UK comedian Tom Walker’s alter ego Jonathan Pie is as angry as hell.
Not only are the urban elites screwing over the working class, social media is out of control, political correctness has replaced rational debate and to top it off, Pie himself is the latest victim of ‘cancel culture’, having been fired from the BBC for an indiscrete comment on live TV.
Following his dismissal Pie discovered he had few options open to him and quickly sank into a miasma of despair. But in a revelatory moment he decided to stop drinking and embark on a lecture tour in a bid to seek redemption – hence the 'Fake News' Tour. Of course none of this is true but in a brilliant twist, Pie claims victimhood on behalf of a fictional character who is best-known as the agitated and ranting television reporter widely seen on YouTube.
In 'Fake News', Pie rallies against the establishment, ‘woke’ comedy, Tories, Brexit, Trump, ScoMo, Pauline Hanson, austerity, and the socialist left.
According to Pie, social media is at the heart of the problem. We all have opinions – we always have – the only difference is we now have the ability to broadcast them far and wide, regardless of their merit. Underpinning this egregious state of affairs is the universal move toward ‘self-righteousness’ where we all think we’re right and anyone who disagrees with us is below contempt. In Pie’s world, all of us are guilty of it – everyone – even his father who he claims would ‘rather be right than happy’.
It is a recurring theme in Pie’s acerbic diatribe which touches on everything from climate change to casual racism, obesity and its links to cancer. Nothing is off limits and even if you don’t share his opinions, you have to acknowledge that much of his blistering commentary is intelligent and well-considered.
So how does Pie navigate his way through so many conflicting ideas, thoughts and political outcomes? In a recent interview he admitted reading a different newspaper every day exposing him to a varied diet of views, news and opinions.
While 'Fake News' was originally written for a British audience, Pie rewrote the show extensively for his Australian tour and admits that adapting content for local consumption is hard to get right. But even with its strong reliance on British and American politics, Brexit and the EU, anyone who has more than a passing interest in global affairs will find the material easily relatable.
During the 75-minute show, Pie returns to a favourite theme – decrying the chaos and cacophony of 24-hour news cycles and blaming the media for reducing the news to sound bites. As he opines; facts don’t matter anymore. Only your opinion.
It is clear Pie is on a mission to ensure considered debate is not replaced by outrage. And the vehicle he uses to carry his message is not only convincing and perceptive but seriously funny. 'Fake News' brings the amalgamation of theatre and stand-up comedy to a whole new level – where the lines between fact and fiction are so seriously blurred it is difficult to know how much of Jonathan Pie is actually Tom Walker or vice versa.
★★★★★
