If Love Island has gripped you with it’s acrylic nails, you’ll want in on this inside scoop! We interviewed the connoisseur of commentary, the narrator of Love Island SA – Warren Robertson.
His golden tongued comedic relief gives us all a chuckle, we simply had to get to know the comedian better. We threw out some Q’s and pulled in some A’s for your enjoyment. Read further to see what makes Warren the perfect fit for this role – with a hearty side of wisdom.
Love Island SA has already left everyone shook. What would be one motivation for everyone to watch the show regardless?
There are so many reasons why Love Island is one of the most popular Reality TV shows in the world, but what draws me into it, is how it makes something as simple as human relationships, and very relatable life situations, the centre of the show. Sure there are the challenges, the games, the dates etc, but what I love about it is how profound, simple and joyful it can be to see someone meet somebody else that they grow to love and to watch the journey they take to the point where they leave the Villa hoping to build a life together. So it’s either that or the hilarious narrator. Yeah, it’s the narrator.
Your career has taken many forms since 2006, being a comedian has led to showmanship, a touring lifestyle, television and an icon in the arts. Which part of your career best armed you with sharp wit and a narrative way with words?
Apart from the psychological damage inflicted on me by past traumas, there has honestly been nothing better for my career than simply the relentless number of club comedy gigs I have done, both here and in the UK. South Africa offers comedians a really unique opportunity to gig in a huge variety of venues across the country to a really diverse array of audiences. I believe that all that travel, and all those hundreds of gigs can eventually teach anyone to make people laugh. No one can get everyone laughing, but this has given me the best shot.
Your last one-man show, D(e)ad Inside dealt with various aspects of life. Relationships are one of them. What is the paramount truth of D(e)ad Inside’s commentary on relationships, and does this apply to the relationships in Love Island?
I guess if I was to try and distil the show to one thing it would be that, while we pretend extremely well, absolutely none of us so-called adults know what we are doing at any stage. We are all just doing the best we can, with whatever we have, and hoping things turn out okay. Recognising that, the only way to approach life is to be gentler with the people around us, kinder to those who are kind to us, and more forgiving to those who wrong us. The Villa is like a hyper version of real life, it quickly draws out flaws, and enhances good qualities. You need to be able to have your heart broken, and bounce back immediately, develop friendships quickly and ultimately stand out from everyone else to find your perfect match. Kindness and the ability to forgive quickly and easily would probably help with all of that. Being super good looking doesn’t hurt either.
So, you’re the fly on the wall. You see all the drama, all the tears and you know exactly what everyone’s game is. What advice would you give future contestants for next season?
Be yourself. It’s absolutely impossible to be watched by 50 cameras every minute of every day for weeks on end and maintain a facade or a gameplan that requires you to pretend to be someone you are not. Those people who go in as themselves, and who know their strengths and weaknesses are the ones we see at the top of the pile when it comes to popularity. Obviously, this doesn’t apply if you are a horrible person – then you need to fake it until the country works out your true nature, and try to make peace with the fact that tannies in Karoo towns are going to be throwing naartjies at you for the rest of your life.
If you had to audition for Love Island, what would be the opening line of your audition tape?
Hi, I’m Warren. If you don’t want me in the Villa could you just give me R1-million and true love anyway?
The island is full of sexy singles looking for love but we aren’t hooked for the pretty. We’re here for the gnarly drama; so spill the tea: which event has thrilled you most so far?
I love drama as much as the next person and there has been so much of it, that looking back at people like, Sarah, Durang and Erin already feels like it was a lifetime ago. For me though the most thrilling moments are those of real hope. Those bits where your heart soars. The simple look of gratitude and delight on Josh’s face when he saw Tania had picked him at the recoupling, or the little moments where Libho and Thimna tease each other. If you watch the show then you know I give Ian a really hard time, but one of those moments that stands out has to be when he finally kissed Thiala after spending weeks striking out with basically every woman in the villa. It was a victory for all of us romantic, no game funny guys, and when I saw it for the first time sitting alone in my little soundbooth I punched the air with delight.
Ian De Beer blindsided Rochelle, which got her dumped, and Millie sustained third degree burns from Xavier’s comment: “I love you as a person.” Do you have a few – or several – gems of wisdom, in reference to relationships, for the fans and the two ladies?
I love the implication that I have any wisdom whatsoever. The only advice I can give is to never listen to any advice from single, sarcastic narrators from reality TV shows – we obviously haven’t got our lives together. In fact, don’t listen to anyone on social media either. Or strangers, or even journalists in magazines. If she’s still around, listen to your mom. She knows you better than you do and has your best interests at heart.
Diehard fans are nibbling down to their nail beds each week, waiting for the next episode. Do you have any encouraging, sharp-witted words to give them motivation to stay tuned?
Remember when everyone was talking about that thing? You know the really big thing that everyone in the office, and all your friends knew about, but you didn’t know what they were saying cause you had missed it? Well it’s two weeks until the finale of Love Island SA and if you miss these shows then that’s going to happen again. Please don’t let that happen again. That was horrible.
If you haven’t been tuned in, we suggest you do some catching up and stay in the loop with the nail-biting twists, turns and drama. Catch the latest episode on M-Net from Monday to Friday at 21h00 every evening!