GOODWIL – WIL ANDERSON

There aren’t many comedians who could fill a 1500-seat theatre for 21 shows in a row but Wil Anderson did just that at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre in April, with his latest stand-up show, the Helpmann Award-nominated GoodWil. The show covers everything from gay marriage and boat people to the differences between cats and dogs.

Anderson may be a household name in Australia due to Gruen, but he’s still building up his profile overseas, dividing his time between Australia and America in an attempt to crack the elusive American market.  It seems the effort is paying off.

“I got more standing ovations in the week of doing shows in Denver than I’ve had in 18 years of doing stand up in Australia,” he says.

Anderson is bringing the show back to Australia after touring the UK, the US and Canada, but the shows haven’t all been on quite the same scale as the Princess Theatre.

“The next gig was in a log cabin in Alaska in front of 45 hillbillies!” he laughs.

“The American audiences are very ‘Yes we can’, the Australian audiences are a bit ‘Bet you can’t’ and the English audiences are just ‘Screw you for trying in the first place’, I think,” says Anderson.

“You’re definitely doing your comedy in very different environments but I personally find it very challenging and exciting.” (AS)

Sep 13, Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown, $50, 9550 3666, enmoretheatre.com.au

BY ANITA SENARATNA