Robert Spaapen grew up in Cambridge, England. At an early age he was impressed by leading English comedians like Rowan Atkinson en Stephen Fry, who, as students, were performing in small theatres.Spaapen studied in Leyden, The Netherlands, and formed the comedy duo Basterd with Onno Innemee. They ...
Robert Spaapen grew up in Cambridge, England. At an early age he was impressed by leading English comedians like Rowan Atkinson en Stephen Fry, who, as students, were performing in small theatres.
Spaapen studied in Leyden, The Netherlands, and formed the comedy duo Basterd with Onno Innemee. They won prizes at the Amsterdam Kleinkunstfestival 1991.
Robert worked as a comedian, director and scriptwriter for television shows, but couldn’t ignore his English roots. He decided to become a stand up comedian and joined the Dutch Comedytrain.
His alias dr. Howard Beckman was born when he was invited to perform at the annual meeting of KPN, a Dutch telecom company. With his tailored fake speeches he has fooled many international managers and politicians. English humour at its best!
"His messages resonated deeply with the team—both those present in the room and those joining online. Francesco managed to keep everyone engaged and captivated throughout the session, blending insight with energy in a way that sparked meaningful discussion and reflection. The preparation upfront also helped sharpen and adapt some of the messages based on the audience and our own challenges. I really appreciated how Francesco listen to our challenges and integrated then in a very natural way in his speech.
We greatly appreciate your guidance in orienting us towards Francesco. It made a real difference, and the feedback from the team has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic."
"Very many thanks for giving such an excellent and very funny speech at our Annual Diner on Friday.
You could tell from the audience reaction how much they enjoyed it and what a difference it made to the overall enjoyment of the ocassion."