Category: Events

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

Review: DIXIE LONGATE in My Bags Went Where?

Time flies with Dixie

By Bradley Storer

Dixie Longate

Rushing onstage, suitcase trolley in grip, the harangued Dixie Longate enthusiastically waved to the audience at her Melbourne International Comedy Festival show. This drag-diva cousin of Dolly Parton chattered a mile a minute about the horrible flight and how the rest of her luggage ended up in a trailer park in Frankston, while unpacking her signature stocks of Tupperware.

About halfway through Dixie remarked on how her southern accent often makes her rapid chatter unintelligible – she vowed to slow down, but unfortunately the pace of this opening monologue was sometimes so fast I couldn’t understand what she was saying (she used this later in the show deliberately to more comedic effect). The jokes in this first part came hard and fast, but none could seem to land and raise the audience above a quick chuckle, which left me slightly worried.

However, once Dixie got through her opening section and unleashed herself onto the audience the show began to really fly. She eagerly interacted with audience members, and ingeniously used comments from the audience to jump from random tangent to tangent so quickly it was hilariously mindboggling, whether it be bottling lesbianism as a cure for ADD to how gay app Grindr was affecting the war in Iraq.

The disappointingly small audience actually helped make the evening far more intimate in the big venue, as though we were all actually a group of friends gathering to hear Dixie’s outrageous tales. And what a collection of tales they are! Using a shocking fact about Sarah Palin as a jumping off point, Dixie spins anecdotes all related to her world travels as part of her business. The good-hearted and foul-mouthed woman simply has the gift of the gab, relating her experiences on stealing kidneys in Vegas, multi-racial Nativity scenes and how hard it is to get a drink in Britain. She weaves convoluted and epic stories in such a way that they seem entirely spontaneous, and draws the thematic ties of all her tales so cleverly together into a conclusion that leaves you with an indelible grin. An uproarious hour with a woman so charming and witty that it becomes almost saddening to leave.

DATES: 28th March – 14th April

VENUE: Forum Theatre – Downstairs, Cnr Flinders & Russell St

TIME: 8:30pm (7:30 Sun)

TICKETS: Wed-Thurs & Sun $30, Fri & Sat $34, Conc (n/a Sat) $28, Group (8+, n/a Sat) $28, Laugh Pack (n/a Sat) $28, Tightarse Tue $28

BOOKING: www.ticketmaster.com.au or 1300 660 013, www.comedyfestival.com.au , Melbourne Town Hall Box Office or Forum Box Office.

Events, Festivals, Music, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: CHOIR GIRL for MICF

Choir politics prove to be worth singing about

By Myron My

A young girl sits on stage with her back to us. Her name is Susan (Sarah Collins) and she is desperate to join a choir. Again. This is the dark comedic story of a choir’s most dedicated member and the politics of community choral singing. This is Choir Girl presented by Attic Erratic and marks its return performance for this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Sarah Collins

What sets this comedy show apart from anything else you might see this festival is that Collins is accompanied by a 13-member all-girl choir live on stage. Dressed in very conservative outfits and with their hair tied back in tight buns it’s quite hilarious to see them launching into songs like “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You” and the vocal highlight of the show “Hit Me Baby One More Time” when they get all sultry and as sexy as can be in their demure dresses. It’s a great comedic and narrative device using the choir as Greek chorus to help convey and commentate on Susan’s inner thoughts.

The narrative could have been quite confusing had it not been for the techniques and the skills Collins possesses for storytelling. It also says something about Collins’ wonderful stage presence that she can perform in front of 250 people on opening night and have everyone’s attention and yet be able to create a sense of intimacy in the large venue she’s performing in.

Some great lighting design is apparent throughout Choir Girl, including warming reds to show Susan’s “passionate” moments and the delicate use of the lonely spotlight at the end to impart a sense of vulnerability and humanity to her.

