Yawp Mag ISSUE 20: The Festival that Was | Page 12

'Headliners'

Wil S

featuring

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival describes ‘Headliners’
as “a star-spangled showcase of hot,
contemporary comedy from the best
of North America’s clubs and indie
scene”. A number of acts have been
lured over to Melbourne from the
United States and Canada, to perform in a rotating lineup to “challenge,
surprise and, most importantly, guarantee big laughs”. The impressive
bill included, Jen Kirkman, Seaton
Smith, Dave Hill, Brooke Van Poppelen, Dave Merheje, Aparna Nancherla, Greg Behrendt and Wil Sylvince,
the latter of whom Yawp was lucky
enough to have a chat with.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, Sylvince
has honed his act in New York’s top
comedy clubs: the Comedy Cellar, Comic Strip Live, Caroline’s on
Broadway, Stand-Up NY and the
Gotham Comedy Club. His unique
perspective on political and social issues, with a twist of his West Indian
Hatian culture makes Wil a comedian
in high demand.
Sylvince’s performance is described
as “explosive” and unique, which
is exactly what Yawp experienced
talking with him about his tour around
Australia. Not only has this dynamo

at MICF, but now he is touring his
standup around Sydney and Perth.
Sylvince has performed on BET’S
‘Comic View’, HBO’s ‘Def Comedy’
and ‘Showtime at the Apollo’, which
has garnered the comedian a lot of
attention.