Presented by Token Events
Reviewed 7 March 2014
Host of the Gruen Transfer and Adelaide Fringe comedy favourite, Wil Anderson, opened his new show, Wiluminati, at the Vagabond on Friday night.
Proving he is indeed one of Australia’s most intelligent and exciting (not to mention bloody funny) veterans of comedy, Wil delighted the audience with his new stand-up offering.
Touching on everything from relationships to politics and racism, Wil had something for everyone. That’s no mean feat considering 2014 is the sixteenth Fringe that Anderson has performed in and his 22 year old Doc Martins were older than half the audience.
I’m also somewhat of a ‘Wil Veteran’ given this is the fourth year I’ve reviewed his Fringe show, so if anyone can catch him out repeating material or letting his game slip a little, I’m your gal. I’m happy to report I’m yet to catch him out on either front and, like the rest of the 540 strong audience, he had me cracking up.
Wil Anderson’s comedy shows are always popular at the Fringe and for good reason. In Wiluminati, he had the right balance of pre-scripted material together with off-the-cuff humour resulting from banter with the audience. There’s no doubt about it, this guy is a quick thinker – when one audience member said he worked in IT support, Anderson responded by questioning if this involved putting his arm around sad computers.
Anderson regaled the audience with stories of his recent relocation to America, his early start in comedy in New York, the life lessons he’s acquired from hero, Matt Damon, (ie don’t kill morons who parody you) and his ongoing problems with his arthritis riddled hips. Apparently Anderson is now taking sex tips from a 65 year old female therapist to deal with these issues.
Wiluminati was less political than previous Fringe shows, but there was still a spattering of his leftist tendencies that his fans all love. He’s not keen on the shark cull given that he’s vegetarian, a humanitarian and more people die from rip tides than shark attacks. He recognises, however, that governments don’t persecute rips, instead they welcome them because they get rid of the boats.
Without giving away anymore of Wil’s punch lines, all I can say is that this is a great opportunity to see truly professional live stand-up comedy. It may be freely available on the box, but there’s nothing like the live experience (after-all, isn’t that what Fringe is all about?) so get down to the Vagabond and see the absolutely amazing king of Australian comedy, Wil Anderson.
Reviewed by Samantha Bond
Venue: The Vagabond, The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Rundle Park, Adelaide
Season: 8 – 16 March 2014
Duration: 1 hour
Tickets: $40.00 – $45.00
Bookings: Book through FringeTix online or phone 1300 621 255
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