| 06 August 2011
Is making gags based on tired stereotypes not every bit as clichéd and dull as the stereotypes themselves? Apparently Tom Stade doesn’t think so. Thus, Americans are fat and stupid, Canadians are seal-clubbing, maple-syrup guzzlers and the Scots, well, at least they’re not English, eh? True, he was often sending up the sheer ridiculousness of stereotypes, but their overuse was stale, and “Oh dear” was my resounding first impression of What Year Was That?
The crying shame is that Stade is a fantastic entertainer who is more than capable of making an audience sore from laughing at his own material, as he proved the second he ditched the dross. His banter with the audience pulls the show up immeasurably; quickfire retorts and hastily built rapports are a breeze for him, and give the show its freshness, ensuring no night will be exactly the same as the last. He can be wonderfully imaginative and original when he wants to be, with a knack for lateral delivery that is a joy to witness and absolutely hilarious.
But Stade, for some unknown reason, is content to keep his feet firmly stuck in the mud, rehashing predictable topics that follow succinctly on from where he left off with the stereotypes. Now that we’ve finished with berating Americans, let’s laugh about bomb threats and airport-fuelled fear, shall we? He is funny, but it is not enough to coast on delivery alone. Had he been more innovative, this would have been a four star show.
Tom Stade: What Year Was That?, Pleasance Courtyard, 3-28 August, 9:00 pm
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