We last caught up with Lil Wenker and her Cowboy clowning alter ego during her acclaimed run of BANGTAIL at EdFringe last year. Now she’s taking the Wild West Down Under, as the show embarks on a tour of Australia following runs across the UK. We called BANGTAIL “pure, riotous, clowning glory”, and we thought it high noon to catch up with Lil before Adelaide Fringe begins in a week’s time.

You can catch Lil Wenker: BANGTAIL at Adelaide Fringe between the 11th and 23rd of March at 7:40pm. Tickets are available through the Adelaide Fringe Box Office.

You can also catch the show as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival between the 25th March and 6th of April at 9:45pm. Tickets are available through the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Onlne Box Office.

Jake: Hi Lil! The last time we caught up with you, you told us about how life as a Milkmaid prepared you for life as an Alternative Comedian. You and your show BANGTAIL have been on quite a journey since then – so tell us about that journey from Milkmaid to Cowboy and beyond.

Lil: Hey Jake! Gosh! What a journey it’s been. The time I spent on the farm, in exchange for room and board during COVID, was right before I went to Gaulier. I actually left straight from the farm to go to France for the year. That was its own journey… After I finished clown school, I went back to the US to finish my degree before moving to London in 2023.

As soon as I got to London, I knew I wanted to get started working on a show for Edinburgh Fringe 2024. I found an incredible director and co-creator, Cecily Nash, and we got to work right away. It’s sweet thinking back on those early days. Cecily and I were practically strangers in our first rehearsals, and I felt completely out of my depths. I had barely been on stage by myself for more than a minute or two, so the thought of a solo show was pretty unfathomable. But slowly, we began to create longer numbers and show them at gig nights until we had a full show to test.

The real work began when we had a rough hour. We’d perform it and make drastic edits, sometimes the night before or day of, the next show. BANGTAIL developed over the course of so many shows and festivals, including stops in the US, Brighton Fringe, Leicester Comedy Festival, etc before Edinburgh Fringe. Not to mention that right before Edinburgh I had emergency surgery to remove my appendix! Absolutely mad! But here we are! The show’s made and touring and it’s been an absolute blast, especially doing it alongside Cecily.

Jake: We had a great time catching Bangtail at EdFringe last year – tell us about where you’ve been with the show since and how it’s been taking the show on the road.

Lil: BANGTAIL has now played in three countries and twelve cities. I went to lots of different cities across the US and UK during the show’s development, which was incredibly useful training as a performer. An audience in San Francisco versus Leeds versus Minneapolis is a completely different thing, and these differences have taught me to adapt to different energy levels, comfort with participation, and overall senses of humor. It’s also taught me to be open to a crowd and trust that they will come around to the show, as it can be quite jarring at first: seeing a little girl dressed as a cowboy, growling and making people participate in the show. But it makes me incredibly happy to see folks accepting the show and ultimately getting really invested in the story.

After Edinburgh, we transferred to Soho Theatre in London, and the day after the last Soho show, I got on a plane to LA to bring it across the US. I’m also gearing up for a big tour at the Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival!

Honestly, being on the road is extremely fun and extremely exhausting. So much of this business is being your own cheerleader, and this is especially true on tour. Sometimes I play in a city where I don’t even know a single person who lives there. However, the reward of touring is also extremely high. It feels incredible when people come to the show because they’ve heard good things about it. That’s really special.

Jake: The show uses a lot of audience interaction (without spoiling anything!), tell us about any of the more memorable interactions you’ve had while playing Bangtail.

Lil: Oh god. I have this extremely weird habit of picking people out of a crowd without knowing who I’m picking on. Examples include (without knowing that I’m doing this): my technician’s boyfriend, Chris Morris’s son, the programmer of the Leicester comedy festival, several bookers for Edinburgh Fringe. And the silly thing is, I don’t know who these people are until the show progresses and I get a chance to chat with them more. THEN I realize that I’ve accidentally made a very funny decision of who to pick on.

One of my favorite versions of BANGTAIL I’ve ever played was my last show in 2024 at Union Hall in New York. The guy who was cast as my nemesis was super up for the participation aspect of it all, but he also had a big personality and wanted to add quite a bit of himself into the show. It was a really intense dynamic—figuring out how to help him shine while still being in control of the room. But the tension between us felt real, like we were actually in a relationship and trying to figure out how to exist on stage together. Eventually his wife and sister got involved in the show, too. The crowd was extremely invested because we seemed to have a genuine rivalry combined with real fun together.

Jake: You’re about to take the show all the way to Adelaide Fringe – tell us how you’re feeling and what you’re excited for!

Lil: I’m so excited and so nervous. First and foremost, I’ve never traveled anywhere as far as Australia. I’m also looking at 25 more shows in the next month, which is exciting and sure to challenge me as much as it did during Edinburgh. I mean this in a great way—to keep the show fresh and alive despite doing it so many times back to back.

I’m also just super excited to meet an entirely new community of clowns and fringe artists! I’ve been to Edinburgh several times now, and I feel pretty comfortable in its landscape. But this will help me branch out, see loads of new work, and also just take in the sunshine and the beach.

Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if Bangtail was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?

Lil: BANGTAIL is a whisky on the rocks sprinkled with sugar. It appears manly, but it’s chased with something sweet.

You can catch Lil Wenker: BANGTAIL at Adelaide Fringe between the 11th and 23rd of March at 7:40pm. Tickets are available through the Adelaide Fringe Box Office.

You can also catch the show as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival between the 25th March and 6th of April at 9:45pm. Tickets are available through the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Onlne Box Office.