Friends of cabaret

20 years of Freunde der Kleinkunst: the finest German cabaret in Lüdinghausen

The Freunde der Kleinkunst, or FKK for short, are celebrating their 20th birthday this year. Over the past two decades, they have brought the who's who of the German cabaret scene to Lüdinghausen. Nadine Wenge spoke to FKK members Markus Kleymann, Jan-Dirk Scholle and Theo Ellermann about their beginnings in 2004, funny encounters, long nights and much more.

Why do the Friends of Cabaret exist? How did it all start 20 years ago?

Markus Kleymann: I was working at the RVM at the time and had already organized events with the Bullemänner from time to time. While jogging with Jan-Dirk, we came up with the idea: there should be more of these in Lüdinghausen. Let's make a club out of it.

And why cabaret? Why cabaret?

Jan-Dirk Scholle: KAKTuS already existed in the cultural sector. But we were missing the cabaret that we like so much. So we approached a few people and founded the Freunde der Kleinkunst. The first event was actually a performance by the Bullemänner.

How many members does the association have?

Theo Ellermann (counts on two hands and smiles): To be honest, only seven.

Jan-Dirk Scholle: We didn't want a big apparatus, we always wanted to be independent and manage without subsidies and sponsors so that we could retain our artistic freedom. We want to bring the artists we like to Lüdinghausen.

That sounds like a group of friends bringing good cabaret to Lüdinghausen.

All three (laugh): That's basically how it is.

Jan-Dirk Scholle: We do it all out of pure idealism. We organize five to six events a year and we manage that well. For larger events, we get support for setting up or catering. But otherwise we stand behind the bar in the secondary school and sell the drinks ourselves. We just really enjoy it all.

Markus Kleymann: The response has always been so good that we are financially independent. The tickets for the events sell well. By selling subscriptions, we have financial security that we can work with. Another advantage of the subscription is that we can also give up-and-coming artists a chance who might not sell so well.

Who has already been to Lüdinghausen at your invitation?

All three (count 'em up): Georg Schramm, Dieter Hildebrandt, Jürgen Becker, Tobias Mann, Reinald Grebe, Florian Schröder, Jochen Malmsheimer, Herbert Knebel, Claus von Wagner, Matthias Richling, Rene Sydow, Wilfried Schmickler and many, many more.

The who's who of the German cabaret scene. Do you have any particularly fond memories of anyone?

Theo Ellermann: The personal contact with the artists is particularly nice. And they feel at home with us. We get that feedback very often.

Markus Kleymann (laughs): We spend a nice evening with many artists and go out for dinner together after the show. We had a great time with Dieter Hildebrandt and laughed so much. And Wilfried Schmickler was also the last person we went to a Spanish restaurant with.

How do you get in touch with the artists?

Jan-Dirk Scholle: We have now built up a good network and are in contact with a wide variety of agencies.

Markus Kleymann: We also go to the Kulturbörse in Freiburg every other year. There is talent scouting there and we can take a look at up-and-coming artists. That's where we saw Lumpenpack for the first time, for example, and immediately signed them up.

What do you look for?

Theo Ellermann: First and foremost, we have to like it ourselves. In addition, the annual program should always be a good mix of big and small. That's also what makes it so charming.

Jan-Dirk Scholle: The big names that you see on TV are naturally attractive.

What have been the highlights of the last 20 years?

Markus Kleymann: Besides all the cabaret artists we've just listed, the open airs were always something special. And once Storno only came with two people, one had fallen ill. The two of them completely improvised. That was great.

Apropos Storno. In August, the trio will be performing again at Böcker on the Forstmannshof...

Theo Ellermann: We've already been there twice and it's always a great time. As a special gift to the guests that evening, we give them a pin with our raven. A schnapps from Böcker will of course also be served.

Markus Kleymann: The raven is the club logo and Udo Scholten creates his own personal raven for every artist who performs with us. You can then see them in the program booklets.

Are you planning anything else for the anniversary?

Markus Kleymann: We are donating a performance by the Nerd Academy, our well-known Lüdinghausen band, who will be performing together again. On the Friday of the city festival. Whenever we have money left over, we like to spend it on cultural causes. That's what our statutes say.

Wow, that's great. Thank you for that!!!