Tom Walker @ MICF 2018 – by Julian Callinan

TOM WALKER – Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk

Unfortunately this show had a few technical difficulties on the night, but Tom Walker barrelled through them with his manic energy, convincingly working it into the show. The nature of the show and his delivery makes such difficulties fit in nicely, even, as his ramshackle charm and meta-commentary on his efforts mean it’s all part of the fun. This isn’t like most stand-up, one person with a microphone talking to you; indeed, there’s long patches where Walker’s physicality is accompanied by no words at all, even as he conveys exactly what he wants to the audience. It’s a clownery that was deeply engaging, though the change in temperament can take a little while to get used to. Still, for the physical effort obviously being expended on stage, there was a deep and palpable response from a roomful of people happily going along for the ride. It’s all deeply silly in the very best way, especially if you like horses. Vibrant and unexpected.

ACMI, 29th of March to 22nd of April (no Mondays), 9.30 pm, 8.30 pm on Sundays.