Wolfgang Trepper
About Wolfgang Trepper
Wolfgang Trepper is a German kabarettist, comedian and moderator born on May 9, 1961, in Rheinhausen, today part of Duisburg in the heart of the Ruhrgebiet. His father worked in material disposition at the Krupp steel works and moved through the IG Metall union into the works council; his mother was a homemaker. That blue-collar Ruhrgebiet background is the bedrock of Trepper's stage persona: gruff, direct, working-class, politically left-leaning, with the dry mouth and the dry humour of an industrial city. Trepper started extremely late as a professional comedian. Through the 1990s he worked as a sports executive and was, from 1992, the first full-time handball manager in Germany at OSC Rheinhausen. From 1997 to 2002 he co-hosted the satirical radio show Streichzart on Radio Duisburg and served as the station's chief editor from 1998 until June 2007. Only in 2003, after a debut performance at Schmidt-Theater in Hamburg where director Corny Littmann advised him to quit radio and go on tour, did he become a full-time stage cabaret artist.
Since 2003 Trepper has built one of the busiest touring schedules in German-speaking kabarett, with around 275 live shows per year across Germany, Austria and Switzerland and 22 solo stage programmes to date. His material moves between his Ruhrgebiet upbringing, working-class politics, an affectionate-but-savage takedown of German Schlager music, and socially critical and literary themes - a hybrid of stand-up and traditional Kabarett. He performed for two seasons in the musical Kein Pardon by Hape Kerkeling and Thomas Hermanns at the Capitol-Theater D眉sseldorf in 2011/12. He is a recurring guest on German prime-time talk shows including Inas Nacht on Das Erste, where his joint appearance with Helge Schneider on episode 91 (December 19, 2015) is one of the show's most-watched. He has also released studio comedy albums and DVDs of his stage programmes. In 2026 he plays an extended run as part of his Tour 2026 at the Schmidt Theater in Hamburg, the venue that originally launched him.
Wolfgang Trepper tours Germany, Austria and Switzerland year-round and is a fixture of NRW kabarett. Current tour dates including the Tour 2026 Schmidt Theater Hamburg run are listed on his official website wolfgang-trepper.de and at the Tivoli/Schmidt Theater. Talk-show appearances on Inas Nacht and other ARD/ZDF formats are available via the public broadcaster media libraries.
Videos (3)
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Frequently asked questions
Where is Wolfgang Trepper from?
Wolfgang Trepper was born on May 9, 1961, in Rheinhausen, now part of Duisburg in the Ruhrgebiet. That blue-collar background is the bedrock of his gruff, direct, working-class stage persona.
What language does Wolfgang Trepper perform in?
Trepper performs in German and tours Germany, Austria and Switzerland year-round as a fixture of NRW kabarett.
When did Wolfgang Trepper become a full-time comedian?
He started very late. Only in 2003, after a debut at the Schmidt-Theater in Hamburg where director Corny Littmann told him to quit radio and go on tour, did he become a full-time stage cabaret artist.
What did Wolfgang Trepper do before cabaret?
Through the 1990s he was a sports executive, and from 1992 he was the first full-time handball manager in Germany at OSC Rheinhausen. He co-hosted the satirical radio show Streichzart on Radio Duisburg from 1997 to 2002 and was the station's chief editor from 1998 until June 2007.
What are Wolfgang Trepper's shows about?
His material moves between his Ruhrgebiet upbringing, working-class politics, an affectionate but savage takedown of German Schlager music, and socially critical and literary themes, a hybrid of stand-up and traditional Kabarett.
Did Wolfgang Trepper appear in a musical?
Yes. For two seasons he performed in Kein Pardon, the musical by Hape Kerkeling and Thomas Hermanns, at the Capitol-Theater D眉sseldorf in 2011/12.
Which talk shows has Wolfgang Trepper been on?
He is a recurring guest on German prime-time talk shows, including Inas Nacht on Das Erste, where one of his appearances was alongside Helge Schneider.
Comedians similar to Wolfgang Trepper
Same comedic style, across countries
