Category: Whats On

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Late Night Shows, Whats On

Review: YON AND HIS PRISM OF SEXY THOUGHTS

As good as its title

By Jessica Cornish

Yon

Yon and His Prism of Sexy Thoughts had a familiar format to the shows of his famous group act – however it was so smothered with sexual references that comparatively it made Tripod look like a family-friendly entertainment band. Don’t worry though, Yon – a.k.a Simon Hall, hasn’t actually left the comedic trio – he’s just expanding his comic horizons at this year’s Comedy Festival.

Yon, or more accurately known as the Man-daddy, was a quirky and amusing front man, backed by talented musicians, SJ (vocals, guitar, tambourine and piano) and Naomune Anzai (synthesiser and backing vocals), and with the trusty drum-machine tucked into a corner.

Wrapped in his red silk dressing gown and slippers, Yon requested his audience watch the proceedings through a veil of sexy thoughts, which was necessary considering the whole show centred around sexual relations, fantasies and troubles with his wife. His audience participation requirements even included throwing a couple torches into the crowd to ensure two free follow-spot operators for the night.

Yon reminisced in the sadness of losing his virginity at the ripe age of 23 to an ex-girlfriend at the time who pitied him. He also talked of more awkward nights where he morphed into a glorified dildo stand for a stripper, which caused tiny tears to fall on to his wife’s pregnant belly. Yes – I know. Want to know what happened next with Mrs Yon though?  You’ll just have to go to the show because I’m not going to tell you!

His songs were slightly and deliberately uncomfortable at times, but continually hilarious. Memorable tunes still looping in my head included such gems as “0.05% Chance Of F&*#ing Her”, and “I’ll Go Back On The Anti-Depressants If You Do Too“.

If you’re a modest and demure being who feels uncomfortable at the thought of sex, this show probably isn’t for you, but for everyone else it will be 60 minutes of high fun and ridiculousness.

Venue: The Butterfly Club (Carson Place off Little Collins St) CBD

Dates: April 11-13 / 18-20

Time: 10.30pm

Price: Full $23, Conc $20, Group (8+) $18

Bookings:

www.ticketmaster.com.au

Ticketmaster 1300 660 013

At the venue 9690 2000

thebutterflyclub.com

At the door

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

REVIEW: Madeleine Tucker has OLYMPIK PHEVER

Giving comedy a sporting chance

By Myron My

Presenting at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival is Madeleine Tucker’s Olympik Phever. In this, Madeleine is given her big chance of filling in as a late-night presenter for an Olympic Games TV special.

The show starts off well: Tucker’s “flags of the world” jeans were an amusing thought and her “jeans of the world” flag was then a nice touch.

Olympik Phever

Her initial song, “Race to the Race”, whilst a little repetitive was enjoyable enough but didn’t really get the laughs and therefore failed to hit the right mark. It is Tucker’s live sugar dispenser commercial that is the absolute highlight of this unfortunately otherwise lack-lustre show. Everyone was in stitches over this section and it’s a shame the rest of Olympik Phever didn’t deliver such strong reactions.

The set design was fairly impressive with Tucker performing her show from inside a giant television set. Clearly, much time and effort had gone into creating this. Her creative and detailed costumes, such as the sugar dispenser and her toast outfit, did not go unnoticed or unappreciated either.

To her credit, Tucker keeps the energy high and solders on even when some of the jokes fail to get the laughs – her Olympic flame in the mail segment being one of them. I’m not sure how much this show has changed since its debut at the Melbourne International Fringe Festival last year but it seems some refinement to the material is definitely needed. Tucker seems to whizz through a lot of material but perhaps focusing more on what obviously works with her attendees and using that would make Olympik Phever more audience-friendly.

I like to go in with an open mind and not have too many expectations when I go and see a new show. I’m not a fan of the Olympic Games and I have not watched them since 1992. I happily took a chance on Olympik Phever because I thought it would be an irreverent look at the event. It wasn’t, but this isn’t why I didn’t warm to it: it comes down to the material and unfortunately this show doesn’t go for comedy gold.

