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.

Events, Festivals, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: APARTMENTOCALYPSE! for MICF

Low-key comedy of epic proportions!

By Myron My

As part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Apartmentocalypse!  has us witnessing the world’s end. Yes, Armageddon is happening right now and three housemates, Thomas (Eden Porter), Martin (Michael Kalenderian) and Rob (Joshua Porter), are trying to figure out what to do next.

Apartmentocalypse

There is a level of ridiculous normality amidst this end of the world, as they still find time to argue about who is responsible for paying the rent and which mugs people have been drinking tea from. With three very distinct personalities on display – new-age Rob, wet-behind-the-ears Thomas and manly Martin – there is always a risk of playing to stereotypes whereby you lose the emotion and the realness of the people but the three actors play their characters so well and honestly that this is avoided and you care about these guys.

There are familiar shades of Shaun of the Dead-style humour present but the distinct comedic timing and high energy that the three possess under Christopher Bryant‘s direction allows this show to break free from this comparison. Particular mention goes to Eden Porter’s hilarious exaggerated expressions that truly were a sight to behold.

This is a tightly-written script that rarely wavers in its comic drive and rewards the audience with call backs referenced throughout, a sign that much time and effort has been put in here. Likewise with the set design, where the smallest touches has been added to create authenticity in the living room and some imaginative use of the lighting at various moments.

Apartmentocalypse! delivers the laughs and recommended for anyone who is looking to enjoy something other than stand-up at this year’s festival. In fact, Apartmentocalypse! reminds me very much of a normal share-house meeting – with the added bonus of the end of the world. And also a very good reason why I insist that all my DVDs remain in alphabetical order at all times.

Venue: The Tuxedo Cat, 17-23 Wills Street, Melbourne

Season: Until 21 April | Thurs-Sat, Mon-Tues 7:15pm, Sun 6:15pm

Tickets: $20 Full | $16 Concession

Bookings: http://www.tuxedocat.com.au or at the door

Events, Late Night Shows, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Death Rides A Horse for MICF

Saddle up for character comedy

By Kate Boston Smith

Rama Nicholas grabs the reins with authority in her first solo show, Death Rides a Horse .  With sharp wit, excellent imagination and full commitment the multiple characters she plays this one-woman show of full force.

Having come up through the ranks of Melbourne’s rich improv scene, Nicholas proves that she has what it takes to deliver on her own.  Death Rides a Horse is an excellent parody of all those spaghetti westerns you loved as a child.

Rama Nicholas

Though some of the jokes feel a little limp at times there was absolutely no faulting her acting ability. Nicholas switched seamlessly through characters such as a cowgirl on the rise to fame, brothel madam, Latin lover, evil sheriff, trusty stead and of course, Death himself.

To watch as her wild imagination came alive on stage in front of you via all these characters was amazing.  Her simple set and use of props added discreet colour and shape to the show, as did her well-timed “blue jokes” for this late-night timeslot.   Moments I particularly enjoyed were the ‘death twins’, the Death song and I’m always a sucker for a Princess Bride reference.

Nicholas clearly has a love affair with character work, and she is excels in this area.  Due to this commitment and impressive number of characters introduced in the piece the story lacks a certain amount of meat on its bones.  This is a show of incredible craftsmanship, rather than a constant laugh out loud or ‘ROFOL’ adventure. Death Rides a Horse is to be enjoyed by those who want to wander off the (sometimes) aggressive stand-up track and take a winding trail through the prairie of one woman’s incredible imagination.

The Tuxedo Cat
27 Mar-9 Apr
Mon-Sat 10.45pm
Sun 9.45pm

Revolt Melbourne
11-20 Apr
Tue-Sat 7.30pm
Sun 5.30pm

Booking details can be found here.

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Theatre

Review: EMILY TAYLOR in Cannonball

Dark clever comedy in MICF debut

By Tania Herbert

As the hub for the MICF, audiences are always full of energy at the Victoria Hotel. And energy is certainly not lacking from Emily Taylor in her one-woman show Cannonball.

