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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy

Clown Heart

Adam Hills

2017 · 79 min

Adam Hills tackles grief and lost bets with extreme cheerfulness.

Adam Hills took the stage at London’s Hammersmith Apollo with his hair dyed red, white, and blue—the result of losing a bet to the British Paralympic team over medal counts. While the hair is loud, the show itself leans into Hills’ signature optimism. The central thesis is that a silly disposition, or a “clown heart,” is the best defense mechanism when life gets grim.

Hills applies this philosophy to heavy topics, discussing his father’s death from leukemia and his efforts to explain mortality to his young daughter. He also brings out Craig Coombes, an Australian fan diagnosed with terminal cancer who famously took nude photos to mock his diagnosis. Coombes’ appearance on stage, defying his doctor’s timeline by years, serves as the emotional peak of the evening. Critics noted that the scripted material occasionally drifted into familiar dad-comedy territory, like a bit about the awkwardness of spooning, but praised the warmth of the audience interactions, which included bringing a dominatrix on stage for an impromptu demonstration.

The set list

3 bits
  1. The closer (spoiler). Show it

    Laughing in the face of cancer with Craig Coombes and 'Naked Tuesday' closer

    Hills shares the story of Craig Coombes, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and launched Naked Tuesday; includes video of a naked photo shoot and closing with a self-penned cancer song stripping down with Coombes on FaceTime.

  2. Explaining the show title 'Clown Heart'

    Stemming from a conversation with his three-year-old daughter about death where they agreed to have as much fun as possible, intertwined with stories of his late father's final days.

  3. Having a prosthetic leg

    Riffing on his artificial leg and audience awareness of his disability.

How it plays

Tone
Warm, uplifting, heartwarming, and poignant while confronting dark themes.
On stage
Affable, mischievous, and wholehearted with trademark positivity; widely dubbed 'the nicest man in comedy'.
Pace
Dynamic spontaneity, talking about serious subjects at 100 miles an hour while maintaining high warmth and rapport.
About
marriage, fatherhood, mortality and laughing in the face of death, cancer, health and modern life

What the critics said

Received warmly by audiences for its positive, life-affirming spirit, emotional poignancy, and spontaneous audience engagement, though some critics felt its stand-up routines were overly safe and light on biting material.

In the room: Enthusiastic sell-out crowd dynamic with high audience participation and an affectionate, heartwarming room atmosphere.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: iview.abc.net.au, comedy.co.uk, letterboxd.com, thetvdb.com, adelaidereview.com.au, theguardian.com, theweereview.com, theclothesline.com.au, broadwayworld.com, chortle.co.uk, en.wikipedia.org.

Backstory

Written around confronting mortality and laughing in the face of death following the loss of Hills' father and father-in-law, and inspired by Craig Coombes, a cancer patient who launched the Naked Tuesday campaign.

Details

Released
Taped
Eventim Apollo, London
Runtime
79 min
Director
Paul Wheeler
Topics
Before
Life Is Good (1998)

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