Month: April 2014

Cabaret, Festivals, Musical Theatre, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Backwards Anorak Presents WINTER IS COMING

When you play a game of thrones, you sing or you lose…

By Margaret Wieringa

In hopes of getting work on the popular HBO series, a group of musical theatre graduates stage a musical interpretation of the television series Game of Thrones. Is that the plot or is that what is actually happening? Both, perhaps?

Crated and performed by Michelle Brasier, Vince Milesi, James Baker, Laura Frew and Leo Miles, Winter is Coming for this year’s MICF opens, appropriately, with the television theme played and sung with intense and hilarious gusto. We the audience are included as ensemble, though the real casting battle is between the five on stage. Who will be Ned Stark, Jon Snow, Hodor, though most importantly: who will be Khaleesi?

Winter is Coming

The war is being waged between the performers: the quietly spoken musician, James, (spending his off-time in the performance catching up on his Game of Thrones reading) and the understudies, Laura and Leo, but ultimately it is the two leads who must contest the final battle; Vince vs Michelle, and the winner will be the mother of dragons.

The show seems to break so many rules; but in breaking them, the humour flows. Often, the five actors talk over each other, and the hilarity comes in when a single line or even a single word is distinguished. There are “in” jokes galore, yet as someone not in the know, I felt included. I found myself laughing at comments without really knowing what was funny. Throughout the show the focus was split, sometimes up to five different ways. That shouldn’t work; but here it does.

And, don’t forget, it is a musical. The Music Room at Trades Hall is small, but these adorable performers fill up every space with their ridiculous antics, including some pretty impressive dance routines. The choices for the songs were at times unpredictable, including the duet of Khaleesi and Samwell.

Highlights? So many. The baby in the blanket, the dragons, the totally cringe-worthy yet magnificent representation of Tyrion, the foray into Narnia, the swordfight… If you have seen Game of Thrones, and especially if you love it, then you must get yourself to this show.

Venue: Trades Hall (The Music Room)
Season: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from March 27-April 19 at 10:45pm
Tickets: $22/$17

Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/ or call 1300 660 0131300 660 013

Comedy, Festivals, Stand-Up Comedy, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Emily Taylor’s PET for MICF

Unleash the comedy!

By Margaret Wieringa

Did you have a pet growing up? A cat, a dog, perhaps a guinea pig or a goldfish? Chances are, you probably did. It’s a fascination for many of us, and Emily Taylor taps into our shared experiences to create this hilarious one-woman show.

Emily Taylor in PET

Mind you, it doesn’t feel like one person much of the time; Emily introduces a huge assortment of characters onto the stage to explore the topic. There is the kind-hearted vet for example, who adopts the animals no-one else wants, filling her life with animal friends to the detriment of her human interactions; or the dog trainer with the list of injuries longer and more horrific than you really want to know.

Emily brings these diverse characters together with a series of more traditional stand-up routines: stories from childhood, from early work experiences and all, of course, related to animals. The stories are sweet, funny and, at times, disturbing.

Somehow, Emily is able to manipulate her face in the most mysterious of manners to truly become the animal. Just the twitch of an eyebrow or the tensing of a muscle was enough to start the titters in the audience. But it is when she gives her all, forming grotesque facades that are amazingly close to the animals she is representing, that the real laughter happens.

Emily is not afraid to appear less attractive: the first and, possibly my favourite moment of the whole show, was the initial interaction between a person and a dog and when the physical result of that opening hangs around for some time, it totally won me over to Emily’s humour. A bit later, we see Emily’s impersonation of a horny guinea pig that really and truly has to be seen to be believed – but enough potential spoilers. Go and check out these characters yourself.

Pet is in the tiny Locker Room at the Portland Hotel, and so is bound to sell out quickly. Get organised and get there before you miss out.

Venue: Portland Hotel – Locker Room
Season: 27 March – 20 April, Tues-Sat 6pm, Sun 5pm
Tickets: $15-$20
Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au/ or 1300 660 0131300 660 013

Cabaret Review, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Homos in Kimonos for MICF

Double bill of cabaret boys for this year’s festival

By Jessica Cornish

Among the many shows for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, having a catchy title and a great gimmick are essential, and this comic double act featured two solo cabaret performances, linked by the fact that both men were dressed in kimonos and suffered from alter-egos taking over their shows every now and then.

The night was launched by Will Hannagan, whose hour-and-a-bit of shenanigans was a little hard to follow at times, but was highly entertaining none the less. He had a stunning voice that had a lot of depth to it, good articulation, and indulged in quirky physical snippets throughout the performance.

Homos in Kimonos

Some of the evening’s funniest moments were when Will slipped into tales of real-world experiences from his time spent in Paris, to a few truths about his life with his boyfriend. His show jumped between personas: he has a deep obsession with and love for his drag-alter ego, Mother Marxist, which must ultimately be destroyed in an unexpected twist of crowd participation.

The performance was accompanied by three-piece band, Scrimshaw Four. Not only did Scrimshaw Four provide musical backing for the evening, they also interacted with Will which added a new level to the performance. The idea worked very well, and the musicians worked hard, and no doubt as the season continues the music will continue to tighten up.

Unfortunately Will was in shadow for much of his performance as he was too far down stage , so while his band were permanently illuminated, he was not. This is easily fixed, and Will definitely deserves to be in the limelight throughout.

James Halloran was the second featured artist of the night, and is making his Melbourne debut performance. His show also involved alter-egos, as James faced the battle of ‘the Halloran’ taking over. However, I can’t really tell you much more, as I confess I didn’t really understand his performance.Unfortunately with the acoustics of the room, it was quite difficult to understand what he was singing about due to a loud keyboard and projection issues. Also at this stage, the stories linking the songs are not very clear. As the season progresses I hope James builds up more confidence in his obvious abilities and is able to showcase them more successfully, as I distinctly feel that he is capable of delivering a much stronger performance both vocally and dramatically.

Homos in Kimonos will be playing at the quirky venue The Baron Said, hidden off Kerr St in Fitzroy. This beautiful space reminded me of a mini art-deco warehouse. It’s slightly tricky to find, and parking was a little challenging- so make sure you give yourself an extra 15 minutes to find a park and the venue, or better still, catch public transport!

12 Shows 01 Apr – 13 Apr
Tue-Sun 8pm

Full $25
Concession $20
Tightarse Tuesday $18

Bookings and information: http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/homos-in-kimonos-will-hannagan-james-halloran-in