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

REVIEW: The Stand-Up Experience Present EXIT LAUGHING

Stand up and make us laugh!

By Deborah Langley

What can you learn in a week? Well, according to Stand Up Comedy coach Robert Grayson, you can learn how to be more confident, make people laugh and potentially launch a national comedy career.

On Sunday night, I went along to The Last Laugh Comedy Club to see what all the fuss is about.

You Stand Up

For the week prior to this performance, nine aspiring comedians took the plunge into Robert Grayson’s one-week intensive stand-up comedy workshop. This step-by-step introduction, for beginners or intermediates, promises to take participants to a whole new comic level and give an anxiously awaiting audience of supporting friends and family a night of belly laughs at the end of the week.

Firstly, my congratulations go out to all the performers. Truly one of the scariest things you can ever do is present your own words in front of a group of people in the hopes that they will find you funny. I’ve done it myself and can honestly say that all the performers I saw on Sunday night did an amazing job.

Some highlights for me were fresh-faced 27-year-old Ben who brilliantly told of getting carded and not being about to pick up because he looks like a 12-year-old; NT tough man, Wing who had some of the most ‘un-tasteful’ jokes I’ve heard in a long time – but made the audience laugh nonetheless; and bed salesman Sam who looked so natural on stage that he’s sure to have a future in the stand-up game.

As this was a workshop demonstration I will leave my performance review there – hit and miss jokes, but a fun night to support your friends.

Unfortunately, if we are going to review the experience as a whole, the sentiment starts to fall down. As someone who had never made it up the stairs to The Last Laugh, it was extremely hard to find, and I actually ended up in a HillSong Church Service (weird) because there was no signage and no information to help people find their way. Once in the right place we, the audience, had to wait almost half an hour after the scheduled start time to see anyone up on stage: a frustration made much worst by having to be subjected to blaring heavy metal music for almost all of that time. After 30mins of the successful and not-so-successful gags and far too much stage time by the Comedy Coach himself, we were given an intermission, which was not needed and was basically taken as an invitation for people who had already seen their friends to leave.

Disappointing, because it had all the makings to be an easy-to-find, laid-back environment for a really great on- hour gig with some cringe moments and some genuine laughs – perfect for friends and family showing support, and the general public after a cheap night of entertainment which some unexpected big laughs – exactly what you would expect from a ‘open mic’-style show.

For more information about the comedy workshop check out the website www.youstandup.com and give yourself the chance to make people laugh at all the silly things that go through your head.

Cabaret

REVIEW: Finucane and Smith with GLORY BOX: PARADISE

Glorious performances

By Myron My

The highly revered Finucane & Smith have returned to fortyfivedownstairs with their subversive and seductive show Glory Box: Paradise that brings together a myriad of extremely talented women for a variety of acts, from circus to dance to cabaret performance, in a non-stop evening of evocative entertainment.

Glory Box Paradise Image by Jodie Hutchinson

Under the creative direction of Jackie Smith, Moira Finucane soon shows us why she has been so successful over the years, with sell-out seasons around the world for almost a decade. Her performance of ‘A Sunny Afternoon’ was highly emotional whereby, with no spoken word beyond the lyrics, she made a moving statement about our notions of beauty in society. When paired with U2’s hit ‘With or Without You’, the room was frozen in place with the audience deep in contemplation, having been left to our own devices to determine the underscored meaning.

Having experienced British cabaret star Ursula Martinez four years ago in London I was very excited to be seeing her again and I was not disappointed. Also sometimes referred to as the Red Hanky Lady, Martinez’s ‘Hanky Panky’ is always going to be a crowd favourite. Her collaborations with Guinness World Record hoola hooper Jess Love were highly entertaining and the final reveal of ‘Quick Change Sex Change’ proved that with a show like this, we can always expect the unexpected.

It’s an evening of no lulls or disappointments with strong performances by Holly Durant, Lily Paskas and Yumi Umiumare throughout, as well as a few songs by Yana Alana fresh from her Melbourne Cabaret Festival season. There are also a number of special guests joining these remarkable women throughout the season including Rhonda Burchmore and Paul Capsis.

There is a lot of nudity in Glory Box: Paradise but I found it to be quite liberating and affirming, even as a male, to see all these women being nude, or close to, on stage and not being embarrassed or making a big deal about it. There is a strong underlying message in this show regarding what it means to be a beautiful woman, in that all women are beautiful and should never be ashamed of their bodies – a sentiment you hear often but rarely witness being enacted.

In short, you will laugh, you will be inspired, you will think, and things will get messy – especially if you are sitting in the front few rows – but that’s all part of the fun and celebration of Finucane & Smith’s Glory Box: Paradise.

Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Season: Until 11 August | Thurs 7:00pm, Fri-Sat 7:oopm and 9:30pm, Sun 5:30pm

Tickets: From $25 – $88.88

Bookings: http://www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/events or 9662 9966

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Greyhound Hotel and HOLY SHIP! The Stage Show

Camp musical comedy is making waves

By Myron My

Set during the 1920s, Holy Ship! is a loose combination of love story and ode to the perils of being at sea. However, life on board ship and the romance between Bonnie (Danae Vincent) and Charlie (James Traille) is not why we’re here. Holy Ship! is about fun, and with all the songs, dances, burlesque, circus acts, tap dancing and flesh on display, it would be very difficult not to have plenty of it here.

The majority of Holy Ship! is about being camp, naughty and sexy. Yet our narrator and Captain of the ship, Andy Balloch did create a beautiful a cappella moment that really echoed the loneliness of life at sea, and Vincent – in particular – and Traille owned their songs convincingly, and with seemingly little effort.

Holy Ship! 2

Despite these strong voices however, I did feel the ballads were misplaced in this production overall. There is little character development and I found it difficult to care about the central relationship beyond a superficial level, and was eager to return to the cheeky and more dynamic performance elements.

The merman scene for example, performed by Mr. Boylesque 2012 Raven, was a great addition, allowing the show the opportunity to surprise, stun and reel us back in. Furthermore, the tap-dance number, and the silk and the rope routines were nicely spaced-out and offered something different and visually engaging for the audience to enjoy.

Ian Knowles has clearly put in some hard work with the choreography and on the whole, the dancers have great control and remain in perfect rhythm in their Charleston-inspired numbers. As there is not much in terms of set, the atmosphere created by the live band, and the period costuming and make-up allow the speakeasy era to make itself clearly present throughout the show.

Holy Ship! is the largest show in 150 years that the Greyhound Hotel has hosted and it’s easy to see why. There is nothing small about this production: everything is large, loud and showy but more importantly, the show is sexy, enjoyable and fathoms of fun.

Venue: Greyhound Hotel, 1 Brighton Rd, St Kilda

Season: Until 13 July | 8:00pm

Tickets: $35 Full | $25 Conc

Bookings: www.holyshiptix.com & at the door

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Comedy, Dance, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Revolt Productions Presents TWO POUND PARLOUR

Vegas vaudeville – with a twist

By Myron My

Set in post-apocalyptic Vegas, Miss Friby’s Two Pound Parlour showcases a variety of dance, burlesque, cabaret, vaudeville and all those things in between.  With live music from Rapskallion, it’s a sexy – and sometimes messy – two-hour rollercoaster of fun for the audience.

Two Pound Parlour

Our MC for the evening, Miss Friby (Elizabeth Dawson-Smith) wins the audience over with her conflicting nature throughout the show. She is charismatic yet vulgar, charming yet rude, confident yet insecure. She definitely has the ability to lead this raucous evening with style, and she does it with much ease.

All of Miss Friby’s girls, Trailor De’Lamore, Zaire De Congo, Loreal Disastre and Lady Steponhe show impeccable commitment to their roles in every skit, dance and performance number. The standout of the night for me was Lady Steponhe, with her excellent comedic timing and remarkable physical fitness that allowed her to pull off such amazing routines.

The highlights of Two Pound Parlour included “Heaven In A Box” by Steponhe, which had the audience in stitches, the stomping-dance routine led by Zaire and the kissing skit/song between Trailor and Steponhe. All the dance numbers were varied and engaging to watch, however, I felt the skit/performance aspect of Two Pound Parlour was sometimes a disappointment, such as the Vegas wedding and Loreal’s rendition of “Not In A Gay Way”.

There were a few sound and mic issues, such as hearing the performers when we shouldn’t be and not being able to hear them when we should.  As great as the band was, there were moments where their sound overpowered the singing of the ladies on stage and made it difficult to hear the lyrics.

As creator of Two Pound Parlour, Dawson-Smith’s dedication and hard work has clearly come through and has put together an enjoyable show that has something to suit all – as long as you have a naughty side to explore…

Venue: Revolt Productions, 12 Elizabeth Street Kensington

Season: Until 14 July | 7:30pm, Fri-Sat 10:15pm

Tickets: $35 Full | $30 Conc

Bookings: http://revoltproductions.com

Events, Musical Theatre, Performances, Review, Whats On

Review: The Production Company Presents GYPSY

Everything’s coming up up roses

By Bradley Storer

The Production Company brings together a star-studded cast in this presentation of what can be described as the greatest musical in the American tradition. Like a musical version of King Lear, Gypsy presents the tale of Mama Rose as she fights, batters and tramples all the obstacles in the way of propelling her two daughters to stardom, even as they resist and try to escape her iron grip.

