For 20 years, Mario Barth has made the same gags with great success: men, women, clichés. Lately he’s also been gossip about vegans and gender. Can this kind of humor still work today?
Of
Marcel Laskus, Frankfurt am Main
This man comes from another time, say his critics. And they are right, at least from the outside: the show is just over when Mario Barth is sitting in the dimly lit backstage area in Frankfurt am Main and looks just like Mario Barth did 20 years ago. He still has a pragmatic short hairstyle and a few days beard, he still has a trained biceps and a small belly. Only the volume that emanates from it, or does not emanate from it, is unusual. He seems calm, he holds the smartphone in his hands and is currently answering a message from a fan on Instagram. Change clothes, open the Coke can, tell his girlfriend how the show was. This is his ritual. He then looks up and flashes his familiar grin, which is lurking, leaving completely open to what might happen next – a chummy hug or a verbal smack in the face.