Derek Mitchell review: Double Dutch and Goblin show extraordinary talent

Edinburgh Fringe

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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️

Images: (left) Dylan Woodley; (right) Michael Julings

by Zoe Paskett

Derek Mitchell is doing two (2) shows! Find reviews for both here.

Double Dutch

Derek Mitchell just wants everyone to be comfortable. As a resident of two countries, that’s a lot of people to please.

Double Dutch is a show about the immigrant experience and identities of all scales, from personal to national, all underpinned by a sense of craving to be seen for who you are combined with the fatigue of having to find so many different ways to be accepted.

On the spectrum of the immigrant experience, Derek is privileged and aware of it – born and raised in the US (they have a fanTAStic analogy for that phrase that I’m not gonna stop thinking about), Derek now lives between the Netherlands and the UK, performing comedy all over both. I doubt the excellent traditional dress, bonnet and clogs are in play for Dutch audiences…

It’s allowed them to hone a talent for truly flawless – FLAWLESS – accents and impressions. I can only speak for the authenticity of the English one but honestly, better than mine. It’s to Derek’s credit that they can fully get on-board an audience of whom, I’m going to boldly assume, only a small proportion know that much about Dutch culture. Presumably because of this, the show quickly becomes about more than cultural comparison, moving towards discussion of a life lived in the grey area. That double identity, while enriching, also creates a constant state of uncertainty in belonging.

Derek’s character comedy foundations are what elevates this from the traditional stand-up introductory identity show route. Derek is doing two shows at the Fringe the second of which, Goblin, is a character show by an emo teen (I’ll be covering next week so check back for that…). They’re known for a wonderful array of characters online. Among these are a rotating supply of blunt Dutch people and the endearingly demure Englishwoman Claire. Less Dutch but just as funny is Derek’s emotionally-exhausted millennial explaining various 21st century items to a medieval time-traveller.

In Double Dutch, Derek’s encounters with the characters we meet demonstrate what people project, the most deliciously portrayed being the middle-aged women frothing at the mouth to reveal their true selves, which draw the biggest laughs.

In discussing their identity, that feeling of “bleh” is what Derek expresses so well here: being at risk of diminishing or sacrificing your sense of self because you’re just so tired of trying to explain who you are. Seeing Derek literally fall to the floor with the feeling of “why are we still here having this conversation?”, even if in jest, was a bit of an oof in the gut. It’s funny, but it’s also real!!! Another day, another person trying to categorise you into a neat, little, palatable symbol!

I honestly don’t know if that reading of it says more about me than anything else so before you get the wrong impression, I should make it clear how hilarious Derek is. It really is a very silly show, and all of these feelings are expressed with a light touch and a winning smile, plus an unbeatable new catchphrase…

Derek appears totally relaxed and at home on stage, and it’s wonderful to see someone comfortable where they belong.

Derek Mitchell: Double Dutch is at Pleasance Courtyard (Baby Grand), 22:50. Tickets here

Goblin

Ok, now something entirely different in almost every way! Except for one main one; and that is my sure feeling that Derek Mitchell is one of the best character comedians out there right now.

Goblin is a dark – DARK – comedy about grief, isolation and transformation that unravels in unexpected ways. Entering the room (yurt) to the nostalgic sounds of Panic! At the Disco (I Write Sins Not Tragedies, as you asked, and yeah I know every word), Derek is grinning sheepishly from behind a chair. 

Derek is Eliot, a 15 year old emo with a Jack Skellington t-shirt, red checkered wristbands and an imaginary friend, Goblin, who appeared the day that his brother died and his parents disappeared into themselves. We, the audience, are Goblin and we are there to protect him. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be easy to help. At his most vulnerable, he meets a much older reality TV star, who exploits his desperate need to be loved.

Eliot is heart-achingly raw. He’s an exposed nerve. He carries his innocence with him as he grows into an adult, and we sit there as he begs us for a kind of support that we are totally unable to provide, tentatively trying to intervene but always a bit too late.

All the mannerisms and references are airtight and true to the era – there isn’t a second where the character falls, even when switching between multiple voices.

I want to wrap Eliot up in a blanket and hold him while we both listen to Dashboard Confessional, but he needs more than the kind of help we can give. 

I guarantee, you will see nothing like this anywhere else. Extraordinary.

Goblin is at Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker 2), 18:55. Tickets here