Expat Life Tag

November 6, 2025 In Blog

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:

Shapiro Comedy Review Pepijn

October 28, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro Comedy Specials

Greg Shapiro Comedy Specials – Now in One Place

28 October, 2025

Bad news: My comedy specials don’t exist on any streaming platform where you can watch them all the way through.

Good news: your attention span probably isn’t that long. The upshot: Hello, YouTube!

I am lucky enough – and just plain old enough – to have eight solo shows, and currently four comedy specials.
The YouTube playlists are here:

https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-previous-comedy-shows

Coming soon: LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2

Soon I’ll be uploading my latest comedy special Leaving Trumpland 2, in time for the 1-year anniversary of Trump’s re-election.
That playlist is here:
LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2.0 – YOUTUBE

More ‘Previous Comedy Specials’ :

ListPusher (2022) is the story of how I joined Dutch politics, as a symbolic candidate. But for which party? Watch…

The Madness of King Donald (2019) is my 5th solo show, following up on the success of my Trump voice in the ‘Netherlands Second’ video from Zondag met Lubach.

Superburger (2012) is my 3rd solo show, subtitled ‘The Man with Split Nationalities.’ This one features my classic Standup piece on the Dutch national anthem.

How to Be Orange (2010), subtitled “making Dutch people take their own assimilation exam.” In 2010. That show was recorded as a comedy special for Dutch broadcaster VARA. With the last gasp of public broadcast money before the dramatic cuts from the Dutch government – the first time Geert Wilders was in power. This one has the first of my ‘Dutch product names’ bits.

The other shows

My first ever solo show was Going Dutch in 2006. It’s somewhere on YouTube, but the video isn’t good enough to call it a comedy special.

+ The solo show that got away…. My 4th solo show was 2014’s Part-Time Hypocrite. But after I recorded it, the production company went bankrupt and their files – aka my files – were deleted. SO I’m re-staging that show and uploading it in 2026!

October 20, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro Hosts Inclusivity25

Greg Shapiro Hosts ‘Inclusivity 25’ for Hello Zuidas, September 2025

20 October, 2025

“We need someone to host our Diversity event in Amsterdam. Who should we get?” A WHITE GUY?!

Yes. As host of INCLUSIVITY 25 for Amsterdam’s Zuidas business community, I knew my job was to make the event a conversation. I literally passed the mic to as many diverse voices as possible. I used my loud American persona to encourage people to share their own perspectives. And it worked! I “broke the fourth wall.” At the office space known as The Edge – Stadium.

As I found out, maybe my white maleness was useful. Maybe it helps to indeed have a white guy arguing for more diversity. In my solo show Leaving Trumpland 2, I talked about Kamala Harris, and I talked about my experience working for a Black woman as my manager. After the show, I heard from many women – and people of color. Their take was “Thank you for talking about it. When we bring it up, people think we’re whining. When you bring it up, it’s harder to ignore.”

These days the US government is anti “DEI.” My message was “without ‘Diversity Equity and Inclusion,’ you’re at a disadvantage. Without DEI, your organization will D.I.E.” (but seriously, next time make me co-host.)

A Diversity Pub Quiz for Your Organization

My part of the event was organized by Hello Zuidas. The main event was a Pub Quiz with 10 different categories, from ‘Gender Gap’ to ‘Age Gap’ to ‘Digital Inclusivity.’ At the end of the event, the organizers provided the 50 questions in the form of a deck of cards – for people to use if they wanted to host their own pub quiz for their own organization. I still have one deck left over, if you want one.

Thank you to the sponsors and initiators. Thanks to Hello Zuidas for producing the flashy video. And thanks to Elisa Schouten for bringing me on and helping prepare the quiz questions!

Hello Zuidas “Inclusivity 25”
https://en.hellozuidas.com/nieuws/inclusivity-25-let-s-celebrate-together-682489578a151554da037d47

Greg’s Blog piece on working for a woman of color as his manager (Amber Ruffin)!
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/shapiro-improv-tim-walz/

October 17, 2025 In Blog

Funny Faux-King Protest Signs

Funny Faux-King Protest Signs – Shapiro’s fave No Kings protest posters

17 October, 2025

Tomorrow it’s time for another round of “No Kings” marches, to protest the USA’s rapid descent into dictatorship. Here are some of my favorite signs and posters from the last protest in June.

