© Andy Hollingworth
Tom Allen is rapidly growing in popularity on the stand up circuit, having recently supported the likes of Josie Long and Sarah Millican on nationwide and international tours. Tom’s unique blend of the sinister and the playfully cheeky makes for a very interesting performer, with the comic bringing his latest hour, Indeed, to 2016’s Edinburgh Festival.
To learn more about the man behind the craft, I asked Tom these seven questions…
1) What means the most to you?
My family is very important to me. I’d also say any suit that fits me well.
2) What car do you drive?
I don’t drive. But I’m learning at the moment. My parents sometimes let me drive their Ford Focus. As you can imagine, it really gets people looking.
3) Would you rather lose control of your mind or your body?
Body I think. You should see me dance.
4) Do you watch a lot of comedy?
Yes. I tend to go for American comedy or anything far away from home. I like to think it offers an alternative way of approaching things. I find people like Maria Bamford in the US and Hannah Gadsby in Australia really inspiring.
5) How do you take your tea?
I only drink coffee. (I know!) And I take that black.
6) What scares you most about live performance?
I have a fear of falling off the stage – like wouldn’t it be awful if I just walked up to the mic, somehow skidded forward and fell off the front of the stage into someone’s lap? I mean, wouldn’t that be dreadful? Or what if I misplaced where the edge of the stage is and did that awkward sort of fall where I was one leg on and one leg off – straddling a fold-back monitor. So undignified! It terrifies me.
7) What is your favourite high street shop?
Thank you for asking this. I think I’d say Marks and Spencer. Their pants have lasted me for years. It’s also a bit of a day out at the same time. There’s always something to look around. All the different collections: ‘Collezione’ – so Italian; ‘Blue Harbour’ – for the dads; ‘Per Una’ – for weddings. And then there’s the food hall of course. Oh I could spend all day in there…