Comedy Festival 2018: Cal Wilson blessings and curses are the backbone to Hindsight ★★★½
CAL Wilson’s self-confessed anxiety condition and the blessings and curses of her domestic life provide the backbone to the charming comedian’s light and fluffy comedy routine.
Comedy Festival
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CAL Wilson’s bright smile and charming personality that sparkles like her bejeweled necklace, belies her self-confessed over-thinking and anxiety condition.
The 47-year-old comedian who hails from New Zealand but now lives in Melbourne, puts her condition and the blessings and curses of domestic life to good use providing the backbone to her generally light and fluffy hour-long routine.
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Wilson spends the first part of her show, Hindsight, cleverly breaking down the lyrics of several well-known songs into their tiniest, most absurd components.
The balance of her routine is constructed around her aforementioned and many, self-confessed fears.
Wilson successfully incorporates several Q&A sessions into her show, establishing whether the fears she holds are just hers or are shared by her audience.
The material, however, takes a dramatic turn in the last 15 minutes when Wilson reveals details of a serious incident that occurred when she was a schoolgirl. This leads to Wilson discussing the inappropriate behaviour of some men and how those men should be called out for such behaviour.
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While obviously pivotally important to Wilson, the dark tone struck by the discussion is discordant with the overall levity of her routine. When Wilson rallies guys to call each other out for inappropriate behaviour, her tone verges on preachy, which may alienate some of her male audience members.
Wilson’s performance — delivered for the most part at a hellacious, anxiety-fuelled pace — should entertain festival audiences who don’t mind a liberal sprinkling of expletives in their comedy, and who are looking for a good time without needing to over-think.
Cal Wilson, Hindsight
Victoria Hotel, 215 Little Collins St, Melbourne, until April 22.
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