Venue: Forum Theatre, Cnr. Flinders and Russell Sts

Season: Until 21 April | Tues-Sat 6:00pm, Sun 5:00pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $15 Conc

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

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Whats On

Review: KARIN DANGER’s Hot Box

Making up as she goes – with make up!

By Jessica Cornish

Last night I journeyed to The Butterfly Club at its new inner city location to – er – enter into Karin Danger’s Hot Box… The award-winning musical comedian presented a mix of cleverly written songs and banter throughout the 50 minute cabaret performance for MICF.

Hot Box

Karin has a terrific voice, and belted out some impressive notes with great force and control. Her original songs were animated and well-presented, and some of the lyrics were both clever and intriguing.

However, her dialogue between the musical numbers unfortunately seemed to fall flat most of the time. To be honest, I’m not really sure what the show was about. Her banter was rather confusing and jumped from idea to idea, whilst she sporadically smeared on another layer of makeup, or completed one of many costume changes.

That said, there was definitely a strange audience dynamic for her performance last night. The audience on one side of the room sat almost in silence throughout the entire show, whilst three or four people howled with laughter throughout the evening on the other side of the divide. Unfortunately I was on the quieter side of the room that didn’t quite seem to get the night.

Karin Danger was accompanied throughout by excellent pianist Cameron Thomas. Initially he appeared to be more like the backing track rather than a part of the performance; however he turned out to be quite a colourful character, providing the show with some extra energy.

Reflecting on this festival show, I appreciate that the cabaret comedy of Hot Box is a safe place where Karin can and others are invited to laugh at themselves. Like her show itself, it was clearly when performing her witty songs Karin was most comfortable with herself and us, and could be happy in her own skin – despite the odd imperfection here and there.

When:  April 09- 21, Tue-Wed 8pm, Thu-Sat 9pm, Sun 8pm

Where: The Butterfly Club, Carson Place (Off Little Collins St) CBD

Cost: Full $23 & Conc $20

Booking: Ticketmaster, at the venue 9690 2000, thebutterflyclub.com, at the door

Events, Festivals, Musical Theatre, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Slutmonster and Friends for MICF

You NEED to see this show

By Myron My

Wow.

That is all I can say after having seen Slutmonster and Friends. That, and “I need to wash my brain.” Returning to the stage for this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, this is definitely the craziest show you will see.

Slutmonster and Friends

The lights come on and the music starts playing in this land of cheerful and brightly coloured trees and bushes. Upon closer inspection you notice that some of the flora is not quite right. To say more would be to ruin the surprise. Once Slutmonster (Jessie Ngaio) appears in all her glory and singing a happy song, you know you’re in for quite an adventure. The premise of Slutmonster and Friends is that two brothers, Bovril (Wes Gardner) and Larch (Lucas Heil) are lost in this forest and what happens once they encounter Slutmonster.

From then on, things happen that you cannot believe you are seeing. Despite the high sexual content and outright wackiness, it all seems very fitting in this environment and doesn’t seem crass. The great thing about Slutmonster and Friends is despite all the explicit sexual references there is actually quite a convincing storyline which Heil and Gardner (as writers) should be congratulated on. It’s also great to see the three performers fully committed and taking on the demands of roles that other actors might not have been so comfortable doing.

There is a lot of crazy and racy stuff in this show but the cast are smart enough to realise this and break up the hectic pace with the same story being projected on a screen periodically as a traditional fairy-tale that would be much more child-friendly. It’s quite amusing to watch this version and see how it refers to and re-imagines things that have happened on stage.

The costumes and set design, all by Ngaio, are superb, especially the full Slutmonster costume. No amount of describing it will do it justice so you really need to go and see this show and witness all of its charms and laughs yourself.

I have never seen anything quite like Slutmonster and Friends before and I think it will be a long time before I do again. It’s a great show when the worst thing is that it has to end. I overheard one audience member say this at the end of the show and I wholeheartedly agree with their statement: “Genius. Just genius.”

