Comedy

Chris Tall: Everyone gets their turn with him

07/09/2017 written by Michel Imhof
Jokes for and about everyone: Chris Tall sometimes makes jokes about wheelchair users, gays and black people. Otherwise they would be excluded, he justifies.

Thanks to social media, Chris Tall (26) made it from newcomer to celebrated comedy star. In October 2015, he appeared on Stefan Raab's show "TV Total" for the sixth time. The topic: how far comedians are allowed to go with their jokes. The controversial appearance went viral and Tall was able to increase his Facebook followers many times over. To date, the clip has almost ten million views.

Since your appearance on "TV total", your popularity has increased from 0 to 100. Do you still notice that today?
I no longer get any direct reactions. But a year and a half later, I still notice that people follow my comedy and go to the shows. So I'm playing in bigger venues. That wasn't the case before.
"My mother always said: You have to get on stage!"

How did you experience the hype?
The first thing I noticed about the hype was the Facebook likes. After the performance, I had 2,000 more likes, and because people kept sharing the performance, the number kept increasing. Incredibly, I now have over 860,000 followers. That makes me very happy!

The theme of your performance was that it's not a problem to make fun of wheelchair users or black people. But there has to be a limit for you somewhere!
I'm not saying you should make fun of everyone and everything. I'm simply saying that you can also make jokes about wheelchair users and black people, otherwise you're excluding them. It just mustn't be offensive and must be at eye level with the other person. But I have limits. There are cabaret artists and comedians who talk about terrorism in their performances, for example, and can sell it in a funny and really good way. I can't do that; the subject hurts me far too much to be able to concoct something funny about it. And I don't know enough about it.

Who are your role models?
I've loved Mario Barth since I was 13 years old. He's managed to turn his shows into huge events. But there are more, it's not just the 20 comedians you see on RTL. Luke Mockridge, Bülent Ceylan, Torsten Sträter, Sascha Korf, Kay Ray, Alain Frei ... they're all role models too. I could go on like this forever.

What's the funniest thing about Switzerland?
The funniest thing? I can't decide. The least funny thing? The prices! (laughs). But seriously, I love Switzerland and I really like Zurich in particular. I come from Hamburg and I think the two cities have similarities. I just sometimes have to slow myself down when I'm talking to you so that everyone understands me.

His role model is Mario Barth: Chris Tall.
Were you the recess clown at school?
Yes, some recess clowns are really funny, some are annoying. I was the latter: I never knew when enough was enough and always wanted to have the next joke ready. That was unhealthy for my classmates, but it showed that there was something inside me that wanted to get out. My mother always said: "You have to go on stage!"

When was your first time on stage?
On March 5, 2011, at the Trier Comedy Slam. It's a competition where newcomers can perform. I made it to the final, but failed miserably. So I couldn't stop.

You're also taking part in the new edition of "Genial daneben".
To be honest, I underestimated it a bit. I thought you just had to come up with a funny answer to a question, but it's more complex than that. I have a lot of respect for the way Hella von Sinnen and Wigald Boning come up with stories that are thought out of the box. But it's great fun! Hugo Egon Balder runs the show perfectly.

How much of the content of your program is from your life?
Everything, actually. The trick is that I take some stories to the extreme and exaggerate them a little. And the funny thing is that viewers always come up to me afterwards and say: "Hey, why did you know that story about me?" So you can see that you experience a lot of things the same way as a young person.
"Jokes shouldn't be hurtful and have to happen at eye level."

Do you write everything yourself?
No, I work with an author, Sascha Korf. It's a perfect fit: he knows how I act on stage and always has cool input and additions to my programs. He's also a gifted comedian and improv god.

You tell a lot of anecdotes about your mother in the program. What do your parents say?
A lot of people ask that. My parents weren't allowed to be at the 15 preview shows. But after the premiere, my father came to me and said: "Why are you only making fun of your mother and not me?" It's not a problem for them at all.

Your current program has already been on TV. Many people already know the punchlines.
Some don't even watch the recording, others have already seen the program and even shout out the punchlines. But then they get an announcement from me (laughs). My fans are really funny, there's almost a party atmosphere in the audience. You don't get that on TV. I also improvise a lot in the program, so every show is different.

Where will you be in ten years?
If things stay the same professionally as they are now, I'll be the happiest person. And in my private life, I'd like to have a family, with a wife and two children. Preferably a boy and a girl. It can't all be about comedy, I also want to learn what it means to be a father.

CHRIS TALL "Selfie of mom! When parents want to be cool ..."
Thu September 14, 17, Volkshaus Zurich
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Translated with DeepL