There are far worse things you could do with an hour or so of your life than watching the wonderfully silly Frank Woodley do his thing. He is the consummate clown and doesn't have to do very much at all to get a laugh. Quite literally, he's the kind of comedian who could simply stand before you, not say a word and still get a laugh.Luckily for his audience, however, his material matches his gangly, clown-like appearance. It's a clever, deep well of silliness he draws from. His material is clever, in its buffoon way, and shows that he is very aware of his comedic limitations and strengths as much in the content as his physical delivery.
Physical humour? I'd say anyone who takes to the stage and does an impersonation of a horse doing a a meerkat (or was it a meerkat doing a horse?) can reasonably be described as a physical comedian. From here we had a few demonstrations of Woodley's lifelong acknowledgement that he is, compared to others, kind of pathetic – demonstrated perfectly when in the schoolyard he finds himself surrounded by school boys chanting FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! And he is urging them to chant DISCUSSION! DISCUSSION! DISCUSSION!
There is his completely plausible explanation of the existence of potholes; a remembered anecdote about his friend, Dean the horse; a very funny section on accents featuring crocodiles and tourists and wasps; a musical section during which he played the guitar...
Okay, so this section was, for this audience member, the weakest section of the show. Some funny jokes, sure, but overall it went for too long and was not up to the standard of the rest of the show. I suspect the rest of the quite large audience might have felt the same way, given how relatively subdued it was for its duration.
Thankfully the guitar was put aside and there was a return to the wonderfully silly antics he does so well: some involuntary audience participation in which a couple of guys read from a script called something like The Fuck-knuckle & The Squire; and an extended and über hilarious sketch about Hitler... it was all very, very silly. And thank God for silly.
Very funny. Very good entertainingment.
Token Events
Fool's Gold
Frank Woodley
Venue: Melb Town Hall - Lower Town Hall | Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne
Dates: 27 Mar – 20 April, 2014
Tickets: $28 – $39.50
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013
