Tony Law (born 20 September 1969) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...

. Originally from

Lacombe Lacombe may refer to: Places * Lacombe, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe County, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe, Louisiana, United States * Lacombe, Aude, France People * Albert Lacombe (1827–1916), oblate missionary to the Cree and Blackfoot * Bernard Lac ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, he has been based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

since the age of 19. He is known for his surreal material and delivery. Many of his stand-up routines are

ad-libbed In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The ...

, and built around various subjects that he has thought of, but not planned a routine about, and often involve fictional and surreal situations. Having struggled with alcoholism for years, Law gave up alcohol in 2015.

Early life

Law was born on 20 September 1969 in

, Canada. He described his younger self as a "dickhead". Law has said he moved to Britain due to his love of

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Career

Tony's comedy career began with him winning the New Act competition at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

in 1995.BBC Profiles
/ref> A lot of Law's earlier material featured tales of his time-travelling exploits in the company of his sausage dog, Cartridge Davison. Cartridge is the eponymous "Dog Of Time" from his

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

show of the same name, and has appeared with Law on ITV's ''Comedy Cuts'' TV show. In 2002 he was a regular panellist on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

comedy quiz show ''Does Doug Know?''. He also appeared in a series of television adverts for

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and has had TV exposure on ''Edinburgh & Beyond'' and ''

Comedy Cuts ''Comedy Cuts'' is a comedy programme on the British TV channel ITV2 that aims to provide an opportunity for new comedy performers to present their talents. Featuring 40 performers demonstrating a mix of stand up and sketches, the series is shot ...

''. Law's first comedy tour was in 2009 and in 2010 he was a support act for

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...

. Law performed on ''

Russell Howard's Good News ''Russell Howard's Good News'' was a British comedy and topical news television show which was broadcast on BBC Three between 2009 and 2014, and on BBC Two between 2014 and 2015. Hosted by comedian Russell Howard, it offered his commentary on ...

'' in April 2011 as part of one of the extended episodes called ''Russell Howard's Good News Extra''. On 17 October 2011, he also appeared on the satirical music-based panel game ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...

''. In 2011–2012, he toured his comedy show ''Tony Law: Go Mr Tony Go!''. In August 2012, Tony returned to the Edinburgh Fringe to perform his new show, ''Tony Law: Maximum Nonsense''. The show was nominated for best comedy show at the

Edinburgh Comedy Awards The Dave (TV channel), Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival ...

. He appeared on the BBC One show '' Have I Got News for You'', a satire panel show, on 2 November 2012, hosted by

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' an ...

. In November 2012 he appeared on ''

8 Out of 10 Cats ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' is a British comedy panel show broadcast on Channel 4 and its sister networks, airing since 3 June 2005. The show is hosted by Jimmy Carr; the current team captains are Rob Beckett and Katherine Ryan. The show is based on ...

'', and returned to that show on 8 February 2013. In February–March 2013 he appeared in

Comedy Central UK Comedy Central is a British pay television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated. This channel is specific to audiences within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is aligned with the original US versi ...

The Alternative Comedy Experience ''The Alternative Comedy Experience'' is a stand-up comedy show that premiered on 5 February 2013 on the Comedy Central channel in the UK. It features live comedy shows, filmed in July 2012 at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh, and behind-the-sc ...

. Tony has performed in podcasts including ''

Do the Right Thing ''Do the Right Thing'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jackson, a ...

'' and ''Why Is Your Bottom So Dirty''. He also has his own podcast series ''The Tony Law Tapes''. In 2017 Tony worked with Adam Larter to create an experimental comedy opera on ice at the Alexandra Palace called 'Battle for Icetopia' The show won the

Chortle Chortle is a British comedy website launched in 2000 by Steve Bennett. The site is a major source of comedy news in the UK. It also reviews comedy shows nationwide, including extensively at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and presents the ...

Award for Event of the Year.

Solo shows

*2006 - ''The Dog of Time'' *2011 - ''Go Mr Tony Go!'' *2012 - ''Maximum Nonsense'' *2013 - ''Nonsense Overdrive'' *2014 - ''Enter the Tonezone'' *2016 - ''A Law Undo His-elf What Welcome'' *2017 - ''Absurdity for the Common People'' *2018 - ''A Lost Show'' *2019 - ''Identifies''

Other shows

*2019 - ''Virtue Chamber Echo Bravo with Phil Nichol'' *2020 -
Virtue Chamber Echo Bravo Deep Inside The Internet
', a live improvised chat stream with

Phil Nichol Phil Nichol is a Canadian comedian, singer-songwriter and actor. Early life and career Comedy Nichol was born in Scotland to a Scottish mother, but raised in Canada. He first found fame as a member of the musical comedy trio Corky and the Juice ...

*2021 - ''The Tone Zone'', a solo live streaming broadcast with Kai Barron

References

External links

Official WebsiteVirtue Chamber Echo Bravo WebsiteVCEB Twitch ChannelThe Tony Law Tapes Podcast with John-Luke Roberts focussing on Time Travel adventures.Youtube excerpt of Law's performance at Latitude festival 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Tony 1969 births Living people Canadian stand-up comedians Comedians from Alberta People from Lacombe, Alberta Twitch (service) streamers