My only issue with the performance was that it did feel like it dragged just a little bit, where even shaving five minutes of the running time would have made a world of difference for pace and comic timing. However, Choir Girl is still a thoroughly entertaining show and it’s a nice change from the usual stand-up formula and familiar comedy shows on display this festival.

Venue: The Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall. Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne

Season: Until 15 April | Monday 7:00pm

Tickets: $23 Full | $20 Concession

Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au,http://www.comedyfestival.com.au, 1300 660 013 or at the door

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Thomas Jaspers in NO PLACE LIKE HOMO

Sensational MICF debut

By Bradley Storer

The evening began with a visit from comedian Thomas Jaspers’ close friend ‘Rhonda Butchmore’, who sauntered onstage, all long legs and six-pack in one hand, to warm up the crowd with a few dropped names and withering witticisms about the likes of Chrissie Swan and Patti Newton. This delightful opening segued into a soap opera-styled look at Jaspers’ hometown of Aspendale, dubbed ‘Downtown Assy’, before Jaspers himself emerged (still half dressed as his drag alter-ego) to begin the show.

Thomas Jaspers

No Place Like Homo, Jaspers’ debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, documents the comedian’s journey from a flamboyant, Priscilla-loving child through adolescence and his break-up with a certain well-known Australian comedian and its aftermath.  The major theme of the show is family, with the members of Jaspers’ own family (all played by Jaspers himself) made present throughout the evening via a series of projections that, in a very inventive stroke of media, interject and interweave through all of the material. All of these characters provide hilarious and heart-warming moments, Jaspers’ delightfully dirty grandmother in particular, and in their portraiture you can sense great love and affection.

Despite this being his first appearance at the Comedy Festival, Jaspers already shows great comedic skill and ability in his story-telling. On this night the performer showed some signs of nerves (probably not helped by the presence of his actual family in the audience) but there was no need for worry – Jaspers has crafted a fantastic, hysterical yet touching debut, which we can only hope for more of in the future.

VENUE: The Horse Bazaar, 397 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

TIME: 8:00 (7:00 Sun)

TICKETS: Full $20, Conc $18, Tightarse Tuesday $16, Group (10+) $18, Laugh Park $18.

BOOKING: www.ticketmaster.com.au Ph: 1300 660 013, www.comedyfestival.com.au, at venue.

Events, Festivals, Performances, Theatre, Whats On

Review: TANSY BRADSHAW is Child Safe?

Bibliophilia is not a vice…

By Myron My

Tansy Bradshaw is a library technician (because of the sexiness of the job) and in this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Child Safe? (Not Suitable for Children), Tansy looks at some of the messages these so-called children’s books are sending.

Tansy Bradshaw

Things in the library start off smoothly enough until Paisley (Sean Collins) appears. Paisley is a fictitious character wanting Tansy to write his story but she declines because of the nature of children’s books. Her banter with Paisley is a high point and his mischievousness and excitability is the perfect contrast to Bradshaw’s sarcasm and cynicism. Furthermore, Bradshaw is very much at ease with the audience and for the most part, her delivery is smooth and at a great pace.

Bradshaw soon exposes Noddy’s relationship with donkeys and his secret obsession with guns, and Blinky Bill is not left unscathed when the whole town is revealed responsible for covering up a murder. Through exploring various other fictional favourites, Bradshaw looks at how stories for kids apparently promote body image issues, child labor, BDSM and even bestiality.

Towards the end the comedy seemed to be shifted to a back burner as Bradshaw’s material becomes social commentary about these stories and examines whether it is better to have a naïve childhood or a realistic adulthood. This leads into a discussion with Paisley about experiences of their own childhood and how it’s made them the person they are today.

Despite the seriousness of where we end up, it is still a happy ending all round and with help from Paisley, Bradshaw concedes that perhaps we should not be looking too much into children’s books and just enjoy them for what they are.

Bradshaw has done her homework but I felt like she could have gone a lot further with the stories to make her show that much more “unsuitable for children”. Ultimately Child Safe? is a unique idea that had a lot of potential but the development didn’t pack enough comedy punch.

