Tom Walker @ Underbelly George Square
The jokes and the laughs come at random in Tom Walker's absurdist show
Tom Walker is a cast member on Whose Line Is It Anyway? Australia, and his Fringe show explains why that programme needs a host. It’s not to provide prompts – there’s clearly imagination enough bubbling over in Walker's brain – but to introduce some comforting logic to proceedings. Walker lets us see the madness to the method; raw, unrestrained, and a little terrifying.
This is love it or leave it comedy, quite literally; Walker is keeping a tally of walkouts. The absurdist gags won’t do it for everyone, but some don’t do it for anyone and land without a titter, no matter how long he draws out the silence, or how much he snarls at the audience. From his opening gambit to a final, drawn-out mime, nothing makes an iota of sense – not even the bit he claims does, since it falls flat and only seems to have been included to prove the rest of the show is truly absurd. It’s an unnecessary, awkward counterpoint.
That said, for all the aggression on show there’s something intensely likable about Walker. His enthusiasm may cross the line into desperation, but he goes to incredible lengths to make his audience feel welcome at the opening of the show, even if every subsequent moment is designed to wrongfoot them. He persuades the room to sing along to a song about a cat. Was it funny? Well, it was fun.
Tom Walker: Bee Boo, Underbelly George Square (Wee Coo), until 27 Aug, 8pm, £9-11