Executioner’s hatchet
Kerkeling on award winners: I haven’t laughed so much in a long time
The ScharfrichterBeil cabaret prize was awarded in Passau for the 40th time. The recipient this year was David Stockenreitner. photo
© Armin Weigel/dpa
Black humor, self-irony and a strong stage presence are the cabaret ingredients of the 2023 ExecutionerBeil Prize winner. David Stockenreitner also impressed a prominent juror.
His gags almost left the audience in the Passau executioner’s house laughing in their throats – but only almost. The Austrian cabaret artist David Stockenreitner convinced the jury on Wednesday evening with his razor-sharp humor and is with that ExecutionerBeil 2023 was awarded. The prize is one of the most prestigious awards for young cabaret artists in German-speaking countries.
The 33-year-old addresses his physical disability in his program and delivers unerring punch lines. Comedian Hape Kerkeling (58) was thrilled by Stockenreitner’s joke. The comedy legend was the first Beil prize winner at the executioner’s house in 1983 at the age of 18.
After the award ceremony, Kerkeling said about Stockenreitner: “He shot the bird. I haven’t laughed so much in a long time.” And further: “So funny, so brilliant, so to the point, so literary, such a stage presence, so funny, so charming. I believe and hope that it will be a great career.”
Stockenreitner takes up his own everyday experiences, makes them subtle and fires his gags like arrows into the bullseye. As if casually, he holds a mirror up to society and addresses socio-political issues such as dealing with people with disabilities, online shopping or church.
Kerkeling’s appearance in 1983
When he returned to the executioner’s house, comedian Kerkeling remembered his performance in 1983. He had been added to the list of candidates as a substitute and did not immediately cause enthusiasm with his story about his guinea pig and his aunt. Executioner House co-founder Walter Landshuter said that it might be funny, but not socio-politically relevant. The fact that he took first place opened up an “incredible career” for him, said Kerkeling. “I never forgot that about the executioner’s house.” And he joked with a laugh: “It’s been 40 years. The best thing is: I’m still alive.”
Walter Landshuter remembered not having much confidence in Hape Kerkeling. “We were battle-hardened here against the CSU and the church – and then we’re sitting there with the boy.” But: He was the most talented and had the audience under his control straight away.