Venue: The Bull and Bear Tavern, 347 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Season: Until 1 April | 6:15pm

Tickets: $14.50 Full | $10.50 Concession

Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com.au, www.comedyfestival.com.au, 1300 660 013 or at the door.

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

REVIEW: Josh Thomas in DOUCHEBAG

Familiar formula still pleases

By Bradley Storer

Celebrated Australian comedian Josh Thomas returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with a new show after writing and starring in ABC’s successful new series Please Like Me. The basis of Josh’s comedy (on-screen and off) has always been based around the dissonance between his cute, awkwardly adorable persona and the messy realities of his twenty-something Gen Y male existence. This formula has not altered significantly since Josh’s last show, although there are some refreshing new changes in his story-telling choices.

Josh Thomas

The theme of the show is about the moments of Josh’s life where he has not been the best person: the ‘douchebag’ of the title. There are tales of relationship troubles, involving the inability to say ‘I love you’ and the massive arguments sparked by homeopathic medicine, an account of accidentally scaring a young girl with leukaemia, and Josh’s casual insults towards fellow travellers while hiking in Tasmania. The story which sparked the idea for the show, an impromptu journey in Thailand to find an elusive massage parlour, however turns out to be an anti-climax which is hardly mitigated by Josh admitting that even he is aware the story is inadequate.

From the very moment he walked onstage, Josh had the audience on side (which is a rare gift). Although there was a continuous stream of laughter, as well as the occasional shocked gasp, there was never a moment which made me burst out laughing uncontrollably – the laughs stayed at one level for the entire evening. This could simply be due to issues in how the show is structured, or maybe because that by the end the audience was so used to Josh’s style that there were no surprises left.

VENUE: Melbourne Town Hall – Lower Town Hall

TIME: 8:15 (7:15 Sunday)

TICKETS: Preview $25, Full Wed-Fri & Sun $33, Full Sat $35, Concession (n/a Fri & Sat) $30, Tightarse Tuesday $25, Laugh Pack (n/a Fri & Sat) $30, Group (8+, n/a Fri & Sat) $30.

BOOKING: www.comedyfestival.com.au, www.ticketmaster.com.au or Phone 1300 660 013, Melbourne Town Hall Box Office.

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: ANNE EDMONDS with The Quarter Cabbage

Comedy with a side of veggies

By Myron My

For three years now local comedy favourite Anne Edmonds has performed stand-up at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. This year, she has gone for a character-driven piece with The Quarter Cabbage where she presents a one-woman play about four strangers who are connected by a single cabbage.

We are in a fruit shop – not a room at the comedy festival – and Tony the unseen owner, is visited by four distinct characters; old and slightly senile John Watts, new-age organic-obsessed Justice, ‘Mental Health’ personified, and Rebecca, a young woman with dream of being on X-Factor. Each purchases a quarter cabbage and as they do, we are given an insight into their varied lives as they talk to Tony.

Anne Edmonds

Whilst Edmonds is backstage getting changed into the next character, we hear a variety of comic phone conversations John makes to various customer service companies with hilarious complaints and ludicrous demands, such as threatening to switch from Yarra Trams to their rival – trains. These calls had everyone in stitches and kept the energy of the show going without Edmonds’ physical presence.

There were some nerves the night I attended early in the season, and a few things not going to plan – like a banjo not tuned – but Edmonds allowed these things to come into the show, acknowledged them, fixed them and moved on quite calmly.

Edmonds has done a great job in creating strongly fleshed-out characters within a very short time frame. The nuances and mannerisms of these characters are well thought-out and the fifteen minutes per character go by so quickly that you are left wanting more. My only problem was the inclusion of Mental Health – even though it was still funny, I feel with this persona we lost the appealing normality and mundaneness of the stories from the other three characters.

Edmonds’ MICF show The Quarter Cabbage is full of laughs and fun that will leave you wondering where the other ¾ of your own cabbage is going. I warmly recommend it, and give it 4 and ¼ cabbages.

