Here’s an unlikely thought. Could it be that, at the age of 55, Tom Stade might be calming down a bit? Not mellowing exactly. That would be too much to expect from the “messiah of mirth”, the “Keith Richards of comedy”.
But if I tell you that in his latest hour at the Fringe he tells us he’s taken up playing the Dungeons and Dragons role-playing again, it’s fair to say you might have some questions. Like, “Tom, is everything OK?”
After all, the joy of a Tom Stade show is the pleasure of hearing the unsayable said, not hearing about his rediscovery of his tweenage habits. No worries, though. On the evidence of the latest outing his ability to shock hasn’t changed. As ever there are moments in this show where you find yourself laughing and then asking yourself “wait a minute, should I be?”
Stade has always played on the line of what you can and can’t say in comedy (the answer being there’s nothing you can’t say if you frame it correctly) and there are moments here that are delicious in their sense of danger.
Still, it’s possible that Stade has shifted down a gear or two in his delivery. His comic engine is still purring, but it isn’t as noisy as it used to be. Oh he effs and jeffs, even cleffs away (he may be Canadian but he lives in Wishaw; you can probably guess how that has impacted on his vocabulary), but this almost qualifies as laidback by Stade’s standards.
Perhaps it’s an age thing. He tells us, he is worrying that he is starting to get “old people thoughts”. They come to us all of course. And it’s fair to say that for some time now Stade has been getting comedy mileage from the differences between generations. His audience, like him, are mostly in their fifties, but he’s delighted tonight that there are some twentysomethings in the front row at the Stand. They become both a target and a chance to claim solidarity. Because, he tells us, he doesn’t want to be having “old people thoughts”.
His problem, he admits, is that being a progressive liberal from the 1990s is not the same as being a progressive liberal in 2026, as his daughter is constantly reminding him.
Those differences are at the heart of this show and Stade has huge fun in enumerating them.
Yes, there is also the usual quota of sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll (the latter in the form of a routine about Shaggy’s 2000 hit It Wasn’t Me). But Stade is beginning to grapple with the reality of the fact that we all get old. Even him. It’s going to be fascinating to see him deal with it in the years ahead.
Tom Stade Rules
The Stand Comedy Club (Stand 1), 20.00, until August 30 (except August 10, 17 & 24)
