While the microphone affixed to fictitious British newsman Jonathan Pie’s face threatened to fall but never did during his performance at the Royalty Theatre as part of the Adelaide Fringe, there were plenty of mic drop moments as he skewered all factions of the age of outrage with his acerbic wit.
In an age of fake news, clickbait, YouTube rabbit holes and internet scams, determining what is objectively true has perhaps never been harder. The ferocity of social media hate mobs has stifled frank and fearless debate, as anyone brave enough to lift their head above the parapet to proffer a controversial opinion faces the risk of swift retribution, through online petition, boycott or smear campaign.
In times like these, we turn to our comedians. Tom Walker, by adopting the guise of BBC television journo Jonathan Pie, can drop truth bombs with impunity, much like his American counterpart Stephen Colbert.
When the Pie character first emerged, the US press erroneously confused him with a real 'leftie' journalist. Pie’s enemy in The 'Fake News' Tour isn’t the right, or the alt-right, but hypocrisy and tribalism. In his 'Fake News' Tour live show, Pie goes after every tribe with relish. His attack on virtue signalling The Guardian readers, the type that invoke notions of privilege at any opportunity, is as fervent as his satirising of MAGA-wearing bigots.
The 'Fake News' Tour is an innovative amalgam of stand-up comedy and theatre, where it is impossible to discern where the line between the beliefs and anecdotes of Jonathan Pie begin and those of Tom Walker end. As Pie regales the audience with tales of his firing from the BBC due to a politically incorrect gaff caught on air, you forget that this is an act, that the refined British broadcaster voice is put on. One thing is certain, though: the rage is real. . . It must be.
Although originally crafted as a show for a British audience all too familiar with the mundane machinations of Brexit, Pie’s show is relatable to anyone remotely informed about world affairs and has been deftly adapted to play to the Australian crowd too. You will never look at Scomo, Pauline Hanson or a box of Maltesers quite in the same way again.
While we live in dark and tumultuous times, Jonathan Pie is a product of these times, and we can be thankful for that.
★★★★★
Tom Walker/Jonathan Pie Tour Dates
Wednesday 26 February – Astor Theatre (Perth)Friday 28 February – Brisbane Powerhouse
Saturday 29 February – Enmore Theatre (Sydney)
