Review > Comedy review: Dave Thornton - A Different Type of Normal
Here’s an unusual mix, as stand-up routines go – stories of growing up in Australia interwoven with tales of a much-loved father. There’s the potential for a maudlin hour of saccharine reminiscing, but Dave Thornton is better than that.
The show opens with chat about typefaces. As a journalist, I’m rather font of the likes of Optima, Coranto and Interstate Bold Italic, but I was surprised at how much comic mileage could be gained from them. I suppose that’s what’s meant by graphic humour.
The extremely personable Thornton was gifted a father and son in the front row, allowing him to bounce off them as he began chatting about his late dad – a pop singer turned cleaner. He and his father didn’t always like or understand one another, but the love was undeniable. The stories have a universality that touched the audience, even as we were laughing. And when the end comes, perfectly tying up the evening’s two strands, the collective lump in our throat was undeniable.
Don’t miss this skilfully structured, original show.
