Do you want to know what a safe pair of hands looks like? Then take a look at the picture of Jake Johannsen on this page. From the moment this 54-year-old American strolls onstage you just know that you are in for a good evening. He’s apparently been on Letterman more times than any other comedian and boy, do you need to have your material up to snuff to be invited back there.

Johannsen is relaxed, assured and at the top of his game. What he is not, admittedly, is groundbreaking. He is a classic observational comedian dealing with classic observational topics. As a fiftysomething man the decline of his body is pretty much uppermost in his mind. When things break in your twenties they repair themselves, when things break in your fifties, that’s it, they ain’t coming back, he explains with a mournful look on his face.

Much to the disappointment of my parents I’m not a doctor, so I’m not quite sure if there is a difference between a colonoscopy test and a prostate test, but Johannsen’s routine about exposing his buttocks in public before a colonoscopy has all the references that middle-aged UK comedians make about prostate tests, from embarrassment and shame to the awkwardness of being recognised with your pants down. 

There are moments when his material is a little too predictable. As soon as he mentioned adverts for prescription drugs I wrote the words “ridiculous side effects” in my notepad. I’m no Derren Brown, it’s just a fairly well-established trope. If you haven't heard someone do this before forget my spoiler, it's a very funny riff.

But even when there is a whiff of deja vu Johannsen sells his routines with absolute finesse. The Soho Theatre PR was a little worried that I was reviewing his first night, but when you've been around this long first night nerves should not be a problem and they clearly weren't. He is the kind of instantly amiable seasoned comic who can make the room rock with laughter while making his schtick look effortless. That’s the pay-off of doing comedy clubs and Letterman over three decades.

And there are other segments that have more personality to them. He has a neat take on grappling with new technology. His view on how sending intimate pictures has evolved over the decades is not exactly boxfresh but he does put a fetchingly idiosyncratic slant on it. He talks a fair bit about his family and as well as the battle-of-the-sexes patter there’s some very nice business about holidays and how whale watching might not be all it is cracked up to be. 

As I wrote at the outset, Johannsen is a safe pair of hands. That’s not a bad thing at all. London is lucky enough to have a thriving live comedy scene and if you want something with more edge go elsewhere and you will easily find it. But if you want to spend an hour with a guaranteed grin on your face then get to Soho to witness a mainstream master at work. 

Jake Johannsen is at Soho Theatre until June 29. Tickets here.