march-2012

EVENTS /// PROFILES /// FOOD /// DRINKS /// PLACES /// STYLE
We catch up with funnyman Wil
Anderson who is set to have
audiences in stitches during
Australia’s comedy season
HOW HARD IS IT BEING A
STAND-UP COMEDIAN?
My dad is a farmer. That job is
hard. Comedy is indoor work with
no heavy lifting. I get paid to tell
people jokes, share a night of joy
with them, and I can drink while I’m
at work. They don’t let you do that
as a pilot.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN PEOPLE
DON’T LAUGH AT YOUR JOKES?
Write better jokes. The thing about
comedy is that you’re only as funny
as your last joke. You can’t rest on
your laurels. Rich Hall described
stand-up as a “joke-by-joke job
application”. If an audience doesn’t
laugh, you can’t say: “But hey, I’ve
won awards!”
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH
NEW MATERIAL?
If you write a hit song you can sing
it forever. Comedy is all about new
material. No one comes to gigs and
yells out: “Do your ‘klim is milk
spelled backwards’ joke from 1998!
We all know the words to that one!”
I have a simple way of coming up
with new material: I sit alone in a
dark room and I remember that I
have a hideous mortgage and no
other skills. That does the trick!
010
10
MINUTES
WITH...
WIL
ANDERSON
DOES YOUR SENSE OF HUMOUR
HELP YOU WITH THE LADIES?
Not. At. All. My show is the funniest
and most interesting thoughts I have
for a year condensed into an hour.
The me you get free is much more
boring. The only groupies comedians
have are people who book in groups
to get a concession price.
Wilarious is on on 5–18 Mar at
Adelaide Fringe Festival; 20–25
Mar at Brisbane Comedy Festival;
27 Mar–15 Apr at Melbourne
International Comedy Festival.
FAVE
SPOTS
BYRON BAY:
For the last
few years, I’ve
done all my trial
shows for my
tour in Byron
Bay (that isn’t
just so I can go
to the beach
during the day).
DARWIN:
Possibly my
favourite place
in Australia.
Anywhere that
the restaurants
have a selection
of Breakfast
Beers is ok
by me.
After a sold-out tour
in 2011 Wil Anderson
returns with his
new show Wilarious
INTERVIEW: ZUHARA YUSOFF