Fringe comedy review: Tom Little, PBH’s Free Fringe @Subway

A distinctive but still largely overlooked comic, Tom Little has a bone to pick with everything from dolphins to vampire lore to the accomplishments of Leonardo da Vinci, writes Jay Richardson

Tom Little

Tom Little Makes a Triumphant Return to Stand-Up, PBH’s Free Fringe @Subway, Edinburgh ***

Haphazardly mixing tried and tested material with new stuff, Tom Little isn't an act you watch for smooth segues. His restless mind manifests in a stop-start, skittish delivery that, even allowing for a bit of post-lockdown rustiness, can occasionally meander into cul-de-sacs and invite sympathy, rarely a plus for a comic trying to command a room.

Nevertheless, the Cumbrian draws you in with his oblique view of the world. When he launches into an extended analysis of biscuits or crisp flavours, he's not aiming for pat observation, relatability or nostalgia, but inevitably spoiling for an argument. Identifying the nonsensical in the familiar, he extends his disproportionate fits of pique to appealingly ridiculous conclusions.

There's feigned arrogance in his dismissal of Leonardo da Vinci and Dolly Parton's accomplishments. Yet elsewhere he portrays himself as a small town rube, inadvertently encouraging unwelcome interest from pensioners, either through innocence or awkward politeness, in two very funny yarns, delightfully crafted. Berating a Family Fortunes audience for their stupidity but acting the idiot himself at a rock concert, his persona is inconsistent and mercurial, meaning you're invariably intrigued to see where he's going with an idea, even if not fully convinced that he'll stick the landing.

Ultimately though, the breadth of Little's preoccupations tend to override such concerns. If you don't fancy critiques of vampire lore, hang on for the rewording of Wordsworth or his anger at the evolution of dolphins. He's a distinctive, still largely overlooked performer.

Until 29 August

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