Something that you might guess from the title of his show, but not from the blurb in the Festival guide, is that Craig Wellington’s show has a LOT to do with his obsession with Dr Who and how it has affected his life. If you are a fan of Dr Who (as I am) Wellington Who is a must-see at the festival.
The show is in a tiny room in an obscure corner of Trades Hall and the doorway to the Banner Room has been cunningly disguised as the TARDIS! You actually get to go through the doors what looks like a blue Police box to enter the performance space. The fresh pine bench seating was rather rudimentary and slightly uncomfortable. It was not a very long show but you still might want to take a cushion.
Craig began with an introduction about how chic it has become to be a Geek, then took us back to his childhood, discovering Dr Who at age 6 and sibling rivalry with his younger more sports gifted (and thus socially normal) brother. He also peppered his tale with rejection letters he received, such as his first from Father Christmas and the one from the BBC refusing his Dr Who sketch that brought him some positive notoriety in the school ground. He read out unbelievably real, hilarious rejection letters for books and scripts he has written. Meanwhile he became President of the Hobart Dr Who Club and met Katy Manning.
He was berated by his father who sounded remarkably like a Dalek saying things like “Why don’t you clean your room?” and “Have you got clean undies on? You might get hit by a bus and Be Exterminated”. Other hilarious characterisations he took on were mostly geeky Dr Who fan characters, which he played with skill and enthusiasm. The show came full-circle as he passed through the dark days of no Doctor Who on the Telly to the Doctor suddenly becoming sexy and observed that now its actually cool to love Dr Who.
Being a Dr Who Geek I was delighted to find myself on Craig’s journey through space and time in his TARDIS and found the experience cathartic and hilarious. Non Geeks might want to instead choose to go see a comedian who abuses his audience and gets laughs with swear words. Even if you are not a huge fan of The Doctor and his many skimpily clad assistants, there is much to enjoy here. Craig is a wonderful and perceptive entertainer who creates quirky, silly characters and clever dense dialogue. Simple photos hung on a clothesline replaced the usual PowerPoint presentation and he has a lot of fun with sound. If you like a comedian who is also a wonderful storyteller I can thoroughly recommend you visit the TARDIS and see Craig Wellington’s Wellington Who
“Wellington Who” runs Tues to Sat until April 28. See “Wellington Who”:http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/season/2007/show/51/ for booking details.