John Williams isn’t just a comedian. He’s also father to an autistic child and the vast majority of his comedic material owes itself principally to a vast array of joys and woes that the father and son have experienced over the course of the past eleven years. Like any parable, however, there is a moral to the story: finding inspiration, idealism, and most of all humour in the face of adversity.
The show started with some lackluster magic, a few dated jokes and two or three brief interviews with selected audience members, acting as an icebreaker of sorts. John pressed on, introducing showgoers to a witty game called ‘trivialise a major brain disorder in 60 seconds for the purpose of entertainment’. Though funny, it also served the added purpose of dispelling many stereotypes, namely that every ten-year-old autistic child is a socially awkward mathematical savant. There was also an amusing story about mini-golf in some old decrepit town - all at the expense of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The performance closed with arguably the best bit of the night, a hilarious tale about the annual Special School Disco, idiosyncrasies and all, aided by the lack of self-consciousness among the students.
Although the show was segmented with quotes on a chalkboard in an effort to prevent the show from dragging, there were, however, brief periods of stagnation lacking in entertainment. Nonetheless, a performance that throws all semblance of political correctness out the window and simultaneously seeks to educate, John Williams: My Son’s Not Rainman is sure to garnish at least a few laughs.
