Amsterdam, February 2012
Armando Ianucci
Armando Ianucci

Dear Armando Iannucci,

My name is Micha Wertheim. You probably don’t know who I am, but I write for Free Netherlands. Last month I sent you two requests for interviews, but so far I have not heard from you. Do you know Free Netherlands? It’s a Dutch magazine somewhat like The Green One. Free Netherlands got its name in the Second World War and they never took time to think of a new one.

This week’s issue revolves around satire and so the editor asked me to write something special. But since I try to write satire every week I thought the best thing for me was to try and not be funny and reflect on satire. The best way to do that, I thought, was to interview you.

Whenever an interviewer asks me who my comic heroes are, I give them your name. But they never know who you are, so your name never makes it into the interview. What they want me to say, of course, is that I am very much influenced by Freak The Young One. Have you ever...