Emily Taylor

The audience files in to Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, but it is certainly a somewhat darker place than Oz that we find ourselves drawn into.

Initially a seemingly innocent comic farce set in a glass tower shopping mall, Taylor moves effortlessly through an array of comic characters connected to the tower. Be it a precocious child, an uptight German receptionist or a vomiting neurotic cat, Taylor completely transforms herself voice and body to encapsulate each character.

From a depressed window washer to a self-absorbed CEO Taylor was convincing throughout. “Deedee” the demonic cabbage patch doll was perhaps one of the creepiest comic characters I’ve ever had the somewhat uncomfortable pleasure of meeting.

However, as Cannonball charges on, we come to realise that the characters are not linked by the tower, but instead by their neurosis, with each fighting their own private battle with a problematic unconscious. Despite the increasingly heavy content, there is certainly no lack of comedy, and laughter came easily and in good measure. The adaption to each persona showed a truly consummate performer, and from Emily we see not merely a joke writer, but a formidable actor.

There is a fair bit of wrong in this show- but not enough that it stops you laughing, and the depth of content kept me musing through the next day. The show definitely had more of a feel of “Fringe” then “Comedy” and a very dark ending did not leave the audience laughing in the closing stages. However, it is always rewarding to be reminded that comedy is not only goofy stand-ups, but can also be clever, satirical theatre. If you like to mix drama with your comedy, Emily Taylor is certainly a performer to look out for in the future.

Cannonball played March 29 – April 7 at MICF. Emily Taylor’s next performance dates can be found here.

Events, Opportunities, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones are DRIVING MISS DAISY

Don’t miss the ride of two lifetimes

By Kim Edwards

To call a theatre event a once-in-lifetime experience is so often a cliché – but when seeing two golden stars of stage and screen of rare talent and rich careers, both now in their 80s, both in Melbourne, and sharing the stage together at the Comedy Theatre in Alfred Uhry‘s award-winning play, there is no other fitting phrase. Driving Miss Daisy received a standing ovation for opening night, and will no doubt enjoy packed houses for the rest of its Australian tour this year.

Angela Lansbury & James Earl Jones in DRIVING MISS DAISY (c) Jeff Busby

The story is endlessly appealing: a crotchety old Jewish lady (Angela Lansbury) is forced into accepting the services of black chauffeur Hoke (James Earl Jones) by her long-suffering son Boolie (Boyd Gaines), and the unlikely friendship that develops transcends class, race, creed and years. Lansbury was deliciously eccentric and briskly comedic as Daisy: if her portrayal was not quite as acerbic and biting as was needed to heighten the tension and contrast between the characters, her quiet pathos as the years passed was intensely moving and wonderful to see. Jones, reprising his Broadway role, is exceptional: his unexpected warmth and charm, the transformation of that famous booming and cultured voice into the delightful cadences of Hoke, and his beautifully underplayed comic timing made for a delicately crafted performance. Tony award-winner Gaines is a strong tether between the two leads, and his committed interpretation of Boolie is highly theatrical but appealing.

Director David Esbjornson has created a swift and smooth production that runs for ninety minutes without interval, and the deceptively simple set and staging is clearly designed to maintain focus on the famous cast. Sadly, this sleekness and streamlining is at the expense of moments of stillness or audience reflection: the episodic nature of the play means the story must roll briskly between the gentle, elderly pace of the characters’ interaction, but the poignant close of scenes (as when Daisy weeps) were whirled along without pause, which lessened their impact.

This production of Driving Miss Daisy was made for its audience, and if the sparks that fly when Darth Vader meets Mrs Lovatt are a little subdued, and the social commentary a little milder than the play warrants, it does not detract from the fact the fans are provided with everything else they could want: a ripe, heart-warming, engaging performance from two magnificent lead actors we are utterly privileged to see performing live on stage in Melbourne.

Driving Miss Daisy is playing until May 12 at the Comedy Theatre. Booking details are available here.