Venue: The Lunch Room, Melbourne Town Hall. Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne

Season: Until 21 April | Tues-Sat 8:30pm, Sun 7:30pm

Tickets: $26 Full | $24 Concession

Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au, http://www.comedyfestival.com.au, 1300 660 013 or at the door

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

REVIEW: Jenny Eclair is ECLAIRIOUS

British TV star surprises on stage

By Christine Moffat

UK comedienne Jenny Éclair is not everyone’s cup of tea.  That’s mainly because everyone’s cup of tea isn’t an Earl Grey Jaeger-bomb!  Éclair epitomises that very English, delicious combination of nasty and nice, and possesses the kind of comedy pedigree that practically guarantees an audience a good laugh throughout, and a happy buzz when exiting – and that’s what happened last night.

Jenny Eclair

If you only know her from the television show Grumpy Old Women, you’re in for a surprise, as comediennes need to be a bit tamer on TV then they are on stage.  Most of the material in Eclairious for MICF is a bit too rude to repeat, and definitely too funny to spoil by revealing it in this review.  But as a teaser, Éclair does a little reminiscing (about fellatio and hand jobs), and some great bits about lost youth, menopause and teenage ‘children’.

Unfortunately at times Éclair’s material excluded men and women under 40, as it was phrased in the “am I right girls?” style.  That being said, the show still went from big laughs, to giggles, to big laughs regularly, as Éclair knows how to work an audience.

If you feel like a hilarious chat, albeit a (mainly) one-way and slightly confronting one, get there early and sit up the front.  Don’t be afraid to adjust yourself to get more comfortable, just get it out of the way before she gets going as she “hates fiddlers”.  So have a nice chardonnay or three, and then pop along for a good old laugh.

Dates: April 2-7

Times: Tue-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm

Where:  Melb Town Hall – Supper Room, Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts

PRICES: $25 – $36

Bookings:

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/eclairious-jenny-eclair

Ticketmaster 1300 660 013

At the door

Circus, Events, Festivals, Review, Whats On

Review: MOOKY CORNISH in Glories of Gloria Revue

Clowning around here is quietly amusing

By Myron My

Mooky Cornish takes to the stage in Glories of Gloria Revue for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival playing Gloria Rivard, a darling of the stage who is showcasing her amazing array of talents in her one-woman show.

Cornish is charming and comical with her mannerisms and facial expressions, and the show is entertaining for the most part, but on a whole, the content itself is just not very funny which is surprising seeing as Cornish is the lead clown and creator in Cirque du Soleil.

Mooky Cornish

The highlights of this show are when Gloria finds volunteers to help her perform scenes: Cornish is fantastic at being gentle with her audience and keeping them safe and happy at all times. One particular moment has Gloria acting out a romance scene with a member of the audience where his lines are stuck all over her costume and body. Fortunately, our particular audience member went along for the ride and had the whole audience in stitches. Also, the last Broadway number is not to be missed with its ‘all for one, and one for all’ mentality.

The costume changes – ten in all, and remember this is a 60 minute show – are elaborate and you can only wonder how Cornish is managing to execute them so quickly. A lot of time and effort has been put into the outfits and props in this show and Cornish ensures they are used to their full extent, including her use of the amazing sock puppets in ‘The Lonely Goatherd’.

However, the short segments of “ancestral film footage” we are shown whilst Gloria changes costume do lower the energy and audience engagement somewhat and made me feel like I was watching a commercial break as I wait for my TV show to resume.

Mooky Cornish’s Glories of Gloria Revue combines performance, music, dance and sketches: the description seems like a sure-fire comedy win but things are only gently lukewarm in this show.

