Tommy Dassalo’s Viewmaster is a masterful blend of storytelling and stand-up that demonstrates the rising of an undeniable talent.
Tommy takes the audience into his attic to sift through a box full of discarded toys, sharing his memories of school terror and cheap presents. Arriving at last at his old viewmaster, the show shifts from stand-up into storytelling and the show proper begins.
Each of the three acts is introduced without narration as Tommy reveals a few dialogue-free illustrations on his viewmaster styles easel to tell a short tale and set the mood before launching into the main story. Accompanied by further illustrations, Tommy weaves wondrous tales of fraudulent food critics, gentlemanly exterminators and lovers passing each other by. All the stories have a real sense of magic to them, and the third act in particular could be compared favourably with the some of the best storytelling of Daniel Kitson.
Between each of the acts, Tommy relates the tales back to his own life with stand-up that brings a personal touch to the stories. Some of this material has been getting Tommy strong laughs on the stand-up circuit, and it’s great to see it weaved so professionally into a show without ever seeming forced.
After the end of the third story, the audience seemed to expect the show to be drawing to a conclusion, however Tommy then continued with another section of stand-up to close out the show. This would probably not be a problem normally, if not for the fact of the sweltering temperatures of the almost-full room. Tommy managed to pull the audience back with some strong material about holding onto childhood and his resistance to growing up, but it did add an air of ‘are we there yet?’ to an otherwise flawless performance.
It may be slightly disconcerting to have a twenty-one year old comedian wax nostalgic about their childhood, but Tommy’s youth belies a talent and maturity well beyond his years. Tommy has been pumping out shows at both the Comedy and Fringe festivals for three years now, and his prolific writing has allowed him to hone his craft to an amazing degree. This show evokes comparisons to more established comedians such as Damian Callinan or Justin Hamilton – performers over ten years his senior – and it’s going to be interesting watching where he goes from here.
Visit the Comedy@Trades Hall website for bookings and further details