Alex Williamson’s Dumb Things I’ve Done

Reviewed by Alice D

I was so disappointed that my first review for the 2014 Adelaide Fringe would have to be negative. I sat at my computer trying extremely hard to find something positive to say about Alex Williamson’s Dumb Things I’ve Done but I failed. After minutes of pondering, I could not find a single redeeming quality in Williamson’s stand-up.

The stage was set, primed for a traditional stand-up routine, complete with mike and a bottle of water. I was excited when Williamson walked on to the stage as I was anticipating a fresh, young comedy routine; however, when your first joke is about one of the Beaumont children’s open grave, the audience is bound to feel slightly uncomfortable.

During his introduction, Williamson explained that he was going to talk about his reckless exploits, beginning with his childhood and ending in the present. The promised narrative was quickly abandoned, but not before he could tell the audience of his addiction to masturbating over children’s cartoons. The lack of structure made the routine extremely difficult to follow, as it presented a mishmash of jokes, seemingly without a common thread.

Williamson shared an anecdote about two female pensioners who accidentally booked his show instead of a John Williamson performance. He laughed that the older ladies left, disgusted, after the fourth rape joke. I think this story did not have the effect Williamson desired, as I too wished I could have left after the fourth rape joke.  I understand that comedy can be a wonderful forum to touch on taboo subjects, but a restraining order should be issued to keep Williamson away from them. Edgy comedy is good, great even, when a comedian’s wit is able to overshadow the unsavouriness of a topic. But Williamson’s crude ‘jokes’ were so devoid of whimsy and intelligence that I found myself offended rather than tickled.

If you do decide, against better judgement, to see Dumb Things I’ve Done, be forewarned this show contains swearing. An excessive amount of swearing. I enjoy swearing; I think it can absolutely be used to make a point, or even just for fun. Yet, somehow, hearing Williamson say c*** at the end of almost every sentence became extremely irritating. At the end of the 50-minute routine the word had lost all of its original impact and humour — much like the routine as a whole.  Alex Williamson’s Dumb Things I’ve Done is just too much of a bad thing.

Alex Williamson’s Dumb Things I’ve Done, The Arkaba, 20 Feb to 22 Feb