Cabaret

Review: NICA’s Leap of Faith

Stunning circus spectacular

By Christine Moffat

Circus is a curious thing. If attempting to describe it to someone who knew no better, you might say “Circus is when a group of very bendy, strong people do amazingly dangerous things while other people applaud”.

Leap of Faith

It’s a true statement, but your friend would be no wiser. NICA‘s Leap of Faith: Circus in Motion showcases the talents of just such a group: the skilful and flexible graduating students of 2013 to be precise.

Often circus cannot be viewed as traditional theatre, but must be consumed for its spectacle and variety. This is the case for Leap of Faith. There is no plot or overarching message or connection, just 24 amazing performers trying to entertain and impress – and they did. The art of circus is ancient, and it must be difficult for a performer to express themselves in fresh and entertaining ways. All of the performers managed great modern interpretations with their routines.

The entire cast were amazing to watch, and each of them deserves a successful career in circus. That being said, there were some definite standouts on the night. Emeline Dunnand was adorable and funny as the evening’s clown/mime. Anna Murray and Tessa Wilson were fabulously entertaining with their deceptively simply-named “Handstands on Chairs” routine. Nick Rothlisberger (trapeze), Yonnas Gebremedhin (juggling), Danny Golding (swinging pole) and Liam DeJong and Tamika Ball (Adagio) all elicited many ‘ooooohs’, ‘aaahhhs’, chuckles and rapt applause from the appreciative audience.

The evening was longer than the advertised 70 minutes, clocking in at 2 hours including interval. As the performance forms part of the students’ assessment in their Bachelor of Circus, it would be difficult to shorten. This reviewer recommends an early dinner or lunch before the show, so your attention can stay on the stage and the incredible acts being performed.

There was barely a hint that the show was an assessment piece; the work was certainly at professional level. This is no mean feat as performing for an audience and for assessment must equal double the stress. The class of 2013 appear to be young and strong, creative and fearless, and ready to take their own Leap of Faith into the professional circus world.

Leap of Faith: Circus in Motion

Directed by Mathew Jessner

Venue:

NICA National Circus Centre

41 Green Street, Prahran

Dates & Times:

6-13 April 2013

Evenings: 6 April, 10 – 13 April 7pm

Matinees: 11 – 13 April 1.30pm

Price: $30 Adult, $25 Concession, $20 Child >16, $80 Family (2 Adults, 2 Children)

Bookings: www.nica.com.au

Events, Festivals, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Hope is the Saddest for MICF

Don’t let the title deter you…

By Myron My

Hope Is The Saddest debuts at La Mama as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and revolves around three people, Hope (Michelle Robin Anderson), Theo (Jeffrey Jay Fowler) and Marion (Natalie Holmwood) – who, after a chance encounter, are inexplicably drawn into each other’s lives for better or for worse.

What follows is each individual’s attempt at finding hope in their lives and how they help each other in some way, shape or form to achieve this. Through this hope they experience happiness, joy, regret, sadness, anger and despair.

Hope is the Saddest

Despite not actually appearing in the play (as such), Dolly Parton’s presence and influence on these people is obvious with her songs creating the soundtrack to the show, constant references being made to Parton and the life-size cardboard stand-in of her on stage that assures she will remain omnipresent throughout.

All three actors excel in their depictions of Hope, Theo and Marion and really capture their essence and bring them to life, which is not as difficult a task for an actor when you have a script as strong as this. Fowler’s script does not allow for any words to be wasted. Everything spoken is vital to the progression of the story and he has endowed the three characters with three distinct voices. There is also a perfect blend of humour and sadness in this script, just like life, and includes such cheeky dialogue gems as “just get over being gay and stick your tongue in…”

The La Mama stage is divided up into three locations, and considering how small the space is this would not have been an easy thing to devise. Using a large dollhouse to represent Marion’s home was an ingenious idea.

There are a number of interesting narrative devices used in Hope Is The Saddest to further the story that are worth acknowledging. There is the standard dialogue between characters but there are moments where all three actors speak in unison to the audience like a Greek chorus, a split-scene of letter reading and of course, lip-syncing and dancing to some Dolly songs.

