By Ron Bingham
We knew what we were in for when Tony came out on stage in a top hat, frock t-shirt, tartan-ish trousers held up by braces, a pair of elbow length gardening gloves and holding an old-fashioned paper shopping bag, declaring “this could be the worst show of the Fringe … but it will stay with you”. What followed was an hour of anarchy held loosely together by a couple of half-remembered routines and some reminiscences about the old days when his kids were young and naive enough to want to join him on stage (often dressed in special outfits) to perform sketches or beg the audience for an extra donation at the end of the show. But they are teenagers now, and have too much street cred/class to want to stay in a caravan in North Berwick for a month and hang out with their dad.
We heard a lot about Tony’s kids and his Irish grandfather, and the joys of living alone in a caravan on the Scottish border with no phone signal, and only downloaded videos that his cats enjoy to keep him company (yes, that does sort of make sense when he talks about it).
If you are new to Tony, then this will appear to be a crazy hour of an eccentric old man on stage, constantly flying off on tangents, and determined to never finish a routine with anything like a punchline. For people who have been following him for years, this is an excellent addition to the life story of a comedian determined not to follow the standard path of selling out for fame and money.
The audience on the day I was there was mostly old fans (groupies?) who thoroughly enjoyed the show. At the end, you can also buy a postcard with a download code for Tony’s previous five shows (the postcard is of a much younger and beardless Tony). Five nuts for fans, but probably three for newbies, so … four?
The Law Also Rises is on at Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive) until August 12
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tony-law-the-law-also-rises
