“I’m also hoping to reconnect with long-lost Scottish family. I’ll be the one outside the venue shouting, “Are you my cousin?!” between shows.”
WHO: Woody Clark
WHAT: “Buckle up, folks. After 23 years of holding it together, this teacher is finally off duty… and off the rails. A classroom meltdown like no other – unhinged rants, bad decisions, and a music lesson with more chaos than a school camp. Expect mischievous puppets and brutally honest comedy from a burnt-out teacher on the edge. If you’ve ever wanted to tell a helicopter parent to zip it, this show is for you! Warning: Explicit language and the kind of storytelling that makes a 4pm staff meeting almost tolerable.”
WHERE: Bothie at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24)
WHEN: 16:00 (50 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Yes! We left Australia 6 weeks ago on a madcap musical mission—touring our kids shows across Canada, dodging moose and maple syrup in equal measure. Now we’ve touched down in the UK for our very first Fringe season.
We’ve just ticked Glastonbury off the bucket list (yep, played the Kidzfield while ankle-deep in glitter and mud), and now it’s full steam ahead to Edinburgh, baby! This festival has been a dream for years—a chance to soak up the chaos, make new mates, and connect with UK artists, producers and festivals who’ve probably already walked past our poster 47 times without noticing.
On a personal note, my parents emigrated from the UK to Australia, so I’m also hoping to reconnect with long-lost Scottish family. I’ll be the one outside the venue shouting, “Are you my cousin?!” between shows.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Oh, loads. Some educational, some traumatic.
If you’re an Aussie heading to Canada or Edinburgh— bring thermals. No joke. I wore three pairs of socks and still lost feeling in my toes. I heard summer in Edinburgh happened last Tuesday. Briefly. Around 2pm.
Grizzly bears are majestic. Like giant, angry koalas with biceps. You’ll never look at a eucalyptus tree the same way. Lesson: don’t leave your trail mix in the van.
Good coffee is a rare gem abroad. Bring a portable machine and your favourite local beans. Melbourne’s coffee snobbery is real for a reason—six weeks touring Canada and I only found one proper flat white. Fingers crossed Edinburgh fares better!
“Scenic detours” are a scam. A festival 400 miles away up a mountain may sound romantic, but unless you’ve got a helicopter and a Sherpa, it’s a logistical nightmare. Lesson: Always check the altitude and fuel prices.
Hiring a left-hand drive car to navigate snow, moose, and black bears at 3am through the Rocky Mountains to catch an international flight is not for the faint-hearted—or the sleep-deprived. Lesson: maybe don’t schedule your epic driving adventure immediately before your flight to the UK. Or at least learn which side of the road to drive on before the highway merges.
Tell us about your show.
Mr. Woody’s Last Lesson is what happens when a wholesome Aussie music teacher finally loses the plot.
After 24 years in classrooms—teaching kids to strum ukuleles, dodging parent emails, unblocking toilets, and smiling through lunchtime duty—I (Woody Clark) wrote the show that teachers wish they could say out loud. It’s one big day-from-hell, where everything unravels: the students, the parents, the system… and finally, the teacher. With ukulele solos, misbehaving puppets, and a staffroom’s worth of sarcasm, it’s part meltdown, part love letter to educators everywhere.
I wrote the show myself after years of touring as a children’s performer, with songs on ABC Kids and a mobile ukulele school. It premiered at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in April 2025 and is now making its glorious UK debut—after surviving a six-week tour across Canada, Glastonbury, and several terrifying experiences with left-hand drive.
After the Fringe, I’m heading back to Australia for a string of Christmas shows, some long-overdue home renovations, and maybe—just maybe—some sleep.
Because when you’ve survived school camps, NAPLAN week (national school testing week), and 1,200 cheese sticks in lost property, you’ve got two choices:
Write your obituary… or write a comedy show.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Well, first up—we’ve also got a kids’ show at Gilded Balloon Patter House! So if you’ve got sprogs, small cousins, or want to see me do family-friendly chaos (with ukuleles and puppets), come check it out.
I’ll also be wandering around the Fringe like a lost kangaroo looking for great little shows—so ask me for tips after I’ve seen a few.
My top tip though? Go see my dad’s show – Dave Clark: Australian Folk Singer. He supported Billy Connolly back in 1981 when Billy toured Australia. Dad’s a folk icon from the ’70s who no one remembers now, but he’s still got the goods—concertina, guitar, big heart, and classic Aussie yarns. It’s an hour of Aussie bush ballads, political passion, love songs, and Four Little Johnny Cakes. Pure joy.
And of course, shout out to all my Aussie mates also here to lose money at the Fringe—support them! Seriously talented folk, putting it all on the line.
Check out the epic lineup at House of Oz—a whole season of incredible Australian shows:
Daniel Muggleton – sharp, no-BS stand-up
Josh Glanc – wild sketch meets surrealism
Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence – a hilarious take on Aussie school sport drama
FLICK – bold solo show diving into memory and trauma
The Listies – absolute legends for kids and adults alike
House of Oz is the unofficial Aussie embassy at Fringe—check it out and support the mob.
Because let’s be honest… if we’re all going to lose money, we may as well lose it together watching incredible art.
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