Thom Tuck Flips Out: Fringe 2012
Live Review
Pleasance Dome

Thom Tuck is no time-waster, and jumps straight in with jokes. He tells us how show is about what it is to be a human; which for him is what it means to be a middle-class educated British drunkard, but either way it's fantastic.

This is intellectual comedy at its finest, which means you don't need to degree to understand it, but the jokes won't be spoon-fed to you. With a persona of an erudite English professor, Tuck is articulate, opinionated, and 'bloody loves' maths.

The material ranges from the silly to the esoteric, defiantly sticking to references that only a handful of the audience understand. And it's a good job he does, as some are the sharpest in the whole set and adds to the sophisticated charm.

Despite his unkept and slightly dishevelled appearance, complete with a pint, Tuck is clearly passionate and offers real craftsmanship. He can elicit laughs through mannerisms, facial expressions and pitch before he's even got to the joke. He's carving out a niche audience; with a slew of subtle jokes and rants, and a hatred of ignorance and bad grammar.

In the whole set Tuck told one straight-up gag, which evoked groans from the crowd. Chastising them for their snobbishness he affirms just how much we're being spoiled. With such a wealth of material and the perfect blend of anecdotes and rants, each joke consistently hits the mark until you forget it's even possible to miss.

Unlike the less experienced comics, there's no constant sense of needing approval or measuring his performance by laughs. Tuck's comfortable jumping between bits without segues, missing entire jokes save for a punchline, and generally letting his audience fill in some of the blanks for their own gratification. Anyone that can successfully land a joke featuring a pun on the 1992 Horror classic Candyman has my respect.

He has perfected a persona and produced an exquisite hour of comedy. Flipping excellent.