Jake Mace
Clad head-to-toe in full Dutch traditional-wear and clogs, Derek Mitchell leads us on a whirlwind journey through identity, nationality, immigration, gender, and becoming a TikTok star. Much like Mitchell’s storied past, the show is a melting pot of ideas, and this scattergun approach often leaves us with more questions than answers. Double Dutch lacks a central comedic tension to allow the kaleidoscope of ideas and personal histories that Mitchell riffs onto to truly find cohesion and purpose.
Mitchell’s origin producing short-form online content mirrors into this debut hour, with impressions of Dutch and English caricatures punctuating Mitchell’s personal stories as reflections on cultural differences. Almost like sketches inserted in between, these moments of character comedy often produce good laughs, but appear sporadically, and Mitchell leaps between ideas so quickly that it’s hard to catch your breath.
Jokes about English-ness, then Dutch-ness, then American-ness intertwine with an undercooked narrative about gender that never truly finds its connection with the rest of the story. It feels as though for a debut hour, Mitchell has stuffed in as much of his personal journey as he can, and that Double Dutch is really four different show ideas crammed into far too short a period of time. Mitchell darts around topics just as much as he darts around the stage, interacting with Dutch, American, and English audience members by addressing stereotypes and doing impressions. It’s frenetic, it’s ambitious, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
The production design is surprisingly expansive for a character comedy stand-up hour, with lighting changes signalling moves between places along Mitchell’s journey. Though I feel that the piece suffers in its non-linearity. We never deeply enough explore the circumstances that brought Mitchell to the Netherlands, then to England. Instead, we jump in between the contrasting stories too abruptly to make the connections Mitchell is aiming for us to. References to his Dutch husband and Queer journey are neatly inserted in, but never explored with enough depth or clarity to offer a story moment that hits precisely.
Despite all of this, Mitchell proves himself to be a charismatic and bold host, even if the storytelling lacks the chops to back up the comedy sufficiently. Mitchell leaps around the stage with such joy and has great comedic timing that catches your attention for the whole hour. There’s clearly a lot of passion going into telling these stories.
It feels as though Mitchell ought to go back to the drawing board, and write one show about his journey in the Netherlands, one in England, and one about his Queerness. I have no doubt they would each be entertaining, but there’s too much to grapple with in Double Dutch right now.
Recommended Drink: Advocaat – a mixture of ingredients that are individually rich and creamy.
You can catch Derek Mitchell: Double Dutch at 22:50 until August 25th at Pleasance Courtyard – Baby Grand. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