Venue: Northcote Town Hall, 189 High St, Northcote

Season: Until 20 April | Thus-Sat 10:00pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $17 Concession

Bookings: 9481 9500, www.northcotetownhall.com.au & at the door.

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

Review: SCHOOL DANCE for MICF

Welcome back to the 80s

By Myron My

I really wanted to love School Dance. Everything I had heard about it was positive, and it is set in the 80s – which I think was an awesome time.

School Dance

Sadly I didn’t love it, but I certainly didn’t hate it either. All the ingredients were there, but I felt like this production has just in the oven for too long.

It’s the night of the school dance and we follow the amusing adventures of three awkward high school friends as they try to break through the barrier of social acceptance at their school. Everything about School Dance screams 80s – in a good way.

The costuming and make-up are authentic, including the acid-wash jeans, the big hair and the t-shirt that has a suit print on it. The high school auditorium set design by Jonathon Oxlade helped in setting up the time and environment, and the lighting design by Richard Vabre is exceptional and feels like it has its own character on stage.

Then we have the music – one of the best eras of music in my humble opinion. The performance is liberally littered with snippets of classic songs that were the epitome of those times – think I Need a Hero by Bonnie Tyler, and the like. The accompanying crazy dance moves and choreography are taken straight out of those neon-lit clubs from the 80s.

The three actors – Oxlade, Luke Smiles and writer Matthew Whittet – were flawless. Clearly they have been performing this show for quite some time as their comic physicality was impressive and the presence of their characters was felt throughout. Their interactions and energy levels was the main reason that School Dance endeared itself to so many.

There were a few dark elements that felt out of place in School Dance, particularly as it is currently playing as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The premise of the show was so happy and comedic that the unexpected allusions to domestic violence, for example, went completely against that. There was no elaboration or ending to this sinister storyline which makes me wonder why it was included. Moreover a tighter script would have helped tremendously too as there seemed to be a few scenes that were there just for laughs and not to develop the story.

Upon discussion with a few others that had seen it, I found there were strongly polarised opinions about this show. There were people who loved it and wanted to see it again and people who wanted to leave halfway through. I enjoyed the nostalgia and it definitely took me on a journey I was not expecting, but for me, the narrative of School Dance still needed some work to really make this a slick production.

Venue: The Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd

Season: Until 20 April | Tues-Sun, 6:30pm

Tickets: $29 Full

Bookings: 1300 182 183, www.artscentremelbourne.com.au & at the door

Festivals, Late Night Shows, Music, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

REVIEW: Paul Sings with PAUL MCDERMOTT

See him live

By Christine Moffat

Paul McDermott has built a successful TV career since Doug Anthony All Stars from occasionally singing a song, and fully exploiting his lovably evil personality.  Lots of people do this, but no one does it quite like ‘our Paul’.  When he is sharing funny anecdotes he gives you permission to have a guilt-free laugh at life’s darker points.  He brought this quality in spades last night: nothing was out of bounds, and every story he told was funny and very wrong.  As a comedian McDermott is a darker, edgier performer here than his television persona: perhaps a live show can give him licence to be ruder, even more irreverent and therefore even funnier.

Paul McDermott

Paul McDermott the singer is a something different and more emotionally involving.  His voice is a surprising blend of sweetness and maturity, and he sings with commitment – nothing is a throwaway line.  The songs that he performed ranged from touching ballads to high-energy soul numbers (all but one from his ‘back catalogue’), and also his own compositions.  The “band of real musicians” as it says in the show’s blurb, (led by the great Stu Hunter) is fantastic and musically re-made the songs into something fresh and new.

The crowd was a bit tame at first, perhaps quietened by the shade of his daunting TV personality.  He quickly built rapport, ironically by turning his acerbic wit on the audience, and soon had everyone stomping loudly in appreciation.  It goes without saying that he is a funny man, but what you may not realise is that he is also an incredibly generous performer.  When the show ran over time, he and the band led the crowd out of the band room, and performed a couple more songs on the stairs in the foyer!

