'You have to keep challenging yourself'

A comedian is to perform seven gigs in seven languages in seven nations in seven days.

Slovene comic Tin Vodopivec will perform in Skopje Macedonia on December 1, followed by Belgrade in Serbia, London, Berlin, Warsaw and Paris, concluding with a homeland gig Ljubljana.

And in France, Vodopivec will be supporting that champion of multilingual comedy, Eddie Izzard in La Nouvelle Seine, a houseboat restaurant moored at the foot of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Vodopivec – the first comedian from a former Yugoslavian republic to play London's Comedy Store – has previously performed in four of the languages, but it will be his first time in German, Macedonian and Polish.

He told Chortle: ‘I've been practising in front of small audiences, so hopefully it will be fine. I just hope they'll laugh at the jokes and not the mistakes.’

The comedian added that coming from a small country of just two million people meant ‘we are raised with the idea of learning languages. I had German and English in primary school, then added French in High school. Croatia is our neighbouring country so I've been watching a lot of Croatian TV when I was a kid. 

‘I'm half Macedonian from my father side - but until now I've never learned the language. So its been fun getting to know my roots. 

‘Polish was the hardest to crack, but I got to like it a lot. We wanted to do Russia first, but it would be logistically too hard to travel there and back in a day. And also Italy, but it takes them months to answer emails…’

Despite that slight generalisation, Vodopivec says he is doing his Triple Seven Comedy Challenge in the name of bringing people together.

‘There's so much differentiation,’ he said. ‘Do people of different nations have a different sense of humour? I don't think so. 

‘Of course, every country and every language has its own specialities  – some countries are rather new in the world of stand-up, while the Brits have seen so much amazing comedy it's hard to surprise you) – but in our essence we are the same.

‘This project is about connecting people. Breaking boundaries - especially the ones in our mind. 

‘I also think it's essential to keep moving, to always keep challenging yourself.’

Vodopivec has been a comic for ten years, during which time he says he has performed more than 1500 gigs in 15 countries. He was the host of his own stand-up comedy TV show Planet Standup and is the co-founder of the Ljubljana comedy festival.

His London show on December 3 will be at The Bill Murray in Islington.

Published: 17 Nov 2017