by ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
Tom Cashman asks for audience prompts beforehand to offer encouraging words, but the truth is, the Australian comedian and co-host of that nation’s Down Under edition of Taskmaster doesn’t need any hyping. He’s already obsessively energetic in both his preparation and performance, which translates into a buzzy hour of slides and quips.
Cashman is proficiently prodigious enough to turn an early August Edinburgh haircut into a hair-raising routine complete with graphics and barbs aplenty for his barber.
He can create an app to gamify men’s feelings, get down to the nitty gritty about who really can lay claim to creating the flat white coffee beverage, and has very witty asides to go with his jokes about which parts of the flat white and Russell Crowe alike are necessarily Australian or more native to New Zealand.
Cashman also tells the creepiest story about his childhood that you may ever hear that features a happy ending, but not that kind, thankfully. And he has one final magic trick to pull off to show off his obsession with pulling one over on the audience.
You could say Tom Cashman is a master of all comedic tasks. He’s certainly completely proficient as a comedian.
Tom Cashman: NPC (Nearly Proficient Comedian) plays Monkey Barrel 4 during the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.
