– Cabaret

If you get involved – willingly or unwillingly – in a conversation about cabaret in Magdeburg, then – statistically speaking – the name Hengstmann comes up after 1 minute and 37 seconds.
And not just recently, because in cabaret terms the name Hengstmann has a dynastic character.
Once upon a time, almost 60 years ago, a certain Erich Hengstmann, himself a cabaret artist in Magdeburg, founded the first children’s cabaret in the GDR.
For practical and presumably care-related reasons, he integrated his own son Frank into it, who first appeared on stage here at the tender age of five and simply stayed there for many decades.
In two of the few moments when he was not on stage, he fathered two sons, who – basically taking over the plumber’s stall from the old man – carried on the torch of humor and, after initial part-time cabaret ambitions, later became full-time cabaret artists themselves.
Comedic talent seems to be hereditary after all…

Today, these two sons – Sebastian and Tobias – have been on stage themselves for decades (two, to be precise, as they are celebrating their twentieth stage anniversary these days).
They have developed their own style, which lies somewhere between classic cabaret and modern (stand-up) comedy.
With various alter egos, they seamlessly tie in with their family history of political satirical cabaret, analyzing the current political situation with a razor-sharp and alert eye, but with the impetus of comedy, stand-up and reading stages.
With this mixture, which moves effortlessly between styles and knows how to make use of the best of both worlds, the two brothers have created a unique style whose charm is hard for audiences to resist.