Words by Susan Ford
Tom Toal has performed previously at Fringe alongside Ian Smith, and most recently last year, as part of the famous Comedy Reserve. This year welcomes a full hour of stand up from Tom with his show ‘Tom Toal in Prequel’. After catching snippets of his preview, we are really looking forward to his performance this year, and caught up with him to discuss.
Hello Tom Toal how are you?
Very well thank you, just got indoors before the rain started so that’s always gonna put a smile on your face.
How excited about performing at the Edinburgh 2014 Fringe are you?
I’m very excited, Edinburgh is what you gear towards all year round, cannot wait to be up there.
Last year you were part of the famous Comedy Reserve, but this year you are going solo, how does it feel?
It’s certainly lonelier, if we ever got plaudits last year we shared it as we did with criticism. This year gotta have some big shoulders to take onboard such things.
How does performing for a full hour yourself compare to teaming up with other comedians with a shorter set?
With an hour you have so much more time to explain more of your themes and make it a bit more theatre, with a shorter set it’s more focused on how funnier you can be before your time is up.
Without giving too much away, what is your show about?
There is a twist at the end where you find something out about me, but I’ll not give that away. It’s about how life comes full circle, and all the things we learn through childhood and adolescence prepare us for when life truly kicks in.
Have you been doing many previews and are they going well?
They have been going well, had one where I stank the room up but it made me work so much harder and ended up being a blessing in disguise.
What is the best thing about the Edinburgh Festival for you?
For the whole month I can concentrate on working towards being the best stand up I can be, and the feeling of improvement at the end of every festival.
Who else do you recommend to see this year
Ian Smith, Rhys James, Joe Wells, Fin Taylor, Sean McLoughlin, Mat Ewins, John Hastings, Nish Kumar, James Acaster, Lucy Beaumont.
Catch Tom Toal’s show ‘In Prequel‘ at 2.35pm at Cabaret Voltaire throughout the festival.
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