Review by Lucy Holz
Known Australia-wide for his role in Taskmaster and his appearances on The Project and Question Everything, Tom Cashman is a familiar face on our TV screens. His TikToks asking landlords for references have gone viral, cementing him as a rare comedian who has mastered both social media and in-person standup comedy.
Armed with his trusty slideshow, Tom takes us through all the embarrassing moments of his life (so far). He uses the screen to effectively and hilariously signpost his topics of discussion, as well as showcase emails, texts and demonstrate his analytical skills through the use of powerpoint.
Unfortunately, the TV screen in use is positioned slightly too low for an audience in un-raked seats, resulting in constant neck craning from those in the back half of the room. The occasional joke is missed just because the screen isn’t fully visible to about a third of the audience.
Despite this technical glitch, Cashman uses his powerpoint perfectly. Enhancing his hilariously embarrassing anecdotes, he constantly mixes up the multimedia styles. If he’s reading a funny text message he doesn’t just read from the screen, instead highlighting specific segments and using a colour-coding system for maximum comic effect. Rather than relying on the screen to create comedy, Cashman uses it to squeeze every possible laugh out of each established joke.
His interactions with a fellow Sydney-sider in the audience throughout the show also demonstrate Cashman’s impressive improv abilities. He constantly refers back to his newfound front row friend, and each time feels funnier than the last.
Some material is recycled, with his opening jokes around ‘raw dogging’ the plane ride from Australia and buying an ineffective doorstop in Edinburgh having already been posted to his TikTok. But only a true fan would know that, and the jokes haven’t lost their potency the second time around.
This show is a fun-filled hour of total hilarity, with Cashman even making slides about the ‘pay as you feel’ policy at Monkey Barrel. Having mastered what seems like every genre of comedy, when it comes to Tom Cashman all that’s left to ask is ‘what’s next?’
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