Shapiro PePijn Host Review
Greg Shapiro – Pepijn’s Comedy Club Host – Reviewed by ArtsTalk Magazine
6 November, 2025
This season I’m returning as the programmer and host of PePijn’s Comedy Club in The Hague. And we just got another great review!
Some highlights from ArtsTalk Magazine:
“Comedy is a funny thing …This was demonstrated last night at the PePijn comedy club in The Hague.”
“The evening was MC’d by …the ever suave Greg Shapiro. …His relaxed, easy-going style got everyone in the mood.”
“There was a lot of interaction ..it was always good natured and created a really good, friendly atmosphere and everybody had a good night out.”
https://artstalkmagazine.substack.com/p/stand-up-comedy-in-english-at-theater
I’ve been doing this gig since 2022, and I think I’m getting good at it. But I can’t claim credit… There’s such a wealth of talented English language standup in the Netherlands! And more and more, there are professional traveling comedians passing through. It’s hard NOT to create an excellent lineup every month.
I try to aim for diversity in my lineups. When the host is always a white guy (me), it’s easy to fall into the trap of having yet another standup night dominated by white dudes. And if they’re funny, they’re funny. But why not look a little harder? There are a lot of diverse voices who are not only hilarious, but they bring this variety of perspectives and life experience to the show. To my mind, that is what makes it worthy of Theater PePijn.
In the past, I have had a bisexual Afghan/Dutch comedian (finalist of the Dutch Camaretten awards), an Egyptian woman who works for an EU think tank, a Ukrainian refugee, and a former dominatrix.
This past month I had Ram Adithya Arangi (India), Kaili Smith (Australia) and Sharon Em (Irish), whose solo show was nominated for best debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Our next show will be on 26 November. This time I do have another white American male on the lineup. But it’s Matt Castellvi, whose comedy chops are legendary. I also have Faris Abusada, who is Palestinian, Christian and hilarious. And then there’s the Persian-American Cid Clementine, who is also intrumental in creating an English-language scene in The Hague.
Want to come?
PEPIJN’S COMEDY CLUB IN ENGLISH
https://www.diligentia-pepijn.nl/theme/pepijns-comedy-club-t7gc
See our previous review from 2024:
