Tom Gleeson has been around the Australian comedy scene for a long time. And it shows (in a good way).Tom first appeared on our TV screens in 1999, and has barely been off them since. He has been a regular cast member on Skithouse, Rove, Good News Week and most recently The Project, plus a heap more. In 2008, he won the Piece of Wood Award (the comedian’s choice) at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and has been nominated (twice) for the prestigious Helpmann Award. Needless to say, he is one of Australia's top comedians, and, if not quite a household name, certainly a household… umm…face. You'd know him if you saw him.
Tom is a confident performer on stage, always in control – evidence of his 15 years live performance experience. He easily fills the hour-long show with an elegant, no nonsense, intelligent, sort of laid-back rant, touching on a wide array of current topics, from bullying to Italian cruise liners, Tom Katter to the inanity of Channel Nine News. In this show he makes less use of audience participation than perhaps some other comedians, but nevertheless he is instinctively attuned to the audience, knowing just how far to push them – dangling them over the edge of the precipice by the feet, and pulling back just in the nick of time. Or not.
Tom's life has changed dramatically since his last Comedy Festival gig – he and his wife have had their first child, a daughter, and as a result this show feels somewhat more personal, more reflective. He talks about the first time he held his daughter, and ponders the implications of raising her with a particular sexual orientation… she's four months old. He talks about his entry into comedy (it was easier than finishing the Maths degree he started at Uni). He reads aloud an article he wrote for a National newspaper about his mum's first terrifying foray into stand-up comedy. Indeed stories about members of his family, both old and new, play a significant part in the show, but his matter-of-fact style, means he manages to avoid slipping into sentimentality.
A very solid performance by one of Australia's best comedians, Tom Gleeson's Good One, now playing as part of the 2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, is exactly that – a damn good one. Well worth catching, if you can.
A Token Event
Good One
Tom Gleeson
Venues:
Melbourne Town Hall – Lower Town Hall | Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne
Victoria Hotel – Banquet Room | 215 Lt Collins St, Melbourne
Dates: 29 March – 22 April, 2012
Times: Melb Town Hall – Mon 7pm; Victoria Hotel – Tue-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: Sat $30 | Full Wed-Fri & Sun-Mon $28 | Concession $26 | Tightarse Tuesday $24
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | At the door
Part of the 2012 Melbourne International Comedy Festival