Apart from his lily-white feet and jandals, the first thing you notice about Wil Anderson as he wanders on stage are the bulging tendons in his neck.

He looks more like a howler in a rock band than an Australian comedian. He uses these well-developed muscles to great effect when mocking his fellow countrymen and the Aussie accent in variously camp, dumbed-down, or over-the-top ways.

"I tell ya, Aussies turn into seagulls when they get angry," he squawks. [More]
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I have taken to using eye cream in my skincare regime. The bane of middle age has visited me; fine lines have started to creep along my face. The perils of enjoying the Comedy Festival …

I am out to see Wil Anderson this evening, for company I have my long suffering friend Sarah who is quite hard to please when it comes to making her laugh. We enter the Herald Theatre to night club volume Hip hop.  I assume (wrongly) the music is a theme of tonight’s performance.

Lights fade, come up again and there he is, black attire ‘cafe set’ style, borderline metro-sexual with thongs on (he’s Australian).

Initially he looks surprised; it is his maiden visit to New Zealand and he seems for an instant taken aback by the turnout: the house is full. He gains his composure and from there takes us through his ‘Wilosophy’.

Non-stop, Anderson commands our attention with his conscious musings,  jazzed up on cough syrup and Codral to medicate a cold, he waxes lyrical about everything! He waxes on it, and does not fudge a fact.

From N.I.N.J.A Home loans to women’s health issues, the bush fires in Oz and his penchant for hip hop, environmental awareness and vegetarianism, this bloke is articulate and concise.

Anderson is well informed and has passion for his ‘sport’, the practise of raising consciousness and respect for each other and our planet. He plays it out so perfectly, the subject matter in some parts of the show is dead serious but were all rolling in our chairs, trying to stay upright and not wet our pants.

I should mention religion runs as a strong theme in Anderson’s performance. In my opinion his views are valid and clear; it takes skill to visit on the delicate issues of humanity whilst retaining sensitivity to all beliefs. Not an easy undertaking, especially to the soundtrack of laughter.

If you like your comedy hilariously cutting edge, cynical but educational; musical, ethical and fair to the right of free speech… DO NOT MISS Wil Anderson. You won’t be disappointed and you Wil(l) be impressed.

I would know. A ‘family of laugh lines’ have just nestled in the corners of my eyes. Where did I leave that cream?
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