Caroline OConnor

Christina Tan as the young girl who grows up to be the eponymous Gypsy Rose Lee, is perfect as both the boyish, plain Louise at the beginning of the show, looking adorably innocent in her baggy oversized clothes, as well as the glamorous and seductive burlesque star that she becomes over the course of the narrative. However, in the strip tease sequence in Act Two (which illustrates Gypsy’s rise to her full potential as well as to stardom) Tan does not fully embody the burgeoning self-confidence and realisation that would bridge the gap between the two sides of the character.

Gemma-Ashley Kaplan as Baby June, Rose’s favoured child, brings both perkiness, a bright piercing belt and an underlying exhaustion to the role – her younger counterpart is equally amazing, possibly more so in some of her dances! Nathan Pinnell as the dancer who runs away with her steals the show with just one song and a brilliant choreographed dream ballet (choreography by Andrew Hallsworth).

The brilliant Caroline O’Connor is a phenomenon as Mama Rose, bringing layer upon layer to this larger-than-life character. This is a woman so consumed by her dreams and fantasy of stardom (vicariously lived out through her daughters) that she is hopelessly disconnected from everyone around her, most of all her family. In every one of Baby June’s dances we see Mama Rose flitting in and out of the background and off to the side of the stage repeating the choreography; whenever she by chance enters the spotlight her face breaks out in with unadulterated pleasure that is simultaneously comic and pathetic. O’Connor’s characterization brings to mind those other great tragic characters of American literature, Willy Loman and Blanche DuBois, both sustained and eventually destroyed by their dreams.

Matt Hetherington as Herbie, her lover/business partner is quite subdued, but the pair have a sweetness that makes the disintegration of their relationship as a result of Rose’s ambition all the more poignant – here Hetherington shines with a quiet dignity.

Gale Edwards brings an expansive directorial vision to this great American musical, emphasising how all these characters, whether or not they are onstage, are performers – acting out their own internal fantasies or forced to live inside a role that has been thrust on them by someone.

Venue: The State Theatre, The Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Rd

Dates: Sat July 6th/Wed 10th/Thur 11th/Fri 12th/Sat 13th at 7:30pm; Sat July 6th/Sat 13th at 2pm; Sun July 7th/Sun 14th at 3pm

Prices: From $23 (C Reserve U18) to (A Reserve) $115

Bookings: http://www.theproductioncompany.com.au/

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances

REVIEW: Melbourne Cabaret Festival’s CLOSING GALA

Olympians, Oprah and marriage equality in fabulous festival finale

By Bradley Storer

The stars of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival joined together at Ormond Hall on the festival’s closing night to raise funds for and support the cause for Marriage Equality.

Tara Minton, a British-based Australian harpist and singer, played selections from her festival show about the songs of Joni Mitchell, enchanting with her ethereal arrangements of ‘Woodstock’ and ‘Smitten’ and a voice that combined delicacy with a surprising power. Karin ‘Danger’ Muiznieks showed off the breadth of her range (as well as a dead on Piaf impression) in a tune that summarised the highs and lows of the Festival accompanied by Cameron Thomas.

Jon Jackson astonished the audience with his incredible range in an Etta James classic and a heartfelt song about the joys of marriage and children (made all the poignant by Jackson’s remarks about the inability to marry his partner of fifteen years). Cabaret diva Tina del Twist (the drag alter-ego of Wes Snelling) took to the stage with an imaginary back up band, crooning snatches of songs in a voice of spine-tingling power, in between bouts of wandering the stage in an absent-minded haze that felt like a three-act play in itself!

After intermission international drag cabaret star Spanky re-opened proceedings with some rock’n’roll sexiness as she sauntered through the crowd, accompanied by guitarist Robert Tripolino, before stunning with the Madonna tune ‘Revolver’ from his 2012 Green Room award-winning show Candice McQueen. Jazz chanteuse Jade Leonard took to the stage with her self-penned gay anthem ‘Equal Love’ before announcing her engagement to drag performer Art Simone (also present on the night) and inviting the audience to their nuptials at the next Equal Love Rally.

Matthew Mitcham as MC for the evening charmed with a ukulele mash-up of Kylie tunes for his opening, and guided the rest of the event with awkwardly adorable enthusiasm. This being a fundraiser for marriage equality Mitcham played to certain elements of the crowd, performing an impromptu striptease to ‘Barbie Girl’ (accompanied on the harp by Minton) which I’m sure left half the audience with spontaneous pregnancy. Later he showed off more of his… ahem… ‘assets’… during the auction which raised prices significantly!