(Correction: In the Netherlands, the protest is called “No Tyrants” – because Dutch people generally like King Willem Alexander. When the King hosted Trump in June for the NATO summit, it was Queen Maxima who snuck a cheeky Trump impression to a side camera. Or maybe her face was stuck that way from so much ass-kissing.)

Mockery is power. Stephen Miller and his ICE-capades would like nothing more than to make flashy videos of their masked vigilantes mowing down evil-doers. But when the troops are facing off against protesters dressed in frog costumes and giant poop emojis, it sure ruins their narrative.

In June of 2025, I went to the Amsterdam “No Tyrants” protest with a sign saying “Tiny Dictator.”

I thought I would leave it at that, because – kids. But then this guy had the same idea and hit it a bit more on the nose: “Dick Traitor.”

This one was PG-13 and right on topic: “no faux king way.”

Here’s a poster portraying Donnie as a drag queen, saying “Bitch, please.”

And yes there were people of all ages. Here’s a US veteran with a sign saying “now you’ve pissed off grandma.”

That one was my favorite. Until I saw this little puppy with the clear winner: “unleash the resistance.”

(But seriously, leash your dog. Stay peaceful and stay legal.)

Some of my other favorite protest signs from around the world said:
“Elect a rapist, expect to get f**ked,” “you sucked in Home Alone 2,”

and “Trump is the worst president since Trump.”

The website “No Kings Protest Near Me” –
https://nokingsmovement.com/pages/no-kings-day-protest

Review of Greg Shapiro’s 2024 solo show Leaving Trumpland 2
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/theater-reviews-leaving-trumpland/

August 8, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro New York Times Quote

Greg Shapiro Quoted in New York Times article “English-Language Stand-Up Is Taking Off in Europe. No Joke.”

(excerpt from article by Nina Siegal)
Reporting from Berlin and Amsterdam
Published Aug. 7, 2025

Click here for gift article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/arts/english-language-stand-up-europe.html?unlocked_article_code=1.cU8.w_pV.HlIYp6TSRV-b&smid=em-share

Nina Siegal:

“These comics have to navigate culture clashes and social stereotypes. The key, they say, is to make fun of your own nationality first.”

“…The audience for English-language comedy is growing in Europe, in part because European cities are teeming with foreigners who use English as a lingua franca and want to connect through laughter. After the Covid-19 pandemic, many people who had been stuck at home watching Netflix comedy specials and YouTube clips suddenly craved a live experience.”

“To succeed as an English-language comedian in Berlin, Amsterdam or Barcelona — or in the smaller scenes in Bratislava, Slovakia; Krakow, Poland; or Prague — performers must navigate language barriers, culture clashes and social stereotypes. Jokes that resonate often strike a delicate balance, poking fun at the comedian’s country of origin while gently sending up the customs of their adopted home.”

“It is not always an easy balancing act. ‘The rule of thumb is to make fun of your own nationality first,’ said Greg Shapiro, a Chicago-born comedian who has been living in the Netherlands since 1994, and who performs English-language improv and stand-up for a living.
‘If you make fun of yourself first, you gain this permission to hold up a mirror to Dutch society,’ he explained. ‘Just first show that you’re self-aware.’ “

ALSO MENTIONED:

Thanks, Nina! Also Nina gives some shout-outs to Amsterdam regulars Matt Castellvi, Ronan Brosnan & Derek Scott Mitchell. As well as name-checks to Nira Tal, Sjoerd Scott & Roger Bak.

And – there’s a growing English-language comedy scene in The Hague. Here’s me performing at the monthly PePijn’s Comedy Club in The Hague (not in NYT article). Yes, I’ll be programming and hosting again this season.

PS – full disclosure: Nina Siegal was my editor at Time Out Amsterdam. I am her fan. She is the author of the amazing book The Diary Keepers, which follows the diary entries of six Dutch people through the second world war in Amsterdam.

