“It suggests he wants to rock out, but at a volume he can control. I think that’s very Lesser Tom.”
Taskmaster host Tom Gleeson has just learned that co-host Tom Cashman has bought an electronic drum kit. It was a direct request from Cashman, also known on the show as Lesser Tom, that we tell Gleeson about his latest purchase.
It’s an insight into the dynamic between the two Toms; one that is the backbone of one of Australia’s most popular recent comedies. While their on-screen personas clash, the two Toms get on “really well,” according to Gleeson.
“He knows it’s entertainment. He’s got his iPad and he’s really across everything. I deliberately wrong foot him constantly because watching him have to adjust is funny to watch.”
Gleeson and Cashman are the only two permanent faces on Taskmaster, where each season, five comedians attempt different tasks to win the ultimate prize – a bronze bust of Gleeson’s head.
Much of the show’s fun involves contestants trying and failing to complete the challenges set for them. Cashman is on set with each contestant as adjudicator and often finds himself copping it when things go wrong.
“A real thing that I love about doing the show is that it is a bit like a psychological experiment or something in that you are putting five very different people through exactly the same task,” he explains.
“Some people like playing structured games. That’s just how they grew up.
“But [it’s different] if this is already pissing you off, you didn’t grow up playing games like this, and then some guy in a suit is annoyingly saying ‘don’t put your toes over the rope.’
“I feel like how they abuse me represents how they feel about games like this, so I don’t take it personally.
“My first job as a teenager was as a basketball referee, and you’d get abused a lot in that by the dads of the kids you’re refereeing.”
Despite the show’s opening credits showing him sitting at a typewriter writing tasks, Gleeson has no part in creating Taskmaster’s tasks and watches them for the first time during tapings.
“I am kind of like the people on Gogglebox. I’m sitting in a big couch watching TV. The difference between Gogglebox and me is I’m watching people on TV with the people that made it. It’s got a bit more energy to me because I’m criticising something I’ve seen on a screen and the person who I’m criticising is right in front of me.
“You can tell in the studio there’s some electricity there because they [the comedians] are all on the edge of their seats and they can’t wait to see how it’s all unfolded. They’re desperate to see what happens.
“The fun part for me, I especially like making fun of comedians who are my contemporaries, who have been around as long as I have. If I’m the taskmaster just beating up on new comedians, it’s not great. Beating up on Hughesy [Dave Hughes] is a treat.”
Taskmaster has solidified Gleeson’s status as one of Australia’s most popular TV hosts, so much so that his latest show, Out of Touch, invites audiences to “come take him down a peg.” For Gleeson, the moment where he learned he was out of touch was during last year’s federal election.
“Politicians were being given a hard time for not knowing the price of eggs. I realised I don’t know the price of eggs either, and I still don’t,” he explains.
“I like the audience to feel like they have an impact on the performance. [But] they will never win.
“The thing that amuses me sometimes is with Hard Quiz, people say to me, ‘oh, sometimes the contestants really get you back,’ and it’s like, yeah, I could grind into the dirt every fucking time, but I don’t because I like to let them have a chance”.
Gleeson might be the host of two of Australia’s most popular comedy shows, but how do their fanbases compare to each other?
“It can be discombobulating because people just come up to me and say, I really love your TV show, and I’m like, which one?,” Gleeson jokes.
“Taskmaster is a bit more popular with families. Hard Quiz feels like everybody [knows it], and then Taskmaster fans sit within that”.
When it comes to comedy, both comedians bring their own styles to Taskmaster rather than moulding them around the show. Cashman is even using Taskmaster to workshop his new stand-up hour, NPC (Nearly Proficient Comedian).
“What was exciting about being cast on Taskmaster is that my sense of humour was aligned with the format anyway, which is presumably part of why I was asked to be on the show.
“I came up with this name for a show – I thought it was a funny name, and then I submitted it to the relevant festivals,” he explains.
“We were recording Season 6 and during that, I forget the context, but someone called me an NPC, and I thought, ‘my God, I’ve got the comeback of a century here because I’ve just thought of my show name and this is going to seem like I’m really quick.’”
“I go, ‘yeah, nearly proficient comedian’. Silence. Absolutely no laughs from anyone. This is maybe the only show name at the Fringe that’s already bombed in front of a crowd.
With Season 5 of Taskmaster coming out later this year, what can fans expect from Anisa Nandaula, Rove McManus, Joel Creasey, Ceila Pacquola and Brett Blake? Gleeson gave Fest a preview into the new season and his collaborative show The Grats, which is also coming to Fringe.
“I think Brett is going to be a lot of people’s favourite out of the five. People might have forgotten just how silly Rove is because he’s an absolute nut job on this show,” Gleeson tells us.
“You’re talking about Tom playing drums. If people go to the Garden of Unearthly Delights, there’s me and a few others are [in] a band and you can watch me play actual drums, unlike Tom Cashman with his stupid headphones on playing in his bedroom”.
Tom Gleeson – Out of Touch, The Vagabond at The Garden of Unearthly Delights, 20 Feb-22 March, 6.30pm; Tom Cashman – NPC (Nearly Proficient Comedian), Upstairs at Rhino Room, 24-28 Feb, 8.30pm