Closing Gala

The night closed with a special guest performance by Oprah (played by Rachel Dunham), fresh from her Melbourne Cabaret season in Oprahfication, who regaled us with tales of starting out as a young black woman in television and bringing the house down with a voice that shook the rafters.

An incredible end to one of Australia’s fastest growing festivals, displaying the phenomenal talent on offer every year.

 Venue: Ormond Hall, 557 St Kilda Road, Melbourne

Date: 7th July 2013

Time: 7:45pm

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Jessamae St James is TIED UP

Bending and bonding over cabaret

By Myron My

It’s always a risky move when a performer takes an unsuspecting audience member on stage and makes him get down on all fours so she can sit on him. But when that audience member is your reviewer, you better damn well hope you have a great show to move on with!

Tied Up

Fortunately, burlesque performer Jessamae St James does have just that, and in the context of her show my participation was quite – er – tame… As part of this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Tied Up looks at fetishes and BDSM, including ‘forniphilia’ – a form of bondage and sexual objectification in which a person’s body (namely mine) is incorporated into a piece of furniture.

Wearing a black, body-hugging corset, St James easily captures the audience’s attention as she talks and sings her way through some more lesser-known but just as intriguing fetishes. Once the sometimes lengthy monologue describing each fetish is completed St James breaks into a song and this is where she truly does shine.

Her voice is sultry and seductive, and appropriately, she nails each and every number she sings. Moreover, St James is joined on stage by an amazing four-piece jazz band whose skill and talent take the musical aspect of this show to a whole new level.

St James does create a highly intimate and sensual environment overall, but considering the obvious impact of the music and her vocal ability, I feel less talking and more songs would have kept the enjoyment level of this show at a maximum.

I must als0 admit I would have liked to have been confronted even more with Tied Up. St James is discussing some highly sexual and often taboo themes and it would have been great to see her push some of those boundaries herself on stage, which I am sure she would be capable of doing, given her exciting performance history.

Having said that, Tied Up is still a highly entertaining show, I made a particularly fine stage seat, and I’m certainly keen to see where St James dares to go from here…

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

Season: Until 7 July | Sat 7:00pm, Sun 6:00pm.

Tickets: $28 Full | $25 Conc

Bookings: http://melbournecabaret.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Festivals, Whats On

REVIEW: Trevor Ashley is LITTLE ORPHAN TRASHLEY

 Leave the kids at home…

By Bradley Storer

This year Trevor Ashley brings his naughty and controversial adults-only pantomime Little Orphan Trashley to town as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival. The show, an unofficial rip off of the musical Annie, is the sort of light-hearted family show that you would never bring your kids to.

Rhonda Burchmore as Miss Trannigan, the alcoholic and lascivious matron of the orphanage, effortlessly steals every scene she appears in, boozing, crooning and flashing her fabulous legs to great campy effect. Her songs are overall the best in the show, and an act two duet with Ashley is quite probably the best one of the night. Rhys Bobridge in the role of little Fannie’s pet dog (whose name is unprintable here) combines sex appeal – wait until you see his outfit! – with a cuddliness and comic timing that make his every moment onstage gleefully naughty. His first entrance had the audience in hysterics for what seemed like a full minute!

Little Orphan Trashley

Gary Sweet gets big laughs as a pajama-clad Prologue introducing us to the story, but as Daddy Warhorse a lot of his lines fall flat. He lacks the singing ability to bring off his musical number in Act One but does a better job in selling a delightfully dirty number in Act Two.

The problem is that the writing and the story are simply not engaging enough to hold the audience’s interest for the length of the show. The best parts (usually involving Burchmore or Bobridge) usually have absolutely nothing to do with the plot, so when Ashley and Sweet step forward to get the story moving again it feels like the laughs cease – in particular, an attempt to integrate recent controversy about child pornography in art into the story comes across as quite creepy (and not in the good way!). The jokes came hard and fast throughout, and there are many up-to-date references (including to Rudd’s recent disposal of Julia Gillard) which is a credit to the creative team in their efforts to keep the script fresh and relevant. However, even with this the success rate is still only fifty-fifty for the entire night, with a few precise zingers as exceptions, despite the commitment of the cast to the material.

Ashley himself does not shine with the glowing stage presence of a star, but seems like a low-key supporting character in the plot – which is hard to understand given he has more stage time, dialogue and songs than anyone in the cast. There was no moment in the show where I felt Ashley was given a chance to show off his full power and range as singer or performer, which was disappointing as in previous works he has been fantastic!

