Tom Mayhew: From Rags to Slightly Newer Rags (Laughing Horse online, 8-30 august)

Home's where the art is: Tom Mayhew is staying at home but certainly not twiddling his thumbs, in this gently enjoyable stand up hour.

Tom Mayhew has been on hold for about a year now- his plans to become a full-time comedian have been put on hold to muddle through the pandemic, pretty understandably. That doesn't mean he's rested on his laurels, though: From Rags to Slightly Newer Rags is an honest, engaging take on social politics, comedy snobbery and reassessing the situation in light of Covid.

"Mayhew's open and honest about the nature of this show, his on-screen persona immediately endearing to the extent that it normalises performing from your own sofa."

Mayhew mixes pre-recorded segments with his live material, providing some fantastic callbacks (a particular discussion of high vs low art culminates in an absolute joy of a payoff, delivered offhand by Mayhew in the first instance and excellently timed. I think I hooted down the mic) and breaking the potential awkwardness of a Zoom gig. Mayhew's open and honest about the nature of this show, his on-screen persona immediately endearing to the extent that it normalises performing from your own sofa.

These snippets also broaden the show's remits, suddenly veering into alternative material aside from Mayhew's original anecdotal set. There is of course a stiltedness to switching between presentation screens but this is the nature of an online live gig, and next to Mayhew's unflappable cheerfulness and some bemused takes on social commentary, it's hard not to ease into the different format.

The show ends on a touching if not raw note, linking back to themes of how Mayhew's been forced to take stock of his life in the past year. It's not the funniest of finales but hits a sweet spot of sentimentality which highlights how unselfish Mayhew's takes on the pandemic have been. Despite the break from comedy, Mayhew shows his career momentum is bound to be back on track soon.

From Rags to Slightly Newer Rags will be performed live on Zoom every night until the 30th August, find out more and buy tickets here.