Some people were stood for the hour, I managed to find a table on which to sit so far back it was barely in the room but I had a clear view of the tiny makeshift screen, which was a whiteboard projected onto.
Yianni took us through, among other things; the reasons for his love for The Simpsons and the situations in which this love has manifest itself over the years. He has watched it since it first aired in his native Australia in 1991 and he placed himself on the timeline outlining that when The Simpsons first hit screens in short form in America, he was the same age as Bart. When it hit the silver screen, he was the same age as Lisa. And now he is the same age as Homer and imagines himself watching it when he is the same age as Mr. Burns.
He took a call and response survey to gauge the level of fandom for the show in the room and it was varied, so he was considerate enough to explain some of the more obscure references throughout the routine. All the way through, he revealed some titbits about the show and some ways his obsessive referencing led to some chaos. These anecdotes provided laughs among The Simpsons savants and amateurs alike.
Comedians are all geeks and this was a show by a geek for geeks and geeks are the most passionate people in the world. While they exhibited this passion in the loudness they answered the questions relating to The Simpsons, the laughs didn't flow all too much. You'd expect a show with such a niche to attract an audience that hung on the end of every gag ready to wet themselves with laughter. I think, instead, that the funnies were replaced with intrigue. The facts and stories were very interesting but not conducive to a raucous stand up routine.
Obviously, The Simpsons fans will love it, but perhaps not for the right reasons.
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The Simpsons Taught Me Everything I Know is on at 13:30 at the Voodoo Rooms everyday until 28 August. For tickets and more information, visit the Fringe website.
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