Tom Craine is a worrier. You can tell from the moment that he peeks out from the side of the stage to see that we have taken our seats, and hesitates until we start clapping. Tom Craine is also very nice. Hes polite, friendly, well brought up, and I dont think that I heard him swear once. Which makes him quite different from many other stand ups. Indeed, he starts the show by complementing members of the audience, rather than criticising or catching them out.His theme - comfort blanket takes a look at the things that we do to make ourselves feel safe and secure, sharing with us that he has recently taken up thumb sucking. Some of his anxieties are put down to his sheltered childhood in Bath with parents so concerned about the corrupting influence of tv that his home did not have one until he was 15. There would seem to be a rich comedy vein in his family waiting to be mined further, with his lay preacher father and a mother who tells him his willy is a tail. The biggest laugh comes from a story about text messages that went wrong, which he handles brilliantly. While there arent quite enough of these big laughs yet, this is Toms first solo stand up show, implying best stand up work is still to come.A likeable, intelligent comic, his ability to connect with the audience is a strength. He brings a fizzing nervous energy that means its hard not to find yourself relating to him - even if you fail to live up to his level of worrying.
