The 7 Deadly Dutch Sins

Believe me or not, this Dutch weather is making me depressed, both physically and mentally. With the heavy rain and the strong wind, I find it hard to convince myself to set even one foot outside of my door (into the hallway of my apartment building). Unfortunately, last November, my friend in Amsterdam told me about this comedy group called Boom Chicago and talked me into buying a coupon to see one of their shows. I’ve been saving that coupon because of the bad weather and a busy schedule, until this week when I realized the coupon is going to be expired in February. So I grabbed my phone and booked to see one of their most famous shows “The 7 Deadly Dutch Sins”.

Is there any other better way to fight bad Dutch weather than listening to three Americans making jokes of Dutch people? Probably no. Boom Chicago’s theater is one of those places which makes you realize that Amsterdam is truly a metropolis with people from every corner of the world. Surprisingly enough, on such a cold winter night, many Dutch people and tourists and expatriates gathered together for a comedy show. Impressing.

The 7 deadly Dutch sins, according to the three comedians, Lolu Ajayi, Pep Rosenfeld and Jim Woods, are respectively 1. low standards 2. too practical 3. swearing 4. food 5. scooter 6. birthday parties and 7. language. (I have to admit that some of the Dutch I know fit into one or two of these sins, like boring Dutch parties and their practicality.) I cannot reenact their jokes of all the seven parts for you, but what I can tell you is that I laughed so hard last night. The part I enjoyed the most was when they invited Dutch people from the audience on to the stage and improvised the show with them.

Personally speaking, the show is kind of judgmental and stereotypical (like most comedy shows). Obviously, not all the Dutch people are the “sinners”. But walking out of the theater, I saw everyone had happy faces and no one was offended. Hey, it’s just a comedy show that is supposed to make you laugh. Don’t take it too seriously and have fun. I think this is the golden rule of watching comedies – comedy comes first, then the serious stuff. Just like what I said to my friend, as a comedy lover and a Chinese, I don’t really care about racist jokes as along as they are good ones; but if they suck, then f**k you dude!

(If you would like to see their shows, please visit http://www.boomchicago.nl/ for more information.)