Many people have worked in retail, whether it be to start their working careers, or as a part-time job to get through school or university. Needless to say, this environment attracts many idiots, whether it be as customers, or managers, or even fellow employees, and it is encounters with these people that Andrew Iles talks about in his 2017 Comedy Festival show, Customer Assassin.
Originally from the country, Iles moved to Frankston when he was 16 years old as the result of his parents’ divorce. The Frankston community and their antics lend themselves perfectly to comedy, and this is taken full advantage of. The audience is treated to all sorts of stories about the various characters including professional prostitutes, aggressive neighbours, and teen mums.
But whilst the stories and antics of the retail world provide much entertainment, Iles’ real talent lies in his ability to impersonate voices. As a self-confessed ‘huge movie buff’, much of the show is performed as various movie trailers that Iles has created, voicing all the actors himself. Imagine a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mark Wahlberg and Matthew McConaughey, with a crazy, inexplicable plotline, and Andrew Iles brings it to life.
We are also treated to stories of how he deals with telemarketers — baffling them by pretending to be Simpsons characters, and even adopting their personalities to answer the questions. Needless to say, the end result is hilarious. There were definitely a few people in the audience who were thinking about adopting the same strategy the next time they got a call from a telemarketer during dinner.
Iles closes the show with a huge thank you to his audience, for taking a chance on an unknown comedian and coming to see him. To be fair, this a large part of what the Comedy Festival is about. It provides a platform for many young comedians to launch their careers and give them a stepping stone into the world.
Andrew Illes used his stepping stone wisely, winning the audience over with humour, his Hollywood knowledge, and his uncanny ability to impersonate just about everyone — even The Muppets.
– Moni
Moni is of Indian heritage, was born in England and has grown up in Australia. As a result, she is a rather mixed up, but very happy person.
Customer Assassin runs from the 5 April to 8 April (45mins) at The Metanoia Theatre, Brunswick. Purchase tickets now.
The venue is accessible.
Read The Plus Ones’ guide to MICF 2017, and visit often to see all our reviews.
