Dutch comedian Youp van ‘t Hek gets a ‘short circuit’ and has to stop the show: “It really didn’t work anymore”

Dutch comedian Youp van ‘t Hek gets a ‘short circuit’ and has to stop the show: “It really didn’t work anymore” | Showbiz

showbizDutch comedian Youp van ‘t Hek (70) prematurely canceled his performance in the Royal Theater Carré in Amsterdam on Tuesday evening. The comedian, who is working on his very last performances, suffered from blackouts on stage. His show yesterday went really well.

According to visitors, Youp Van ‘t Hek (70) lost the thread and had to briefly stop his performance several times. After an hour he returned with a text on paper from which he drew inspiration. But at a certain point he “really couldn’t go on anymore”.

The first half hour went “still well”, Van ‘t Hek was at his old-fashioned high level, visitor Maarten told AD.nl. “Then you noticed that he had to search several times for his text. He took several sips of water and disappeared backstage several times. He really tried his best to keep playing. He really wanted to, but he told us that it was really not possible anymore.”

“This can happen to the best of us”

Normally Youp is “super sharp, fast and strings the jokes together, but on Tuesday evening he lost it,” says Alphonso Westerhof, a big fan of the comedian. “That can really happen to the best of people. He told us he had never experienced this before. Full of self-mockery, he made some jokes about it himself. You noticed in the audience that not everyone dared to laugh loudly. That was special to experience.”

After a career of 50 years, Van ‘t Hek really doesn’t have to apologize, says Westerhof. “It was more painful for him than for us. I don’t think anyone went home disappointed. No, this wasn’t the Youp as we know it, but we’ll just catch up later. Nothing wrong!”

_{(Read more below the tweet)}

This content contains cookies from social media or other external platforms. Because you have disabled these cookies, this content remains hidden. Accept cookies from social media to still display the content.

Fresh and fruity

There was no sign of feeling unwell or other medical complaints. Visitors speak of a short circuit. “Just mixed up texts and then couldn’t sort it out,” says Rogier van Bossum. “Seems like the biggest nightmare for an artist who does a one-man show.” Fortunately, there was “a lot of support in the room,” visitors say. “You wouldn’t wish this on anyone, especially Youp,” says Maarten. When the comedian left disappointed, there was deafening applause.

Van ‘t Hek promised to catch up with the performance on stage. Visitors all indicate that they would like to return. “We would love to come back when it is fresh and fruity again!”, writes a visitor on The same words are echoed by another visitor: ‘Dear Youp, big hug. Hope you’re okay’.

The comedian performed his show again on Wednesday evening and this time everything went well. “You really helped me get through it. Thanks to the great applause at the beginning,” he said. Van ‘t Hek is busy with his farewell tour, ‘De Laatste Ronde!’. His very last performance is scheduled for May 25, also in Carré in Amsterdam.