Ash Williams has a confession to make.
More than one, in fact. I’ve Done Some Bad Things is the name of his forthcoming show at Sydney Comedy Festival, and it marks his first solo stand-up tour on the Australian festival circuit.
So what bad things will he be sharing onstage this week? “‘Bad’, as a word, is quite open to interpretation,” he hints.
Williams will already be familiar to sports fans, having recently hosted the online 7Tennis show as part of Channel 7’s coverage of the Australian Open. He’s also appeared on programs like Peter Helliar’s It’s A Date, Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight, The Daily Edition, The Project, Studio 10 and Dirty Laundry Live.
However, it was in commercial radio with Hughesy & Kate where Williams was earning his keep until he decided to pack up his life in Australia a few years ago and head to LA in pursuit of a career in stand-up and acting. There, he achieved what he describes as a “modicum of success”, scoring guest roles in Anger Management, The Exes and You’re The Worst while also gigging regularly.
Now, about those confessions. Williams says in LA he managed to get himself banned from Motel 6 (“It’s called that because that’s its score out of 100”), blacklisted from Budget (“I can’t hire a car from Budget in Australia”), and has spent the last four months living in a hotel (“One month turned into four”), having broken up with his girlfriend. “I’m in a custody battle over a NutriBullet at the moment,” he jokes.
Despite calling America his new home, Williams has returned to Australia every December for hour-long stand-up shows, making I’ve Done Some Bad Things his fourth in total – but 2016 is his year of festival debuts.
“I’ve got some stories and then I’ve got a song – I play a bit of piano, I bring the whole thing together like a Thermomix of goodness, but it’s in a song,” he explains. “And worst case scenario, you might take away some life tips. I’ve got some stuff in there about how you don’t need to pay credit cards, so I’ve got a theory about credit card management. I mean, I can’t get credit cards anymore, but look, I know how to deal with them…”
Ash Williams’I’ve Done Some Bad Things runs Thursday May 5 – Sunday May 8 at Enmore Theatre, as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival 2016.
