Tommy Dean's Juggling Scissors
Fringe Club, Fringe Gallery
Last show tomorrow
Perhaps his adopted country of Australia has saturated him with its 'no-worries' attitude, because US-born Tommy Dean's stage persona could not be more laid-back.
This may have come as a surprise to some in the audience, as his stand-up comedy act is named Juggling Scissors on account of the dangerous or controversial material Dean deals with.
His chosen topics certainly might have wounded some ears if not so carefully juggled by this gentle-giant performer, who is the antithesis of so many of the hyperactive motormouths who tend to dominate the English-language stand-up scene. The crowd at the Fringe Gallery - an intimate bar environment, perfect for the one-man show - had no cause to suspect that Dean would single out those sitting nearest to his microphone for the mandatory public humiliation of most stand-ups; this was clear from very early on in his act, when this reviewer arrived a few minutes late and was subjected to a warm invitation to be seated, rather than a humiliating tirade.