Venue: The Comedy Theatre, 240 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

Date: Thurs 4 to Sun 7 July then continuing on after the Festival until Sunday 14 July

Price: A Reserve $75, B Reserve $60

Time: Tue 7:00pm, Wed – Fri 8:00pm, Sat 6.30pm & 9.30pm, Sun 5:00pm

Bookings: www.ticketmaster.com.au , (03) 9299 9800, at the venue

Cabaret

REVIEW: Alex Roe in HERE COMES YOUR MAN

Getting ready for a hit

By Myron My

In Here Comes Your Man for the 2013 Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Alex Roe plays a hit man – a very successful hit man who has a slight career crisis when he meets the beautiful Abigail.

Roe has some good storytelling abilities and the twists and turns in his story were highly engaging without any lulls in this cabaret tale full of crime, death and love. Roe incorporates a nice level of dry humour and drama and seems very relaxed with his delivery and interaction with the audience.

Photo by Shoot at Everyone Imaging

As a performer, when you start to involve audience members in your act you do run the risk of inadvertently breaking character but watching Roe on stage, I did not feel as if he was an actor remembering his lines but found myself quite invested that this man really was a conflicted contract killer!

Here Comes Your Man has a good variety of songs but some of them did slow down the proceedings and cause Roe to lose the intensity he had built up, especially in the middle of the show. It seemed sometimes that either the song was not well-matched to Roe’s voice or it did not add to the story. However the songs where this was definitely not the case and were show highlights included Fairground Attraction’s ‘Perfect’ and (aptly) The Pixies’ ‘Here Comes Your Man’.

Roe is joined on staged by accompanist Tom Pitts and I honestly have never seen a pianist get so wonderfully involved into the music he is playing – his performance was flawless and fluid from beginning to end.

On this occasion, Here Comes Your Man was performed as a workshop season with Attic Erratic with plans of a full season run at the Melbourne Fringe Festival later this year. The concept is unique and interesting and Roe has the skill and charisma to eventually turn this show into the cabaret ‘hit’ it deserves to be.

This production took place on July 3 and 4 at The Butterfly Club as part of the Melbourne Cabaret Festival.

Comedy, Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Charles Ross is ONE MAN LORD OF THE RINGS

Speedily, spectacularly, and side-splittingly funny!

By Kim Edwards

I’ve sat here with a blank screen for some time now when poised to write this review. I have one significant problem.

How to even begin to express how ridiculously and riotously fun this show is!

One Man Lord of the Rings

Forget stretching The Hobbit into three epic movies: actor-comedian Charles Ross has compacted the entire Lord of the Rings movie trilogy into 70 minutes for your unmitigated viewing pleasure. That’s right, one actor to play them all – all the significant characters (so obviously not Arwen), that unforgettable score (with some hilarious new lyrics), every clashing sword and roaring troll sound effect, and Tolkien’s sprawling oliphauntine plot – jam-packed into just over an hour of the best belly-laughs I’ve had in a long time.

The show, directed by TJ Dawe,  is unashamedly for the fans. You won’t believe the phenomenal pace and energy with which Ross tears through these famous films, and the uninitiated would be completely lost in moments as he springs and flings himself from character to character and twists and turns in and out of scenes.

I’ve had a few modest viewings of the trilogy myself, but was delighted at how vividly the films came back to me as a man in black coveralls with no set or props conjured up Middle Earth and its inhabitants with some impeccable impersonations and inspired physical comedy (I’ve mentioned this is all done by one man, right?)

My particular favourites include Ross’ Hugo Weaving and Christopher Lee, (although then there were the Gollum and Frodo portrayals…) while the fight with the Balrog, the fly-bys of the Nazgul, and the death of Denethor were outrageously funny and clever (and then there was the fall of Boromir, the march of Ents, the reveal of Eowyn…) Not only did we enjoy the clever characterisations and witty scene segues, but Ross integrates plenty of in-jokes and comic critique to round out his reinterpretation of the classic films.

One Man Lord of the Rings is a tour de force like no other (save perhaps the previous show One Man Star Wars whereupon the pun is intended) – the energy, ingenuity and mimicry is as masterful as a born-again wizard, as hilarious as a drunken hobbit, and as brilliant as the glowing elvish engraved on a ring of power. It’s all done by one man you know, and there are only two more performances in Melbourne: tomorrow night (Friday July 5) and Saturday night (July 6), 7:30pm at the Arts Centre Playhouse.

Have I managed at all to convey the amount of fun I had watching this? No? Then you’d better don your mithril vest, grab your elven sword and go see for yourself…

Bookings: Artscentremelbourne.com.au, Ticketmaster outlets or Ph: 1300182183