Review: Tony Law [Go Mr Tony Go!] – Frog and Bucket, Manchester

Tony Law: Go, Mr Tony, Go!

Tony Law’s newest show, Go, Mr Tony, Go!, was lauded by his peers at the Edinburgh Fringe – and it’s no surprise, really, since it’s filled with comedy in-jokes and self-reflection. “When am I going on McIntyre’s Roadshow?” he asks with playful contempt 40 minutes into the show, fully aware this alternative monologue is not for everyone.

Law’s problem, if you can call it one, is that he relies so heavily on an audience’s understanding of conventional comic form. He annotates his own material, pointing out the subtle call-backs your average punter will miss, condemning the bizarre digressions that never quite peak; all the while thumbing his nose at tradition and order. He reveals to subvert –and that’s both his blessing and his curse.

Ultimately to really enjoy him you have to release your preconceptions, stop trying to work out where he’s going and just enjoy the nonsense. When things click into place (which they often do) the payoffs are satisfying; he’s got some terrific lines, and his surreal tribute to Gok Wan, for example, was undoubtedly a high point in the show.

And even when things don’t quite work – like the visual gag featuring a misanthropic banker, for example – the awkward silences seem to fall in line with his character.

But he can be so testing, especially when mild titters from the crowd never resurface as belly laughs. “There should’ve been a punch line there”, he says; and you know, it probably wouldn’t do him any harm to fill the void now and again.

Yet even when lost in the nonsense you’re prepared to listen to his every word; and, despite frustrating the hell out of you for over an hour, you’re still thankful he’s not “one of those comedians who just notice things.”

The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club are part of Dave’s Comedy Society, who provide fans with 2 for 1 tickets for shows up and down the country. A full list of the comedy clubs involved can be found on Dave’s website.