Tony Law: Enter the Tonezone @ The Stand, Edinburgh Fringe

For those familiar with Mr. Law’s particularly addictive brand of silliness, Enter the Tonezone may still catch you unawares. On the back of last year’s hit Nonsense Overdrive, this year Tony Law – harbinger of non sequiturs, monger of nonsense – returns to the Edinburgh Fringe festival with an hour of trademark tangential madness. If you think the sight of a floppy-haired, whiskered Canadian in a black onesie bedecked with ribbons of shredded bandana would adequately prepare you for the show that follows, think again.

Appearing  with a trombone in hand, clutching a reusable shopper brimming with the sort of crap you accumulate at a community jumble sale, he sets the tone for the show ahead. Setting a notebook on the table, he makes no apologies for referencing it. To begin with, it’s a slow burner. A good chunk of the show is spent meditating on a phobia of genuine audience interaction, peppered with random blasts of farty trombone. If you’re looking for punch-lines, you’ve come to the wrong show, but by repetition alone, it's funny. Law’s humour springs from his dalliances with the ridiculous, and while these images are often delightful enough to elicit the giggles, it still feels a little looser than previous efforts. He’s a joy to behold – a particular highlight being a punk-rock take on rhythmic gymnastics with a beach ball and an enthusiastic punter. But he bounds from thought to thought so rapidly, it’s hard to keep track, unfairly buffering the moments of brilliance. Despite the sight gags and seasoned surrealist charm, it’s not enough to distract from a lack of cohesive material.

The shear breadth of topics explored provides ample material to riff on. It’s a nebula where Law’s brightest ideas should explode into existence, but many fail to shine. He’s so engaging, he’s impossible not to love, but a niggling feeling that each fleeting thought could be more is hard to shake; it's a notion that’s vindicated by a poignant, extended piece about his wife, kids and family dog. One of the show's strongest pieces, it alludes to what he’s capable of when he holds on to an idea a little longer. 

Much like last year, the show builds to a climax that is equal parts ridiculous and moving, demonstrating his skill at marrying the fragments of his madness when he wants to. Donning a rabbit hat and wearing an oversized dream catcher, he morphs into a cheese-dream vision of a Navajo toddler as he plays a drum skin with a child’s toy – it’s ludicrous to the point of tears, awakening giddy, unbridled joy in the audience. This is Law distilled to his silliest and best, and makes the rest worthwhile.

Law’s shows are always manic – and through his mastery of moonshine, they derive their beauty. They employ a structure in the loosest sense, but this year it feels like a join-the-dots that’s been abandoned halfway through. He expertly treads the fine line between madness and brilliance, but this year, he’s lost his footing.

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More on Tony Law at Edinburgh Fringe Festival:

Tony Law: Nonsense Overdrive at Edinburgh Fringe / Tony Law: Maximum Noonsense at Edinburgh Fringe / Fringe Therapy: Tony Law Interview / Tony Law: Revenge of the Dog of Time at Edinburgh Fringe