Dave Wiggans is an American who lives in Auckland. He’s also a Christian. Which is fine, I guess. I’m really not. And I couldn’t help but wonder going into his show Googling God how much that would affect my enjoyment. I shouldn’t really have worried. Wiggans, apart from being a very consumate showman, has done quite a good job of dealing with religion as subject without directly excluding any part of his potential audience. I say “quite a good job” because, well, his audience is still rather clearly a God-hugging one and he does pander that way a bit. Which is totally okay. How flippantly he occasionally deals the more extreme elements of religion (godhatesfags.com) isn’t so okay, though it must be stressed he comes out against such movements. This man knows his market and his sell-out season can only attest to his audiences reverence.
Wiggans is simply a funny guy. It’s real easy to enjoy the time you spend with him. I was never bored during the show. But my one major issue with the show was by its very nature, it reeked of other people’s laughs. Wiggans takes us on a tour of the internet results he found while googling God and as such, the show quickly resolves itself into him pointing out funny things he found online and occasionally forgetting to really add a joke to it. He needs to do just a little more than point his finger at other people’s funny.
Wed 12 – Sat 15 May / 8pm / BATS
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