Paul McDermott has a wickedly funny mind, a haunting voice, and an obvious love of performing and entertaining a crowd.  What more could you ask for on a night out?

Venue: The Forum – Downstairs

Dates: 10 – 14 April, 16 – 20 April

Times: Tues – Sat 9.45pm/Sun 8.45pm

Price: $34 (U18 must be accompanied by an adult)

Bookings:

www.ticketmaster.com.au

Ticketmaster 1300 660 013

At the door

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Whats On

Review: THE KRANSKY SISTERS – Piece of Cake

Deliciously quirky fun

By Christine Moffat

The three lovely Kransky Sisters, Mourne, Eve and their half-sister Dawn, hail from Esk in Queensland. They have been touring Australia and the rest of the world for over a decade.

The Kransky Sisters

You could be forgiven for assuming that their act must have dated in that time, but it hasn’t. They are as fresh as a spring daisy!The ladies like to perform their offbeat interpretations of songs that they have heard ‘on the wireless’, or while ‘standing outside a discothèque’. Some of their songs are surprisingly recent, and the result is riotously funny.

These seasoned performers also know that there’s nothing much funnier than audience participation, and they milk it for all it’s worth. Two victims were selected last night, and although they were hilariously humiliated on stage, both walked away happy.

A Kransky Sisters’ show is essentially an excellent musical comedy. Over the course of the hour, they fill you in on their travels and their early lives, including some interesting, slightly dark insights about ‘Mother‘. This is interspersed with what they feel are relevant songs to the topic at hand. The combination of their odd tales with some of the best-known cover songs in rock and roll is hilarious.

These very unusual sisters play strange and varied instruments, including (but not limited to) a wood saw, a tuba, saucepan and even a toilet brush! They also have superb voices, and so every song is not just funny, but musically fantastic.

Although their shtick remains almost unchanged from their beginnings in 2000, the show is new and surprising. The entire cabaret show is a whole lot of weird fun that may even get you singing Kransky-style on the train home… Their style is classic but absolutely not dated: I’m sure Mother would be pleased.

The Kransky Sisters: Piece of Cake

Venue: The Hi-Fi, 125 Swanston St

Dates: 10 – 14 April, 16 – 21 April

Times: Tues – Sat 7pm, Sun 6pm

Price: $30 – $39

Bookings:

www.ticketmaster.com.au

Ticketmaster 1300 660 013

At the door

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

REVIEW: Hello Kitty Flanagan for MICF

Hello Kitty Flanagan – nice to meet you

By Deborah Langley

Kitty Flanagan has been around the comedy traps for years but it has taken regular appearances on shows like The Project to elevate her to arguably the hottest Australia female comedian in the festival this year.

Kitty opens with reminders as to why we should be seeing more stand-up as opposed to other types of theatre, flying the flag for fellow comedians.

Kitty Flanagan

She takes a tongue-in-cheek swing at cabaret, and the follies of trying to get audience members involved when they clearly don’t want to, and examines the rise of burlesque (punt intended), highlighting that it is really just nudity with craft.

So even before she officially starts “her show”, Kitty managers to have the audience in the palm of her hand with effortless musings of these other forms of entertainment.

Although her show is definitely not cabaret, she does allow us into her world of single-dom, dating men, being a crazy cat lady and the degradation of female representation in rap music and on the streets, cheekily quipping that with the short-short skirts and crazy high heels, ‘you just don’t know who is charging for it and who is giving it away for free.’

But it’s not just women that will get a kick out of this show. Kitty managers to give observational humour a new lease on life with her lightning-fast delivery and even quicker wit.

For those of you that really can’t see a show that’s not cabaret, Kitty won’t disappoint closing with a medley of songs that will leave you in hysterics. Accompanied by sister Penny Flanagan (that’s Kitty’s sister – not a nun…) the two perform beautifully together providing harmonious melodies with stand-up mixed in.

So if you are after an hour (was it really only that long?) full of laughs, you really can’t go past this fresh, easy and hilarious show.