Venue: Powder Room, Melbourne Town Hall, Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts. Melbourne

Season: Until 21 April | Tues-Sat 5:55pm, Sun 4:55pm

Tickets: $21 Full | $17 Concession

Bookings: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au, 1300 660 013 or at the door

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

Review: DEANNE SMITH’s Let’s Do This

From awkward beginnings to utter charm

By Bradley Storer

About eight seconds after psyching up herself and the audience with Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger, comedian Deanne Smith cuts the music short and admits ‘I can’t maintain this level of energy for very long’.

Smith opens with a ukulele tune in which she recruits the audience to interject at her command with the title of her show – the song never really managed to gain momentum since Smith was constantly forced to stop and wait for the audience’s response, and this made for a slightly awkward opening. After this small bump in the road though, her show Let’s Do It for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival picks up and soars.

Deanne Smith

The main thrust of Smith’s show is an examination of her inability to be a self-confident and secure person, gleefully dissecting her various neuroses to side-splitting and, at times, jaw-dropping effect.

Smith’s strength is her innate sweetness and lovability, which allows her to delve into some unexpectedly filthy and dark places (at my particular performance, even Smith herself remarked at several points, surprised ‘You all got on board with that!’). Topics range from the unfortunate implications of the term ‘femi-nazis’ and her hatred of penguins to a remarkably optimistic view of humanity’s current effects on the environment.

Interspersed throughout are many moments of audience participation, people individually to be sung at, called up to assist onstage or to take photos during the show (for one particular section, I’d advise bringing along a friend to save potential embarrassment). The hour show flies by and it would be hard to imagine anyone who would not be doubled over in laughter by the end.

DATES: 30th MARCH – 21st APRIL

TIME: 9:45 (8:45 Sunday)

VENUE: MELBOURNE TOWN HALL – CLOAK ROOM

TICKETS: Full $25, Preview $20, Tightarse Tuesday $20, Laugh Pack (n/a Fri & Sat) $20, Concession $20 (n/a Fri & Sat), Group (8+) (N/A Fri & Sat) $20

BOOKINGS: www.ticketmaster.com.au, Phone – 1300 660 013, www.comedyfestival.com.au, Melbourne Town Hall Box Office

Circus, Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Circus Horrificus for MICF

Running away to join the circus just got dangerous – and hilarious

By Myron My

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is upon us and it is preview night for Circus Horrificus – It’s A Western. There is a sense of excitement and nerves as I take my seat: extreme physical circus acts is what has been promised, and boy, do these guys deliver.

Circus Horrificus

Unfortunately, the beginning of the show where we are introduced to Samora Squid and Bridget Bridge overstayed its welcome. Too much slapstick and I found the screeching and growling at each other rather irritating. I wasn’t amazed by anything and my interest was not piqued. It seemed that just when you thought it was going to go somewhere – it didn’t. Even the music in the background was distracting.

Once these two performers got over this initial hurdle however, they not only took it to the next level but smashed through it. Their energy heightened, their interaction got stronger and even the music was more harmonious with the action. There were many moments where the audience was equally mesmerised, horrified, cringing and cheering. It’s been a while since I have felt all these emotions at the same time and it really wreaks havoc with the your body – but this was nothing compared to what Squid and Bridge were enduring physically.

There were numerous times I wanted to clap but all I could do was watch in disbelief in the various acts they performed. I would love to be specific about what these two artists do but I really think half the fun is watching without foreknowledge the crazy antics they get up to – although I will note that fireworks get up close and personal in places they should never be near…

The way Squid and Bridge present themselves, the costumes and the props they use all give off the authentic flavour of a real circus sideshow act. It’s no surprise that they would choose to perform at the newly relocated Butterfly Club, itself being eponymous with the kitsch and carnivale.

Despite its rocky opening, Circus Horrificus’ Squid and Bridge do win the audience over with their crazy cheekiness and it’s always great to see something that definitely isn’t your standard stand-up comedian in this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 256 Collins St(entry via Carson Place), Melbourne

Season: Until 21 March | Tues-Wed, Sun 9:30pm

Tickets: $23 Full | $20 Concession

Bookings: www.butterflyclub.com or 9690 2000