is celebrating their tenth anniversary this year: the group puts on weekly comedy jams at Martinus Brewery and monthly shows at De Machinefabriek. |
Editorial note: The Cabin shows will continue being held in addition to the OMG shows.