Dates: April 9-21 7pm (6pm Sundays)

Venue: The Athaneum Theatre

Tickets: $35 – $39, Online, Ticketek 132 849, at the venue 9650 1500 or at the door

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

Review: WORD CRIME with Alice Fraser

Trying to find the right words

By Myron My

Alice Fraser’s Word Crime is part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and in it she looks at language and how we use them to shape the world yet despite this rich resource for comedy there was ultimately very little present in this act. Fraser spent most of the time offering social commentary on how women are seen in society and about the violence that is sweeping America.

Word Crime

There were awkward moments in this show and I would like to put it down to preview night nerves but some of the material that was covered seemed inappropriate in such a setting. Death can be funny but trying to bring humour into topics such as suicide and her mother’s terminal suffering of MS is a very difficult thing to do especially when there is a room full of people who haven’t been warmed into your brand of comedy. There were jokes that were bordering on racist, and references to World War 2 that just didn’t work and made it difficult to connect with the performer.

There were many times that Fraser said how important words were for her as a child and how her mother would speak many languages and read poetry but unfortunately she never went further with this. The flow of delivery was a bit abrupt and we kept re-visiting topics that seemed out of place after what we had just been discussing.

Fraser seemed quite nervous on stage which is understandable for a preview, but perhaps more rehearsing was needed as she often began talking about something that was very personal, but paused, apparently remembering lines or thinking about what she was going to say next. A few times, Fraser even dismissed the attempt and went on to talk about something else.

Fraser was at her strongest when singing and playing the banjo so it’s a shame there wasn’t more of this. Her lyrics were charming and her song about being the best stalker in the land was actually quite sweet…in a stalker kind of way.

Overall, Word Crime is a concept of great potential doesn’t quite come together this time.

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

Season: Until 17 April | Tues-Wed, 6:00pm

Tickets: $18 Full | $14 Concession

Bookings: www.butterflyclub.com, 1300 660 013 or at the door

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

REVIEW: Nath Valvo is ALMOST 30

Comedy only gets better and better

By Bradley Storer

Nath Valvo

Comedian Nath Valvo takes to the stage of his Melbourne International Comedy Festival show and informs us of two things – one, that he is (no surprise, considering the title) coming close to the age of thirty. Number two, that in twenty-nine years he has never had an actual happy birthday. We are then led on tour through the horrific highlights of Valvo’s celebratory tragedies, cringing and stricken with shocked laughter in equal measures.

Valvo has surprisingly lost some of the merciless ferocity which characterized his previous shows but this softer approach actually magnifies the effect of his material and helps garner audience sympathy more. Nevertheless, Valvo retains his razor-sharp wit and willingness to push the boundaries of taste which makes this show just as funny (if not more so) than previous offerings.

Beginning in the comedian’s childhood, the show offers many jovial memories for children of the nineties (the use of specific songs to represent each year bringing back many chuckles of recognition). Clever structuring ensures the show doesn’t drag, and Valvo finds several ways to enter the audience and bring members up onstage, including teaching some lucky people the fine art of dancing to dubstep. One particular moment, involving a couple and a wacky game-show style questionnaire, drew dangerously close to crossing the line in terms of how far a comedian can push their audience – Valvo has enough stage charisma to make it work, but I still found myself on edge for some of the wrong reasons.

This one moment aside, this is a fantastic offering from a rising comedic star, whose abilities and ingenuity seem to grow by leaps and bounds with every new show. Blending delicacy and boldness, Valvo ties together the narrative with a finale that is surprisingly touching and sends you out with a smile on your face.

DATES: 28th March – 21st April

TIME: 9:30pm (8:30 Sunday)

VENUE: Trades Hall, The Annexe, Corner of Lygon and Victoria St, Carlton

TICKETS: Full Wed – Sat $20, Conc Wed – Sat $17, Sun $15, Tightarse Tuesday $15, Group (5+) $15

BOOKING: www.ticketmaster.com.au 1300 660 0131300 660 013, www.comedyfestival.com.au, Melbourne Town Hall Box Office or at the venue.