Adam Hills Inspires Us All With His Fabulous Comedic Style and His “Clown Heart” – Adelaide Cabaret Festival Review

Festival Theatre, Sat 6 Jun Adam Hills popped his Cabaret Festival cherry in fabulous style last night, performing his hilarious Clown Heart show to an excited Festival Theatre audience. Truth be told, Hills took nearly half an hour to get to the ‘show’ side of things – he was clearly having too much fun chatting and charming the crowd, handing out Fruchocs, the odd bottle of Grant Burge and taking twitter pics. This really is Adam Hills at his best – his clever wit leads to hilarious audience moments, ensuring the feel good vibe synonymous of his shows is established right from the beginning. Adam has a lot of love for our fair city and the unashamedly parochial crowd returned that love easily, delighting in his praise for all things Adelaide – especially those Fruchocs. Finally getting to his prepared material, Adam covers a number of classic comedy topics – dealing with health nuts, the wife, having children etc. Though the subject matter may be well trod, he still manages a fresh and funny take on the everyday that further connects him with the audience as the show progresses. Yet Clown Heart is not a frivolous show – Adam tackles the dark subjects as well, those Reclaim Australia idiots copping a serious serve, as does the whole ‘cancer thing’, Adam’s description of his own father’s last moments simultaneously sad and side-splittingly funny. Hard to imagine any other comedian getting that mix just right. It’s not an easy thing to make death funny but Adam Hills does just that – and gives cancer a ‘kick in the dick’ along the way. Adam closes the show by inviting good friend and inspirational Thyroid cancer-fighter Craig Coombes – the ‘Naked Tuesday guy’ to the stage for a riotous number in which both get their gear off to the raucous delight of all. This is the crux of Adam Hills’ message – you’ve got to have a sense of humour to deal with the darkness. An emotionally charged standing ovation for Coombes showed the arrow to have definitely hit its mark. Meanwhile, Adam Hills’ own huge Clown Heart was also truly inspiring. Rosie van Heerde ___________________________________________________________________ From The Editor: The Clothesline and Down Syndrome SA would like to personally thank Adam Hills and Craig Coombes for collecting money after the show in support of the children and families of Down Syndrome SA, and to Adam's amazing audience for their outstanding generosity. THANK YOU!