The Cutup

My middle child has a comedy special on Crave TV. I wrote about it for Letterboxd: “Original, hilarious & intelligent, this comedy special is downright brilliant." Okay, what did you expect from his mother? A pan?

It's okay though, you don't have to take my word for it. Here's Glenn Sumi, arts writer and editor: “In his first-ever special, the Toronto-based Henry demonstrates why he’s one of the cleverest and most distinctive stand-ups working today.”

Like I said "original & brilliant".

Although, "cleverest and most distinctive" tops my description. Sumi: “The stone-faced writer/performer... has a way of looking at life that is off-kilter, oddly calming and, of course, very funny."

“Like any comic who does short jokes, he knows that he needs to mix up the rhythms of his longer sets. He does that several times in 66 Jokes, each time subverting a standard comedy trope, whether it’s engaging in crowd work or doing impressions.” - Glenn Sumi for NOW.

If you're in Canada you can see the special on Crave on Demand. If you're elsewhere, there's apparently some way of seeing it but I'm not sure how (I'm just the mother, not a tech wizard). I hope you get the chance to view it though because the opening shot is amazing, while the closing bit is priceless, and everything in between is pure gold.

Tom’s just released a new album, his second. But before we get to that, here is his first, which you can find on Spotify (and other platforms) -

If you’d have asked me when he was a kid if I thought this would be his destiny, I might not have guessed it. But when I watch (or hear) his approach to stand-up I can see some of his child/teenhood characteristics at play, one of which Sumi describes perfectly:

“Henry is a master of misdirection he’ll bring up a subject, let it sit with you awhile, and then, in his calm, casual way, take it somewhere else.”

Sumi continues: “I’ve been a fan of Tom Henry's brand of deadpan humour for years, and he just keeps getting better. This album, while brief (like his jokes themselves), collects some of his funniest bits, which only improve on repeated listenings because you can savour how well they’re crafted.

“While I was worried that Henry's act would suffer without the great visual of his expressionless physical presence (captured in the excellent album cover illustration*, a riff on police suspect drawings), its not an issue: his voice is intentionally uninflected, with just a hint of nasally sarcasm to emphasize his punchlines.”

*A note about the “excellent album cover illustration” - that was done by Tom’s sister Anna May Henry (full disclosure - she's my eldest daughter).

Here's his hot-off-the-press second album, The Cutup:

The introduction is by "the second most famous person" Tom knows. You'll be delighted and surprised to hear it - and the rest of the album. Find it on Apple Music, Amazon.com, Spotify, Qobuz, and other platforms from whence you get your comedy albums.

Lastly (for now) Meg Remy is a Toronto based musician whose U.S. Girls album Scratch It will be released on June 20. Tom directed the music video for the track Like James Said.

If you've been lucky enough to see 66 Jokes, then you'll know that Tom can dance. Which reminds me that when he was a wee lad, we took tap dancing classes together, along with his sister, at our local community centre. Tom was an outstanding terpsichorean pupil even at age five. The teacher of those classes told me that back in the day he'd been a dancer in the movie Top Hat - one of the multitudes hoofing behind Fred Astaire. We took his word for it.

And you can take my word for it that my son is an absolute delight. Enjoy -