Gig review by Steve Bennett at Soho Theatre

Already a successful comic in Germany, Michael Mittermeier continues his advances on the UK with this London run of his sophomore Edinburgh show. Though you might wonder, in the kindest possible way, why he’s here. He cheekily starts the gig in German and gets huge laughs, and when he asks if there are British people in, fewer than half a dozen hands shoot up. Even allowing for English reserve, that’s a very small minority. He might as well just target the expats.

But thankfully, he’s a fully committed supporter of Eddie Izzard’s desire to see a single European market in stand-up, and this assured second-language show is a welcome contribution to the cause.

National stereotyping is, as you might expect, a big part of it. Yes, he does mention the war – he knows how to press the British buttons – and when a heckler shouts out ’66’ his disdain for a 49-year-old sporting triumph is delicious. One cliche he certainly lives up to is being efficient, with a show that harnesses the best in German engineering to dependably deliver the laughs,

Greeks are profligate, Americans dumb, French insouciant Gallois-puffers, the Japanese obedient pack animals – all dutifully mimicked. But you could write dissertations on why his cod-Japanese accent doesn’t sit quite so easily on the ears as the others, especially as it’s not ‘punching down’ at weaker culture.

Mittermeier also lives up to the Teutonic archetype in liking information. His examination of why Germans have the undeserved reputation for humourlessness goes into the peculiarities of his national wit - the finer points of which go down better in front of a comedy audience than they did with a US Immigration expert. There’s also mention of the Red Army Faction, in an attempt to educate the audience about post-1945 German history. And you’ll learn the odd peculiar fact about the USS Enterprise or an obscure (to the Brits) American painter.

Das Blackout refers to several things, including drinking into oblivion – on which topic he relates an inspired practical joke – of finding himself in New York during a power cut and fearing a zombie apocalypse; and of the Austrian nuclear power plant never actually commissioned. These are told with a great physicality, especially as he takes the form of the drunk or the undead, but even when he’s just talking, he’s fluid and dynamic, bringing his material to vibrant life.

Only once does language - or rather accent – become an issue. ‘I can’t tell the difference between "horse" and "horse",’ he tells us.. but it’s only some way into the next routine that the penny drops that the second thing was probably ‘whores’. A couple of his routines are a little pedestrian, but overall Mittermeier is a much sharper English-speaking comedian than when he first made his debut two-and-a-half years ago. More English-speakers should hear him.

Review date: 11 Feb 2015
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Reviewed at: Soho Theatre