Where has Amos Gill been all your life?
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Where has Amos Gill been all your life?

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At just 26, Amos Gill has a CV any self-respecting comic today would be proud of. He has amassed a slew of awards and nominations, including Best Emerging Comedian and People’s Choice at the Adelaide Fringe, and Best Newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and as part of the breakfast team on South Australia’s hit107 his fresh and always hilarious perspective can be heard over the airwaves every morning. However, Gill hasn’t let this success go to his head and he insists he’s “actually a pretty nice guy”.

“When I first started in radio I used to complain all the time about burning the candle at both ends,” says Gill. “Then I realised a lot of my friends are really talented and they can’t even afford to live, so I should shut up and just appreciate that I’ve got a job, really.”

Gill was attracted to comedy at a young age. However, his motivation was a little different and he preferred the use of props.

“Being funny was like a way to fit in. I moved schools a bit when I was young so it was a good way to make friends,” he says. “But back then my act was a bit different – I was funny in school because I ate old macaroni bake off a wall one time. I don’t think you can do that in stand-up. I’ve tried.”

This year Gill is back at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with his hit show Where Have I Been All Your Life?  When asked what the audience needs to know, he answers in his typical tongue-in-cheek fashion.

“Everything you need to know can be found in a book called The Barefoot Investor,” he laughs. “No, this entire show is a break-up show actually. The whole show is about a relationship that ended long-distance over the phone, and then me having some kind of breakdown and going overseas to deal with it. It comes all out on stage. It’s not awkward for me. It’d be a bit awkward for her if she came to the show, but she wouldn’t because she has terrible taste.”

With two sold-out Comedy Festival seasons under his belt, Gill’s show is one of the hottest tickets in town. But you won’t hear him worrying about ticket sales or critics’ reviews.

“The comedy circuit is far less competitive now than ever before because there’s no gatekeepers of comedy anymore,” he says. “In the past, it was very cut-throat because it was just Channel 10 with one show and we were all fighting for one spot on the gala night. Now you can just do your thing and put it on the internet and people will find you. Now you can easily see comedy from all over the world, whereas before you had to have some weird VHS. It’s actually made comedians much nicer to each other.”