Wil Anderson: Wilosophy

Wil Anderson is like a comic snowball rolling down the side of a mountain, ironic considering his Antipodean heritage. Starting off slowly, with gentle gags that seem worryingly over-dependant on knowledge of Australian culture, he quickly builds up force and momentum, absorbing ever more topics into his routine. As his pace of delivery becomes quicker, even stopping for breath seems secondary to his desire to entertain. Finally, as the set reaches its conclusion with a sharp examination of intelligent design theory’s inherent flaws, you realise that you have been overcome with the careering avalanche of Anderson’s humour and reach its conclusion in a crumpled, giggling heap.

Anderson is clearly an erudite comic but is highly eclectic his choice of ways to amuse. Drawing on the humour of the crude, surreal, subversive, reflective and just downright childish, the resultant melting pot feels like two hours of comedy shrink-wrapped into one. Indeed his feverish delivery guarantees that some jokes slip past so quickly that you may think you have missed them; only to find out later that evening that they have burrowed their way into your unconscious, as you find yourself laughing out loud in what could be described as comic aftershocks.

Anderson’s theme of individual responsibility is expertly woven throughout and gives unity to topics as wide-ranging as obesity, torture and economic policy. This subtle, coalescing motif marks out Anderson as an accomplished comedian and allows his humour not only to entertain, but also to make us question some of our preconceptions on some difficult moral problems.