Cal Wilson
Up There Cal Wilson
Fringe Factory
Fri 16 March
season closed


Cal Wilson may be a Kiwi, but in just a few short years she's proven her worthiness for citizenship by going way beyond what's necessary to know about Australian Rules Football; all in the quest of choosing a team to barrack for.

Now based in Melbourne, all interstate teams were made ineligible for obvious reasons and the list instantly halved to eight. Yes eight, due to Wilson's original misjudging of locality of the 'Western' Bulldogs.

'Up There Cal Wilson' is a meticulously researched and thoroughly cross referenced process of elimination that sees Wilson intelligently run through every facet of the game and her enthusiastic findings are enthralling as well as downright hilarious.

She takes us back to her first ever match where she went to see the Saint Kilda 'Sailors' play and recalls the unintelligible monosyllabic chants from surrounding spectators; from there no stone is left unturned. From the "parking inspectors of football," - the umpires, to the tension within the coach's box and the monotony of the Brownlow Medal count and the questionable origins of all the different team songs (here Port Power certainly copped a bashing, just as they did when she challenged their masculinity due to their colour choice of jumpers), Wilson showed no quarters and gave 110 percent and took you right to the final siren in an action packed hour of fun that certainly kicked goals. Definitely worthy of a top spot on the ladder in my books.

Steve Jones