That said, here are

GREG SHAPIRO UPCOMING COMEDY SHOWS:
https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-upcoming-comedy-shows/

March 9, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro Hosts NAF Gala

Shapiro Hosts NAF Gala

When you need a host for the Netherland America Foundation, you call Greg Shapiro: the American Netherlander. I grew up in America first, and I moved to the Netherlands second. The Netherland America Foundation – “NAF” – is a wonderful charity that helps Dutch & American students subsidize their higher education. (As of 2025, it might have to deal with way more US students moving over here…)

For years, New York had the only gala fundraiser! But now the NAF have started organizing galas in the Netherlands. I hosted the first one, in Leiden. In the Pieterskerk (where the Pilgrims came from). There were Dutch royals in attendance. It was all very formal. There were flags and anthems and honor guards. But the main event was the fundraising. And we set a new record! (Mostly because it was the first one.)

In 2024, I was asked to host the NAF gala again. This time the location was on Amsterdam’s Dam Square at the “Industrial Club” – where you still cannot get in without a suit and a tie. Luckily, I had my tuxedo.

I was to host the dinner in a crowded room. A very crowded room. I was told that they had to choose between a stage for me, or extra seats for wealthy money donor people. Actually, it was not a choice. It was a fait accompli. Would I still be willing to do it? I said yes. Charity is the star of the show, not me.

Off the Rails

After dinner, the event relocated to the bar downstairs. The special guest – all the way from Philadelphia – was the legendary soul trio called The Three Degrees! They’re known for their hit songs ‘Dirty Old Man’ (40 years before ‘Me Too’) and ‘When Will I See You Again.’

Backstage, I learned that two of them were originals, and one was a daughter. …sorry: GRANDdaughter. Their hits were in the 70’s and so were these singers. PLUS, they had just flown over from the United States. AND it was almost midnight.

They had a great set! The crowd was loving it. They closed with their hit ‘When Will I See You Again.’ Then I was told to go back onstage and announce an encore. I built up the crowd, I waved my arm, I said “Here they are!” But they did not come back. I laughed out loud. They literally ended on ‘When Will I See You Again?’ The answer is: we will never know.

BUT the good news is: I may be back to host another NAF gala for 2025. As the US / EU alliance is being torn apart, we need organizations like the Netherland America Foundation more than ever.

The Netherland America Foundation
https://thenaf.org/

Greg Shapiro Corporate Events
https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-corporate-events/

February 25, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro ‘Europa Draait Door’

Greg Shapiro Trump Commentary for Amerika Draait Door Event at De Kleine Komedie (for Europa Draait Door)

event: 12 October, 2024

You may know Dutch journalists Tim de Wit & Arend Jan Boekestijn from their podcast ‘Europa Draait Door.’ (aka Europe is “going crazy.”) In the run-up to the craziest of US elections, they organized a one-off event called ‘Amerika Draait Door,’ aka “America Is Going Crazy.” And they invited me for some comedy commentary. Together with America correspondent Michiel Vos, they predicted it: Trump would win the 2024 election. I predicted Trump would get 20-24 years in prison. (I was wrong.)

The evening began at Amsterdam’s De Kleine Komedie with flags and campaign banners and the journalists’ advice: it’s never safe to bet against Donald Trump. Michiel Vos joined in to agree. Mind you, Michiel Vos is famously married to the daughter of Nancy Pelosi. Apparently he follows the family party line on politics. But boy does he get excited when he talks about Donald Trump’s star quality: “Trump is a bad ass. It’s like the bullets bounce off of him. Americans see him as invincible.” + “Too many Americans are struggling to get by. Living paycheck to paycheck, constantly shocked and upset at hidden costs for every little thing. Americans want a disruptor. They want someone who’s gonna tear it all down if necessary. That’s why they will vote for Donald Trump.”

Greg Goes Against the Grain

The panel predicted a Trump win. Arend-Jan made his prediction by putting on a Make America Great Again hat. (I couldn’t help feeling like that hat will at some point be seen as a symbol of hate. Like, if these guys had to predict “who would win World War II,” he’d be putting on a swastika hat.)

At the end, it was my turn – to make fun of all the candidates. I pointed out that Trump is now older than Joe Biden was when he started as president. Next, I talked about Project 2025 being written by a bunch of religious fanatics. When Dutch people ask me, “Where did they come from?” I say: “You sent them! The Pilgrims, in 1620!”

Dutch people keep asking me, “You don’t really think Trump will be a fascist – ?” And it’s true, the United States has never had fascists take over the country. …But in the Netherlands you have! Not that long ago. Thank goodness it was over quickly – and that’s the best hope I have for the US now.

