Gayle Tufts

In the organizer's words:

Gayle Tufts wins the Wilhelmshaven cabaret prize "Knurrhahn" 2026
First award for the American-German entertainer
The Wilhelmshaven cabaret prize Knurrhahn 2026 goes to Gayle Tufts. The award ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 7:30 pm at the Pumpwerk cultural center in Wilhelmshaven. The award will go to the program "Please don't stop the music", which Gayle Tufts performed at the Pumpwerk in May 2025 and caused a long-lasting standing ovation.
"It was absolutely time for Gayle to win an award and with this latest program Gayle shows all her facets that make her so unique and enchanting," said Mirco Wenzel, director of the Festival of Cabaret in Wilhelmshaven and chairman of the jury. In the program "Please don`t stop the music" Gayle Tufts tells, sings and dances about 7 decisive nights in her life - lively, clever, open and heartfelt, seriously funny and funny serious. The fact that Gayle's program doesn't fit into one box, but can slip into many, is highly praised here in Wilhelmshaven as a special quality. She is a singer, writer, author of her own songs, dancer, storyteller and the star of her own life musical. She is congenially accompanied and complemented by her pianist, stage partner, arranger and composer Marian Lux. She has also paved the way for many other female cabaret artists, comedians and singers. Galye Tuft was the first to follow many formative and now self-evident paths. She was the first woman in the Quatsch Comedy Club. She was the first to introduce Dinglish - the distinctive mixture of German and English - to the comedy format. She has been working with her biography from the very beginning - something that was not a matter of course in Germany for a long time. She dances and sings, changes her outfits and delights every audience. She mixes cultures, languages and genres - music, comedy and choreography in such a unique and outstanding way that the Kleinkunstpreis jury could not help but award the prize to Gayle Tufts in 2026.

The Wilhelmshavener Knurrhahn is a very special cabaret prize in the German cabaret scene. It is awarded to all artists from the cabaret genre who have performed in Wilhelmshaven in a given year and whose overall program is exceptional, professional and trend-setting. The prize is awarded for the complete program and not just a selection. This is why the festival lasts a full 12 months. Since 1986, the prize has been awarded to Gardi Hutter (Switzerland), Sven Ratzke (Netherlands), Volker Pispers (Germany) and Neville Tranter (Australia), among others. The prize honors the complete work of an artist. The award's namesake, the gurnard, with its characteristic of spending a large part of its life at the bottom of the sea, symbolizes a characteristic of cabaret, namely "getting to the bottom of things in life". Moreover, its appearance is more bristly than pleasing. What sets it apart, despite its prickly appearance, is its delicate taste, which only comes into its own when it is skillfully prepared. It is the same with cabaret: only if the production is skillful, original and full of ideas is it a pleasure for the audience.

Further information on the Kleinkunstpreis:
The "Wilhelmshavener Knurrhahn" - cabaret prize of the city of Wilhelmshaven - was first awarded in 1986. The Knurrhahn is awarded to artists from the cabaret sector who have performed at the Pumpwerk. Previous winners have come from Australia, Belgium, the former GDR, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany. The "Wilhelmshavener Knurrhahn" is one of the most prestigious and important cabaret prizes in the German-speaking world. It is endowed with 2,500 euros and a weighty bronze sculpture of the "Knurrhahn", which was designed by the Wilhelmshaven artist Dr. Hartmut Wiesner. With its characteristic of spending a large part of its life at the bottom of the sea, the award's namesake, the gurnard, symbolizes a characteristic of small-scale art, namely "getting to the bottom of things in life". Moreover, its appearance is more bristly than pleasing. What sets it apart, despite its prickly appearance, is its delicate taste, which only comes into its own when it is skillfully prepared. It is the same with cabaret: only if the production is skillful, original and full of ideas is it a pleasure for the audience.

Further information about the event:
In the presence of Dr. Stela Dujakovic, Head of the Cultural Office of the City of Wilhelmshaven, and Mr. Holger Sothmann, Chairman of the Board of Sparkasse Wilhelmshaven, the award ceremony will take place in the Pumpwerk cultural center with a bronze Knurrhahn sculpture and certificate. Each visitor will receive a welcome champagne on the red carpet. The event begins at 19:30 with the presentation of the award to the artist. The regular program will then be played from around 20:00. After the event, at around 22:00, the artist and the audience are invited to a get-together in the Pumpwerk Club!