Christian Schulte-Loh: Attack of the 50 Foot German Comedian

Review by Cayley James | 31 Mar 2014

Christian Schulte-Loh hit Glasgow with his Edinburgh Free Fringe 2013-approved show Attack of the 50ft German Comedian, bounding on to the stage, backed by a David Hasselhoff tune. He's a smiley, gregarious man who seems to have gained much of his comedy education through 50s Borscht Belt recordings and Johnny Carson reruns. Introducing himself to the audience he notes, "It's hard enough being German; imagine being a German COMEDIAN! How weird!"

With set up and punch lines that can be seen from a mile away, complete with feigned shock and a pause when he delivers every joke neatly, with a bow on top, he finds himself in well-trodden territory in so far as content is concerned. All the WW2 and the EURO crisis throwaway comments you can think of are present; with a hearty helping of Comedy 101 (airport security, the difference between men and women etc), anthropological-lite exploration of stereotypes (Edinburgh versus Glasgow, Britian's obsession with signs, German's efficiency) and anecdotes from the road.

Despite the shallowness of the 'German comedian' gimmick and wearyness of the jokes, he elicits laughs. He's not trying to be a cool, aloof loner with an idiosyncratic all-seeing-eye of modern society. He's a pleaser; an enthusiastic fool who wants to be friends with the audience – evidenced time and again by conversing with nearly every member of the fifteen-strong,  tight-lipped crowd ('Who are you? What do you do? Where are you from?). His act would be better suited to a buzzing bar, with people willing to interact. In that environment, his slight material may even be elevated – which is a shame, as despite the goodwill, I left underwhelmed.