Tony Martin, Canberra Comedy Festival, Playhouse, Canberra theatre

 
It is nice to see a comedy hero who I've appreciated since the mid 90s. And here he's telling some reasonably amusing jokes in a not-particularly structured evening of material that never really seems to be straining for anything greater than some light chuckles. There's a few hints that there may be darker personal territory that could be delved into for more insight, but it's mostly just time with a 57 year old guy giving light observations about life, illnesses and a cheap biography of Michael Douglas. I didn't hate this and I don't have much right to bitch about this but this does feel a little like a show done for the sake of having a show rather than anything coming from burning passions or a particular desire to say anything beyond "hell, recognise me from TV"? I do feel now that we've seen standup that can take the form into new and interesting places, this feels clunky and very safe.