Despite
having to overcome the unfortunate obstacle of starting his ‘warm up’ after the
first act had finished (due to a serious traffic accident rather than
tardiness), fresh-faced Thomas bounded straight in with exuberant energy and had
no trouble bonding with the
audience.
He did seem somewhat off-kilter
because of the disruption to his schedule and preparation so a few attempts to
build material from the audience interaction fell flat but his self-effacing
reaction effectively sustained the momentum of his banter and quality of his
set.
His material was mainly observational which always carries the threat of
an ‘only me then’ response if the gag never hits on target. In this day and age
no subject should be taboo (if delivered from the right angle) but it still
takes a brave man to tackle a September 11th joke the day after its
‘anniversary’ and Thomas was that man. It possibly takes a braver (or possibly
drunker) man to allow himself to laugh at said joke and that was me.
His appearance smacks of a
‘niceness’ which makes the more shocking and dangerous material even more
jarring but Thomas is confident, competent and hugely entertaining with it.
Venue:
Funny.co.uk Comedy Club (Evolution - Haywards Heath),
September 12th
2004
Place on bill:
Compere