I ended my bit by giving a fake Trump press conference. Taking questions and giving ridiculous answers. Most answers were simply me repeating Trump’s actual quotes.

I made my prediction by amending the Trump campaign sign from ‘Trump 2024’ to ‘Trump 20- 24’ years in prison. …It was a simpler time.

Of course, no one had thought to discuss the very end of the show. So I dragged everyone up front for a photo op and a big bow.

Full house! Great show. Accurate predictions and accurate title: America is going crazy.

Europa Draait Door
https://www.nporadio1.nl/podcasts/europa-draait-door

Read Reviews for Greg Shapiro’s Leaving Trumpland 2.0: No Country for Old Men
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/theater-reviews-leaving-trumpland/

February 20, 2025 In Blog

Greg Shapiro FD Persoonlijk

Greg Shapiro in FD Persoonlijk: “I’d Rather be Trump-free Than Wealthy.”
26 September, 2024

Interview: Els Quaegebeur, Photos: Yani (translation: Google)

The American Dutch comedian Greg Shapiro swore never to imitate Donald Trump again. Yet Trump is back, and Shapiro is now back on stage with a Trump show. For him, it helps to have an outlet.

The energy that the Dutch American Greg Shapiro spreads around on stage can also be seen when he’s in his Amsterdam kitchen. Fast talking, alternating between Dutch and English. Often laughing, even in the middle of a sentence. He displays a variety of facial expressions, from cartoonish to ironically amused – even about topics that are clearly going in a serious direction.

Shapiro’s striking Trump imitation – known from the ‘Netherlands Second’ viral video – pops up in conversation as he’s making coffee. Shapiro – who first came to Amsterdam in 1994 to join the Amsterdam-based comedy group Boom Chicago – hoped to be rid of Trump when he stood on stage for a small audience in 2020, due to the corona pandemic. With his solo show Leaving Trumpland. But Trump is back, and now comes the sequel, Leaving Trumpland 2.0: No Country for Old Men.

With the Democrats’ changing of the guard [from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris in July], Shapiro had to adapt and rewrite in a hurry. “Within a few weeks I had to write 60 minutes of new material. Constantly walking around with a voice recorder and a notebook. Trying a lot of material in open mics and self-booked tryouts. And also testing jokes at home.”

He looks at his wife, Inez de Goede (who is also the producer of the show and his tour manager) grinning “just ask her, haha.”

Q: Does Trump also have something that you find admirable?

“Trump is fundamentally an entertainer. You can’t underestimate how much that appeals to American voters. So yes, I give Trump credit for his qualities as basically a Roast Comedian. At an age when most people retire, he reinvented himself as this hateful, political-tirade live act. As a comedian, I recognize a few of his techniques: Storytelling, voice imitation, playing an audience. He is extremely good at it.”

Q: On stage, you’re always busy with Trump as the target, but you’re also an American citizen with the right to vote. How does that affect you?

“As a voter, comedy is a kind of therapy. Even though I’ve lived in the Netherlands for 30 years, I follow the elections closely. It helps to have an outlet, a platform where I’m together with an audience that is also a bit concerned. After a performance, I’ll go out and talk to the folks who saw the show. One guy just told tell me how he heard me doing my Trump imitation, making him look ridiculous – but then realized that’s an actual Trump quote. It helped him realize how insane it would be to put him back in power. That is therapeutic for me.”

Read the full interview here:
ttps://fd.nl/samenleving/1534765/greg-shapiro-ik-ben-trump-liever-kwijt-dan-rijk-ook-als-comedian

Theater Reviews for Shapiro’s Leaving Trumpland: No Country for Old Men:
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/theater-reviews-leaving-trumpland/

February 12, 2025 In Blog

Shapiro EditieNL ‘Going Dutch’

Greg Shapiro Comments on new US tv show ‘Going Dutch’ – for RTL ‘Editie NL‘

31 January, 2025

It was a Thursday when my wife informed me there’s a new TV show in America called ‘Going Dutch,’ about a US Army colonel who’s punished by being sent to the least important army base in the world – in the Netherlands.

On Friday morning I got a phone call from Dutch news show to ask if I would want to comment on some clips from the show. I said yes!

I started watching a clip of the first episode. It opens on a graphic saying ‘Camp Stroopsdorf.’ Fun fact: dorf is German; Dutch is dorp. Right away I could tell: “They don’t know the Netherlands.”

