“Tom is undoubtedly an affable, confident storyteller, though their ripe script provides a lot more space for them to inhabit, not just tell, the story as performances continue. For a text inherently about the human desperation for a Great Apocalypse Love, Tom could build more suspense within their dating and romantic incidents rather than matter-of-factly delivering the outcomes of breakups, though their final epiphany is lovely.”
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“Part of what makes 'Less Lonely' such a success is the audience...This show is for the girls, the gays, and theys, and Jes Tom gives us everything we could want...During the show, they create a space where queer and trans people can get together and laugh at the ridiculousness of our lives, where we can feel like our experiences are finally the ones getting talked about with nuance and in graphic detail, where we can laugh together instead of being left out or laughed at, and perhaps most importantly, a place where we can all feel a bit less lonely.”
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Jes succeeds where some other bio-storytellers fail. Jes’ secret is being comfortable in their own skin to relate intensely personal experiences yet create a sense of universality, or community, that envelops the entire audience. You may not always agree, but chances are good you will be laughing with Jes, and not at Jes. As Jes puts it, “Most of my material takes at least two semesters of gender studies to truly understand.”
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“One of the things I’ve learned during the still ongoing pandemic...is that the secret to great stand-up comedy is being able to both relate one’s singular experiences yet create a sense of universality that envelops your audience. In short, we need to laugh with you, not at you.”
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“Throughout the taut, topical 90-minute set, Tom emerges as a disarmingly innocent-seeming tour guide of a decidedly adult journey to personal and sexual fulfillment.”
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Why should gender and sexuality be separate, unchangeable boxes that don’t grow and change with the rest of us? We can be any mix of identities on this planet without being a contradiction. Jes Tom stands on stage in front of a theatre full of strangers and tells their story in a way that makes us laugh, even if at moments we identify with them so strongly that we also want to cry. My takeaway was that you don’t have to be 100% anything to have your identity be 100% valid.
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"As a comedy show, it’s fine. As a portrait of a person perpetually in want, it’s haunting."
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