Tom Rosenthal’s talent as a stand-up comedian is undeniable. His self-deprecating humour, mocking his substantial nose and quirky voice, make him an instant hit with the crowd. Since his nomination for Best Breakthrough Act at the 2011 British Comedy Awards, Rosenthal’s career has skyrocketed, gaining him lead roles in sitcoms such as ‘Friday Night Dinner’ and ‘Plebs’. The filming location of the latter, Bulgaria, fuels the material for his 2013 fringe show: ‘благодаря’. For those of you who are either seeing a bunch of question marks or something that looks like hieroglyphs, Rosenthal’s show title means ‘thank you’ in Bulgarian- according to Rosenthal, there was a ruckus in the Fringe type facing office as they struggled to format his show title.
The apple doesn’t far too fall from the tree in the Rosenthal family. It is well known that sports commentator Jim Rosenthal is Tom’s father and Tom is an avid sports fan himself. Rosenthal is a gunner till he dies and in this hour of brilliant stand-up comedy he talks about bulgarian football, his semi-jewish heritage and his east end co-star Danny Dyer. Towards the end of the show Rosenthal showcased a rather bizarre talent which unfortunately I didn’t find too impressive. The audience laughed the first time he showed us but this so-called ‘talent’ dragged on for a good five minutes too long.
Rosenthal is a captivating storyteller. As he delivers his routine you forget that you are in a room with a hundred other people and get lost in his performance. He had the audience in the palm of his hand. This show is perfect for anyone who wants to grab a pint and watch an hour of cutting edge stand-up comedy. If you do see this show (and I strongly recommend that you do) make sure you stick around until the end as Rosenthal has a real treat in store that is well worth the wait!
