Maren May’s debut show at FRINGE WORLD is a crack-up. A sharp reminder that none of us should be too prejudiced about what might make us laugh.

There has always been a running joke that the German sense of humour is ‘underdeveloped’ and this is the overall theme for Maren’s anecdotes. Maren grew up in Germany but has spent her adult life in Australia and she presents plenty of observations on the contrasts between Germans and Australians in a droll yet somehow perky manner. The material is wide-ranging and includes poking fun at her German family.

I love Maren’s bubbly, engaging style. She smiles a lot and clearly finds there is plenty to amuse her and us in the world at large. And there’s something about Maren’s accent – a delicious mixture of German and Aussie. I think she could read an instruction manual and it would be a pleasure to listen to.

There’s an endearing weirdness about some of the material which is very funny. And even in her more serious stories, there is a delightful slice of silliness.

Maren has quite a few sex-based stories that mark her as something of an adventurer, though still a romantic at heart. She seems prone to be impulsive and that is a rich source of tales that contain a smattering of sauciness.

I was also impressed by how comfortable Maren was when the audience provided the odd funny rejoinder – she embraced it as a welcome contribution to the overall entertainment.

If you are one of those people who doesn’t believe that someone from Germany can make you laugh, then please do yourself a favour and get along to Maren’s show, or just get there anyway. I think we are going to hear a lot more from Maren in the future and how nice it will be to say we were among the first to catch on to her.