Joost Spijkers

Joost Spijkers (born June 23, 1977 in Herkenbosch) is a Dutch stand-up cabaretier, singer and actor. A graduate of the Amsterdam Kleinkunstacademie (2000), he is a founding member of the variety-cabaret quartet Ashton Brothers since 2001 and a celebrated solo theater maker who won the Annie M.G. Schmidt Prize 2021 for the song Welkom thuis.

Spijkers met Pim Muda, Pepijn Gunneweg and Friso van Vemde Oudejans at the Kleinkunstacademie; the four debuted as the Ashton Brothers in 2001 with 'De tragiek van de onderman' and have toured ever since with shows that strongly reference traditional variety theater. Since 2015 he has also performed solo with a five-piece band, debuting with 'Spijkers' (2015), followed by 'Spijkers II' (2017, awarded the Poelifinario 2018), 'Hotel Spijkers' (2021) and 'Spijkerpaleis' (2023, directed by Titus Tiel Groenestege with lyrics by Peer Wittenbols). His 2015 debut earned an Annie M.G. Schmidt Prize nomination, and in 2022 he won the 30th Annie M.G. Schmidt Prize 2021 for Welkom thuis from Hotel Spijkers; the song Twee duiven from Spijkerpaleis was nominated for the 2023 edition. Spijkers' work blends music theater, kleinkunst, melancholy chanson, romance and raw comedy.

Joost Spijkers continues to tour Spijkerpaleis through the 2025/2026 season, with ticket pre-sales for the new season opened in June. Dates run at venues including De Kleine Komedie Amsterdam, PHIL Haarlem, Theater de Voorveghter and Schouwburg Lochem. Tour information is on joostspijkers.nl.