Edinburgh Preview: an interview with Wil Greenway
Lovely Aussie performer Wil Greenway answered some questions for us in the run up to Edinburgh this year. I've seen Wil three years in a row now and each time been blown away by the warmth and sparkling storytelling he delivers time and time again. Nath saw him for the first time last year and he too fell in love with the stories Wil weaves. Check out his interview below!
What’s special about Edinburgh festival?
It’s a few things I think. The city itself is beautiful and funny and surprising, it lends itself to that sense of possibility that radiates around the festival. And the scale of the festival is bonkers, unless you’ve been you can’t really get a grip on it. I love the slog of it all. The graft of it, both from performers and punters, working away to squeeze the most out of it. It’s energising and exhausting and exciting and upsetting. It’s good for you.
If you could go back to your first Fringe would you do anything different?
I don’t think so. I think I did it right. I saw more shows that first year than any year since. That’s a thing I’d like to do better this year.
What was the best advice you got as an emerging company/performer/comedian?
Eat plenty of greens and don’t read your reviews.
What’s the worst gig you’ve ever done?
I did the comedy club for kids one year and just bombed the hardest I have ever bombed. I was bad. Catastrophically bad. It was a low ebb, and you know failing in front of kids is weird. I hope I didn’t stifle their ambition or stunt their growth. I doubt many of them want to be on stage.
If you weren’t in this business, what job would you be doing?
In a perfect world I’d be cutting oranges and running water for the Melbourne footy club.
What’s your best memory of the fringe?
Having a drink and a sandwich in the meadows with our little gang on a sunny day. I miss that the most when I’m not there.
Any special food recommendations up in Edinburgh?
Bar Napoli is great. I am still mourning the loss of Cod Fathers.
Is there anyone performing this year you’re desperate to see? Who is it... ?
Rob Auton is always a highlight. It’s a shame there’s no Stuart Bowden this year, I love him very much. I’m also looking forward to The Wild Unfeeling World by Casey Jay Andrews.
How did this current show come about?
It’s a show I’ve been thinking about making for a while, four or five years now, and this year it sort of just felt right. It feels good to finally do it.
Why should someone come see your show?
Hopefully because it is good. I’m trying my best and I’m hoping. It’s sort of a shipwrecked story, and I like those very much. If you like those it might be for you, if you don’t, well, fair enough I reckon.
Wil's new show, The Ocean After All, will be on at the Fringe from the 1st-25th August at the Underbelly Bristo Square. Tickets available here - https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/wil-greenway-the-ocean-after-all
Follow him on various social things!
Twitter - @wilgreenway
Instagram - @bit_of_a_drongo
Facebook - @wilgreenway
Soundcloud - Wil Greenway
