Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow - BBC One

June 2009

More Tom Stade videos

Bought up in the backwoods of British Columbia Tom Stade earned his comedy stripes in Canada, where he recorded his own one-hour TV special Stade And Confused for the Comedy Network.

Now largely based in the UK, he is a circuit stalwart who has appeared on stand-up shows The Comedy Store , The Live Floor Show and The World Stands Up .

He made his Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2006 with the show And Relax.

Tom Stade Totally Rocks! Fringe 2012
Live Review
Pleasance Courtyard

In 1995, Tom Stade married a girl he’d known for three months. In Vegas, while drunk, and wearing denim shorts and a cowboy hat. We know this because he has the embarrassing video to prove it.

Seventeen years later, and he’s still married to Trudy. Pretty remarkable, given the rush of youthful, lustful infatuation has long subsided. Things have certainly changed between them, and he’s not afraid to explain exactly what.

This Edinburgh-based Canadian isn’t the only fortysomething comic to comment on the transition from feckless young man  to the stability of a long-term relationship. Indeed, you might spot a few clichés even in this strong hour – but they are clichés of life as much as they are stand-up, and Stade feels they need to be addressed.

Luckily he does so with a flair and punchiness that puts a crisp sheen on what is frequently blunt material. Some of the edges are further knocked off that by constantly seeking affirmation from the audience. To make us complicit, he nominates two couples in the front row and passes almost every hypothesis of marriage by them before expounding his theory. ‘That right, Kev?’ That combines with the tight rhythm and carefully-placed stress of his sentences to give his utterances a purposeful punch.

He mixes well-articulated observations of the familiar with graphic descriptions of his sex life and edgier comments, cheekily raising some harsh realities about his wife and his relationship with his children that can only be true, but would never be mentioned… at least in polite society.

Speaking of things that shouldn’t be said, Stade has a piece about a disabled passenger in a train carriage who was unable to control his speech; a routine which seems designed to make his audiences feel uncomfortable. Though he tries to explain it away by saying he’s laughing at the ‘situation’ not the person, you can’t help feeling he’s getting laughs from impersonating the only sounds the unfortunate chap. Yes, even if Stade did have an uncle with Down’s Syndrome.

Still it’s testament to his abilities that he pulls this off without anyone making the leap from awkward to offended, and he brought the topic back to his domestic situation just in time. The show does start to run out of steam a little a the end, as demonstrated when the big relationship issues make way for routines about Groupon. But after 17 years of marriage, that’s what his life has become…

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So bad in Bristol that we had to leave early.

Marga, May 2013

Saw Tom for the first time this year, he's hilarious. Had us belly laughing. He's a natural. Can't wait to see him again.

Becky., October 2012

At that same show in Birmingham and it was one of the funniest show I'd ever seen. I didn't get Tom hates women at all. He just talked about being married. And from what I saw everybody was loving it men and women. Like all comedy at least I can see the exaggeration. Long live Heroin Jimmy!!

Sarah, May 2012

Saw him at Birmingham Glee club (which is a great club!): he really comes across like he hates women. That's a tired thing to say but he only interacted with men in the audience and 90 per cent of his act was the theme of women destroying their partners' lives. I see a lot of comedy and have no problem with 'men vs women' stuff but this was way, way too much... it got boring, essentially. It doesn't take any great originality or observation to bang on and on about women not allowing their partners to speak or make decisions... He's clearly a clever bloke and when he moved on to other topics he was funny, so it's a pity. He needs new material maybe

Brummagem, May 2012

Saw him in Barnsley on a bill with Abi Roberts and Bob Mills - all three absolutely ripped it but Stade really was top notch - excellent delivery, fine material and an almost Bill Hicks-Esque style about him.

Incubus2011, December 2011

Just got back from a trip to Manchester where we saw Tom. Seen him before a few times around London and like his shows, this was the best ever, he had us howling with laughter. We have seen probably most of the best but this was the funniest show we think we have ever been to.

David Shaw, November 2011

Tom Stade at Worcester Huntington Hall had both good and bad elements. Tom is a very funny man, that has to be said, however having followed him on the circuit for a while I fear he has become a lazy comic who is just reworking old material from his 2008 blue album. I did laugh out loud but was excited at the prospect of hearing new material, of which we never got. Tom does make me laugh but it was a mix of enjoyment and disappointment.

melanie ford, September 2011

Tom Stade at the Ironworks Inverness was both good and bad experience. Good to see him live, and he made the audience laugh . Bad because he said nothing new in his act, tried and tested on TV over the past year and more. It's testament to his skill as a comedian that it still made me laugh all the same. It seems once a comedian gets established like Tom, they get a bit complacent in their attitude to their audience.I wouldn't hesitate about going to see Tom Stade again despite my criticism - he enjoys his chosen vocation, it transfers to his audience and it shows.

Douglas Thomson, February 2011

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