As it turns out, there IS one US Army base in Limburg, right next to the German border. And it is tiny! Wouldn’t it be fun to set a tv show there and investigate the subtle quirks of Dutch culture? OR – just trot out the usual stereotypes and get half wrong?

Yes, we open on a flat terrain (typically Dutch). There are people playing frisbee (not typically Dutch). There are people on bikes, there are windmills, and there are tulips – which appear to be added by CGI. When the Colonel inspects the base, he comes across a communal lack of respect for authority. This trait might be the most accurate depiction of Dutch culture so far.

Then the Colonel confronts a young man playing a video game in the recreation center. He says “I like the medals on your uniform” – in a comically German accent.

That Ted Lasso Feeling

The whole thing makes me think of the Ted Lasso formula. It’s a classic ‘fish out of water’ set-up. In fact Ted Lasso featured a whole episode that took place in Amsterdam… But they really came to Amsterdam to tape it. And the creator of the show, Brendan Hunt, really lived in Amsterdam for five years. And he worked with us at Boom Chicago.

Even Quentin Tarantino – when he wrote that scene in Pulp Fiction about Amsterdam and the hash bars and the ‘Royale with Cheese’ – Tarantino came to Amsterdam to do his research.

I don’t know who’s writing this show Going Dutch for FOX channel in America. But if you get a season 2, please come over and I’ll show you around.

The link on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/eCfqvTd1Jaw

I guess EditieNL just calls me every time something about ‘Going Dutch’ is in the news. Here’s me talking about the Dutch app Tikkie:
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/greg-shapiro-editienl-going-dutch/

October 28, 2024 In Blog

Greg Shapiro Playboy Interview

Dutch American Comedian Greg Shapiro PLAYBOY INTERVIEW – 20 Questions with the American Netherlander

28 October, 2024

This past summer, I got interviewed by the Dutch Playboy Magazine for my solo show LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2.0: No Country for Old Men. Here is an excerpt.
Interview by Femke Zijlema

When did you discover that you can imitate Trumps voice so well?

Yeah, why am I blessed with the voice of a man who is so bad for society? Back in 2016 at Boom Chicago, we did a show called Trump Up the Volume. We’d thought that I would imitate Hillary & my partner Pep Rosenfeld would do Trump. But Hillary reminded Pep of his mother, so he wanted to try her. As soon as I became Trump I guess something magical happened, I heard it myself. In 2018 I was in Theater Carré for the 25th anniversary of Boom Chicago – with Arjen Lubach doing a Q & A on stage, and I answered as Trump. Arjen said “it’s like Trump is here.” Weird.

Are you familiar with ADHD?

Everyone who has ever worked with me, they know that my brain is all over the place all the time. It’s been this way my whole life, but I’ve never been officially diagnosed with ADD or anything. Oddly enough this condition seems to help my brain improvise as Trump. Last year my colleague former colleague outed me as neurodivergent on stage. And it was Seth Meyers. Someone asked him what he remembers about his first day in Amsterdam in 1997. He said “I remember this guy Greg Shapiro picked me up from the airport, and he was supposed to give me a crash course in living and working in Amsterdam. But while he was good at telling me the first half of everything I needed to know, by the second half he would get distracted and talk about something totally different.”

What’s your connection to Playboy?

Playboy has its roots in my hometown of Chicago. I never was into nudie pics in Playboy magazine, but everyone knew that Hugh Hefner had his mansion on the Gold Coast. And his Playboy tower still stands right there by Oak St. Beach. Back in the day, my dad was a photographer, and he was invited to one of the parties at Hefner‘s mansion. Back in the 80s, when you would think I’d be looking at the magazine for the pictures, I was already aware that there was also comedy, essays. Comedians were getting hired to write for that magazine.

Home is?

Amsterdam. America not really.

Is your family in America already making plans to migrate?

When I first moved over here, my family kept asking, “when are you coming back to the United States?” Now that Donald Trump might become President again, they’re asking, “what is life like in the Netherlands? Is it affordable? Is there enough housing?” I tell them: “No! ‘Full is full’!”

Read the full interview here: (in Dutch)
https://playboy.nl/interviews

Tickets to Greg Shapiro’s LEAVING TRUMPLAND:
https://gregshapiro.nl/greg-shapiro-theater-tour/