Hope Is The Saddest is a beautiful comedic story interspersed with the harsh realities of life. And pancakes. And of course, Dolly Parton.

Venue: La Mama, 205 Faraday St, Carlton

Season: Until 14 April | Wed, Sun 6.30pm | Thu-Sat 7.30pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Concession

Bookings: http://lamama.com.au

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: DRINKING, DREAMING, DATING AND DOING

Eloquent, elegant, encompassing solo show

By Myron My

I’m sitting in the foyer of The Owl and the Pussycat, waiting to be ushered into the theatre when a man comes down the stairs and asks us have we ever been in love?

Colin Craig

For a second I was thrown and thought this was a drunken visitor stumbling down from the room upstairs, but quickly realised it was the evocative beginning of Drinking, Dreaming, Dating and Doing.

We are introduced to Liam (Colin Craig) as he opens up about love and life, and in the small area where we are gathered, it is very personal and intimate. You can’t help but feel a little awkward that this stranger is opening up so much to us. Eventually we are led into the theatre space where Craig as Liam continues to captivate our attention – his eye contact with the audience really dramatises how intense and sincere he is with his thoughts and honesty.

So often I see actors take on multiple roles for a production only to have it suffer by not having a set of independent eyes watching other aspects of it, but Craig – as producer, writer and performer of Drinking, Dreaming, Dating and Doing – excels in all these areas and along with director Brooke Smith-Harris has really captured the feeling of intimacy and spontaneity with this piece.

I’ve seen Craig perform previously and he does very well with long wordy scripts, so it’s not surprising he has chosen to create a conversational and eloquent one-man show in Drinking, Dreaming, Dating and Doing. Inspired by the song “Diversions” by New Zealand group Betchadupa, Craig has delivered a script that is written in beautiful prose with strong spoken imagery throughout.

It’s not until the end that you realise what all the different types of “flowers” we had been given prior to the performance are to be used for, which leaves you with a sombre yet hopeful feeling.

Coming in at roughly 50 minutes, Drinking, Dreaming, Dating and Doing is a short piece but a strong performance that will remain with you for much longer than its running time.

 

Venue: The Owl and the Pussycat, 34 Swan St, Richmond

Season: Until 6 April | 8:00pm, Sat 2:00pm

Tickets: $19 Full | $15 Conc

Bookings: http://www.owlandcat.com.au/drinkingdreaming.html

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Geraldine Quinn is STRANGER

Powerhouse voice and delightfully mysterious comedy

By Bradley Storer

A dark-clad figure silently glided into the room, gazing entranced at the audience before taking a seat beside the people in the second row. A powerful voice emerged from beneath the veils, serenading us with how fascinating we humans are. This mysterious and alluring image drew us into the world of Geraldine Quinn’s wonderful Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Stranger from the very start, Quinn keeping the moment from becoming too self-indulgent with some well-timed silliness.

Geraldine Quinn

The veils soon came off to reveal some amazing Bowie-influenced spandex along with the true nature of the show. Quinn’s character, an enigmatic but bright-eyed outsider from worlds unknown, regales us with her captivation with human beings and the myriad ways they relate and interact with each other.

Songs range from an amusing look at the ambiguous joys of family, how to be a half-assed ‘best friend’ and the similarities of love to an immuno-virus. Quinn combines abundant song-writing talent with a stunning voice, her commanding vocals embracing a spectrum ranging from rock goddess to a light-opera diva.

My one criticism would be that the beginning of the show left me a little confused about who Quinn’s character actually was (and perhaps this aspect needs some strengthening), but this became clearer as the show went on. The audience is treated (along with Quinn’s signature intense eye contact and hilariously forceful choreography) to this strange figure’s journey from an outsider observing the foibles of humanity to a willing actor in the drama of the human condition.

A sequence in which the ‘stranger’ unknowingly opened herself up to all of humanity’s inner voices combined heart-breaking confusion with wide-eyed wonder in a way that was simultaneously poignant and beautiful. An engaging hour of comedy/cabaret that both amuses and stimulates the mind!

