Kees Torn is a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 text writer and comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 performer.

Torn started his cabaret performance in 1991, when he was studying at the Willem de Kooning Academy

Willem de Kooning Academy

The Willem de Kooning Academy is a Dutch Academy of art and design based in Rotterdam and named in memory of the famous Dutch artist Willem de Kooning.- Overview :...

 in Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

. As "Kees en Ik" (Kees and I), he performed quite a successful show with fellow student Gerrie Hondius. In 1994 he made his official solo-debut with the show "Laat maar laaien". Torn is known for his old fashioned style of comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 performance, which consists largely of songs and poems. Torn prefers to write about whisky

Whisky

Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...

, cigar

Cigar

A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...

s and love.

Prizes and nominations

• 1991: "Groningen Studentencabaret Festival": personality prize (Kees & Ik)
• 1994: "Leids Cabaret Festival": jury- and audience-prize
• 1996: "Werftheaterprijs"
• 1997: Conamus-supportprize
• 1998 (or 1999?): Annie M.G. Schmidtprize
• 2005: Nominated for "Neerlands Hoop"
• 2007: Won VSCD Poelifinario 2006-2007

Shows

• 1995: "Laat maar laaien"
• 1996: "Als ik het niet dacht"
• 1998: "Plek Zat" (Room enough)
• 2001: "Mooie boel" (Nice mess)
• 2002: "In de gloria"
• 2004: "Doe mee en win"
• 2006: "Dood en verderf" (Destruction and death)
• 2009: "Einde verhaal" (End of story)