Review by Steve Bennett

The most striking about Nathan A Thomas is his youth. Where comics in the Peter Kay vein use their schoolday routines as a reassuring nostalgia, Thomas uses it because that’s pretty much all he knows.

But this agreeable naif makes the most of his limited experience, happy to expose himself as a horny, teenager and sheltered, posh weakling, chronically unable to stand up to the rough kids. In routines like this, he exudes a vulnerable likeability, which will mean a certain proportion of the audience are likely to want to mother him. And the sympathies of everyone else will surely always be with him.

Yet despite his unaffected charm, his restricted horizons are undoubtedly a hindrance – limiting him to the sort of generic material about masturbation or Steve Irwin that this former A-level drama student hasn’t yet developed much personal insight on. But if nothing else, starting so young means that time is on his side – and hopefully some more distinctive attitude will develop as he encounters more of life.

Review date: 29 Feb 2008
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett