Comedian Billy Black entertains and informs at Fieldays
Comedian Billy Black has taken a break from his daily Waitomo show “The Kiwi Culture Show – The Story of New Zealand” to extol the virtues of wool at Fieldays.
Comedian Billy Black has taken a break from his daily Waitomo show “The Kiwi Culture Show – The Story of New Zealand” to extol the virtues of wool at Fieldays.
Billy has created a show with sheep shearing, fire and a pig named Jonah to give the audience something that is funny and factual.
“Humour gets across, if you just stood there and spoke facts people would just keep on walking.”
During the show Billy asks an audience member to come up on stage with him. He asks the volunteer to hold a gas torch against the woollen shirt he is wearing. It doesn’t leave a mark.
“It proves the insulation of wool, I don’t even feel the heat. It also proves that wool is inflammable. In the show I light synthetic fabric on fire. It gives off highly toxic fumes and smells horrible. Nothing happens to wool.”
Jonah the “Rugby playing pig who rides a Harley” is a crowd favourite, lying at the foot of the stage dressed in his wool jersey.
Placing a one litre bottle on the stage Billy says it takes this much oil to process a kilogram of wool.
He places five one litre bottles on the other side of the stage and says it takes this much to make one kilogram of synthetic fabric.
“At that rate it’s not sustainable whereas wool is. It’s renewable. That’s what I’m pushing across.”
With aspirations to take the show on the road internationally Billy has the ultimate dream of getting on the Jay Leno show.
“I think if I took this show internationally the media would be all over it. It would be the cheapest, best advert for New Zealand wool. I’d love to be doing it for New Zealand.”
