Review: Frank Woodley – *@#!king Clown

Le master becomes le student

★★★
comedy review (adelaide) | Read in About 1 minute
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Frank Woodley
Published 23 Feb 2020

Frank Woodley is no stranger to the Fringe, he’s more like a quirky, unhinged blood relative who’s entertained hordes of punters in Adelaide for more than 30 years. 

This time round, he's taking us to Marseilles, an iconic port city in southern France that juts out of the Mediterranean coastline. Here, he was to teach a three day masterclass for students who had come from all over the world. Only, he never did this because an infamous and aggressive 80-year-old Russian clown ended up taking the class, and Woodley ended up becoming a student. 

This show is an earnest and joyful dive into the peculiar and somewhat cruel world of clowning. It’s a well constructed comedic narrative that has the audience invested in its final outcome. Where the show falls short is in its execution. Tonight, Woodley is hindered by technical difficulties at the start which halt his momentum and it was difficult for him to find his feet after that, not to mention coherent sentences. 

Once he irons out these creases, there’s no doubt this will improve as he refines a complicated show that’s filled with whimsical costumes, props and singing.