one4review | On 23, Aug 2014

This show wasn’t in the Fringe guide, but is under of one of the free festival umbrellas, so I’m counting it as Fringe. However, that means you might only know about it if you know about Thom Tuck, or if you’d met him on the street and were lucky enough to receive one of his hand-drawn flyers. This technique, he explained outside before the show, produces a self-selecting audience: if you like the flyer, you’ll probably like the show.
This is far more introspective than I’ve seen him previously; much less of the tipsy befuddlement and much more of the sharp-thinking analysis. The structure and direction of the show seems to be guided roughly by audience response, with people chosen on Thom’s whim to complete the sentence ‘I am…’ (triviality and temporary conditions being banned). He uses these responses well, and it’s a mixture of spontaneous reply and set-material. Once during this show his reply teetered on the line of acceptable comedy, but Mr Tuck’s obvious and abject contrition redeemed what could easily have ended the show.
Comedy with some knowledge behind it, and if that doesn’t do it for you, there’s Thom’s pleasing bum frequently on prominent display.

Reviewed by Laura

Beat (now called Movement)  (Venue 56), 15:45