DATES: 28th March – 21 April

TIME: 8:15 (7:15 Sun)

VENUE: Trades Hall, Cnr of Lygon & Victoria St, Carlton

TICKETS: $22, Conc $18, Group (8+) $18, Laugh Pack $18, Tightarse Tuesday $15

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

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

Review: SAM SIMMONS’ Shitty Trivia

Fast and furious fun

By Christine Moffat

If Sam Simmons ever considers a career outside of comedy, it should stunt driving.  This fast-paced show for MICF, written and performed by Simmons, is a wonderful headlong comedy attack on the audience.

Sam Simmons

Simmons took to the stage armed only with hilariously shitty trivia questions (it’s not just a clever title), mismatched shoes and bizarre anecdotes – oh, and a full wheelie bin too of course.

The pace of the show is driven by Simmons’ rapid fire ‘trivia question’ jokes, most of which are outrageous, unfathomable; or both.  The beauty of this system is that the jokes are not really the jokes; they are the set-up.  The real punch-lines come after each ‘joke’ when Simmons responds to the audience’s reaction.

It was especially entertaining when we (the audience) had been laughing our heads off and he responded to an imaginary, disapproving audience.  This format created a semblance of chaos that this reviewer suspects hid the workings of an amazingly well-structured show.

The ‘mysterious shoe’ plotline adds another layer.  A couple of unexpected elements that also work very well are the heavy use of multimedia (including Simmons’ own strange drawings), and a little something he likes to call ‘audience humiliation’.

These ingredients combine to make a very successful one-man sitcom.  Throughout, your mind marvels at the madness, while the rest of you shakes with laughter for 60 minutes.  There is no downtime in this show, but the surreal jumps between different formats create new ways for you to keep laughing.

Simmons engages the audience through headlong speed, fearlessness in his choice of subject matter and costumes (who likes short shorts?), and a freewheeling disregard for reality.  It’s time for a Fast and the Furious comedy spin-off, and I think Simmons is the man to make it happen!

Dates & Times:

3–7 April Tue–Sat 7pm, Sun 6pm

10–21 April Tue–Sat 9.45pm, Sun 8.45pm

Venue: The Hi-Fi

Price: $24-$34

Bookings: www.comedy-festival.com.au/2013/season/shows/shitty-trivia-sam-simmons

Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 / At the door

Festivals, Review, Stand-Up Comedy, Whats On

REVIEW: Go Time! with ARJ BARKER

Some thin spots filled out with big laughs

By Matthew Farmer

In the biggest theatre space in the Melbourne Town Hall last night, we were treated to international comedy star Arj Barker, and his one-man show for MICF – Go Time! This is his philosophy of not letting your ego get in the way of something you might do in the future, because despite what that crazy little red-head tells you, tomorrow is not a day away, it does not exist. You are now. Your heart is now, its go time, right now. A great idea and a great message, but when mixed with toilet humour, it doesn’t quite stand for the whole sixty minutes.

Arj Barker

The show starts with a musical number, which was a genuine surprise. It then continues through some poignant social commentary, embarrassing admissions, local restaurant reviews, all interspersed with 2013 copyrighted Arj Barker-isms, such as go build a pyramid and get to the point, or go get yourself a deck of cards, and deal with it.

The role of a comedian is to look at life from a unique point of view, to engage with you and to have you see the world through their altered eye sight. Arj made some strong comments about the factories in China making iPhones, the environment and the notion of ‘job creation’, which had you thinking, and then he dropped a comedy bomb onto you: showing you an empty palm on the left, while smacking you in the face with his right.

Arj engages with the audience well, and never misses a beat. If a joke fails, he owns it and then moves on. I have previously only seen Arj Barker on comedy festival specials or TV shows where he only has a bit part to play. To see him live for a whole 60 minutes however, felt a little forced. The front of the show worked well and was strong, but the ends were just a little bit frayed, although it did end with great toilet humour and another song and dance. Plus, he mingled with the public in the foyer right after for merchandise and photo opportunities, which is always good to see in a celebrity.

Arj’s show Go Time is a show that comes from his heart, has a lot of energy and good intentions. He will try his darnedest to uplift you and gosh darn, if it doesn’t work on some level for you.

Arj Barker’s Go Time is playing all Festival long at the Town Hall, except for Mondays. Tickets are $33 – $42.50 and can be bought online at ticket master, or at the venue.

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.