[star rating =4/5]
Armed with a guitar and a heavy use of SFX, Paul Williams brings Paul Williams: Santa Fe to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; a show in which the Kiwi comedian mocks being in his older, more famous brother Guy Williams’ shadow, and somehow he also successfully incorporates travelling through time and space in a relative manner to the Wild West of Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1882.
Paul cleverly blends music and comedy, and some stereotypes from old Western movies to make the audience laugh throughout his 60-minute whirlwind of a set at Underbelly Cowgate.
The room was full on this particular Sunday afternoon, as he gave insight into the behind-the-scenes life of a comedian trying to put on a good show, whilst putting on a good show.
Using two members of the audience as sub-characters in his plot added to the hilarity of the set-up and a few blunders with his tech only made it all the more fun.
Part of Paul’s routine works around how to successfully respond to heckling, and this is another thing he successfully maneuvered off-the-cuff, when a drunk woman in the front row felt her voice needed to be heard on multiple occasions.
His comedy singing and dancing made for great entertainment, and his playful sense of humour was a charming and amusing experience for all.
