Review of Glenn Wool: Luv (Sic) – Fringe 2024

It was Birdy’s first time seeing Canadian comedian Glenn Wool, and she took a comfy seat in the front row at The Counting House to hear about his relationship woes.

Okay, I don’t know which rock I’ve been under to have not heard of critically-acclaimed, world-renowned comedian Glenn Wool before, because judging by this show’s poster, he’s been around… like, a lot.

The first clue was actually the sizeable queue that had gathered outside of The Counting House, and I realised I should probably go and see that there chap. I was glad I did.

The vibe

The vibe of this show is heartbreak, divorce and finding your best coping mechanisms to deal with the s*** life throws at you (I’ll explain more about that in a bit).

Despite the subject matter, twice-divorced comedian Glenn Wool manages to be pretty damn funny, which of course is the whole point. Early on, he asks the audience who in the room is divorced. He didn’t get an honest enough answer the first time, so got us to try again.

Question: is it a good or bad thing I’m approaching 40 and haven’t yet been married? I mean, at least I’m not divorced, amiright?!

The show itself

On first impressions, camera-shy comedian Glenn Wool (I’m kidding, Glenn – I’m sorry I distracted you by trying to take your photo during the show) seems very approachable, personable, and with a friendly, relaxed manner when he first comes on stage.

It took me a few seconds to get used to the accent, but once I did, there’s something charming about Glenn that draws you in.

I don’t know why, but a word that came to mind was ‘avuncular’. Then I remembered that I’m approaching my 40s, and even when I was a child I’d have been very bloody lucky to have an uncle as cool as Glenn.

As I mentioned, Glenn’s been divorced twice. The first time was his fault, the second time seems very unfortunate both in terms of timing and fairness – but then, it did give him the material for this show, so silver linings I suppose.

Also, to make matters worse, due to needing to be near his daughter, Glenn’s got to reside in Suffolk; its nearest town closest to a city is… Ipswich. That got a few laughs. He wonders what his ex’s new squeeze has that he doesn’t – aside from the bad tattoos.

It does feel a little raw still, so the humour here is hard won. After all, bad tattoos might not be classy, but neither is poking fun at the man your ex wife left you for.

Above is the exact moment before Glenn stopped to ask me what I was doing. I should really learn to be more subtle.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the show was Glenn consulting his 20-year-old self, his 30-year-old self, his 40-year-old self, and then skipping right through to his 60-year-old self – older, wiser Glenn! He told it like it is, which is exactly what poor heartbroken Glenn needed to hear.

I really enjoyed Glenn throwing in some digs at the UK’s Royal Family, and about why millennials use so many acronyms – this felt a bit more comfortable, in parts, than some of the failed relationship material.

Overall

Glenn Wool is a comedian you can’t help but like, and his show Luv (Sic) is a perfectly enjoyable hour, with plenty of laughs scattered throughout – however some of the humour feels a little raw and uncomfortable in places, and that’s where it fell down a little for me.