REVIEW: TOM GLEESON - CHEER UP
3.5 out of 5 stars.
He’s come a long way from performing in the lunch room but Tom Gleeson has been an Australian house hold name for some time. From radio to TV and stand up comedy, he’s made his name on Good News Week, The 7pm Project, Thank God You’re Here, or his ripper segment on the Weekly, Hard Chat, he’s been on radio, he’s written a book about touring Iraq and Afghanistan on a comedy tour with the SAS, there’s very little as a comedian and performer he hasn’t don’t. His wife would rather eat something or stack the dishwasher than talk or listen to Gleeson, but the audience doesn’t seem to agree.
His new show, Cheer Up, talks about everything that’s going on in the world right now and cleverly takes apart out politics, while also trying to show the inconsistencies in religious views, bans and issues, in a way that is both enlightening, funny and also makes you wince as that might not be quite politically correct. His material comes from making fun of poor Prime Minister Trumble and President Trump, but most material for him (and many other comedians this festival) comes not from the reality star cross oompa loompa president but from taking apart Pauline Hanson and the One Nation Party, which audiences thoroughly enjoy.
His beat is definitely still comedy for white people, and middle aged white people at that but he’s still relatable and funny talking about his wife and kids, the family road trips and coming from a country town, and he’s progressive perhaps in thought but less so in action. He tells a story of a country playground and gun violence, and in his head he speaks up and tells the child and parents off for running around terrorising other kids with a massive pretend gun, but in real life he just feels awkward. He’s also not a fan of the new Wiggles, or feminism it seems- “Wiggling is a man’s job” he says, and points out that there’s probably no maternity leave in the Wiggles. Jokes like these get laughs but certainly feel like a less accepting view of the world. It’s something that comes with the territory of comedians this age that the changes they see are good, bad, or something to have a strong opinion about and draw material from, but it’s something that we see millennials (like me) arc up against.
Discussions of his white goods, his kids, and his wild fantasies about what would happen if he was on a plane and the door popped open are highly relatable and get a good reaction from the crowd. As the show goes on he descends from sharing the funny of his everyday life and everyday humour to the lewd and out of control, but then he hits a point where he vamps for a good 15 minutes or so, asking the audience what bits of his show they didn’t believe. It’s a normal part of stand up to interact and pick on the audience but this goes on a little too long, like he’s run out of material. Audience members yell out the bits of the show they didn’t believe, and he states plainly that sometimes you have to edit bits.
For a night of sharing the funny bits of a normal life, you can’t go wrong with Tom Gleeson. You can watch him on The Weekly on ABC TV, if you’ve got Stan, check out him as part of their new comedy series One Night Stan, and his Cheer Up show is off to NSW next. Keep an eye on what he’s up to: http://tomgleeson.com.au/
This article first appeared at: http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/tom-gleeson-cheer-up/ on 27 April 2017
