Tag: comedy

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

REVIEW: Yve Blake in AM I GOOD FRIEND?

A truly delightful performer and a wonderful show

By Bradley Storer

Am I Good Friend? is a show which mines, with hilarious results, the gap between our perception and the reality of how we relate to other people. Compiling graphs, pie charts of ambiguous flavour and anecdotal evidence on how to be a good friend, performer Yve Blake embarks on a pseudo-scientific and fantastical quest for what she calls the ‘golden egg of truth’.

Yve Blake

Greeted at the entrance of The Butterfly Club by Blake’s ‘stage manager’, who hands out iced Vovos whilst dressed in a stylish garbage-bag garment, we are handed small cards and invited to answer a personal question or two to aid Blake’s ‘research’. One quick costume change later and Blake herself appears in a make-shift lab coat and begins to ingratiate herself with the audience.

Over the next hour we are taken on a journey through Blake’s history of spotty behaviour as a friend, relayed through multimedia presentations, lip-synched re-enactments of embarrassing conversations and Skype-d testimonials from her closest friends. Given Blake’s sunny and adorable stage presence, this is actually almost too hard to believe!

Blake is a hurricane of delightful comic energy, bouncing off the walls with bright eyes and a wide sincere smile. Along with her goofy and enthusiastic nature, she is also unafraid to shamelessly plug her awkwardness and short-comings for laughs – her comedic commitment to her own humiliation is hysterically funny. Although her approach to her material is high-octane the show never seems rushed or garbled, her remarkable diction worthy of note considering the speed at which she speaks! Blake has a fantastic gift for interacting with and including her audience, finding many clever (and at one point, truly touching) ways to bring audience members into the show.

The hour-long show flies past, and the conclusion is a communal acknowledgement of all our faults and mistakes as friends to others, Blake ultimately managing to find both pathos and humour in the universal experience of loneliness and being an outsider. Ultimately this is an outstanding show which, much like Blake herself, hides a surprising depth beneath its sunny exterior.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank St, South Melbourne VIC

Date: Tues 18th to Sunday 23rd Dec

Time: Tues, Weds and Sun at 8pm – Thurs, Fri, Sat at 9pm

Tickets: $23 / $20 Conc / $18 Group (8+) / $15 Tues

Online: www.thebutterflyclub.com

Phone: 9690 2000

Circus, Events, Performances, Review, Whats On

REVIEW: Daniel Oldaker is DANDYMAN

Fine physical comedy from humble beginnings

By Myron My

Daniel Oldaker is physical theatre. Having seen him perform previously, I was quite excited to see what his new comedy show Dandyman would entail.

Dandyman

After what was probably the most captivating and engaging entrance for a show I have seen in a while, Oldaker takes to the stage in his bright blue and pink suit and accessories. The very loose story revolves around Dandyman waiting at the airport to board his flight and having to combat the boredom of plane delays and a very stubborn suitcase.

There is a simplicity in Dandyman that takes you back to being a child and that ability we once had to create so much out of nothing. Oldaker whips out two pages from a newspaper and ten bright pink straws and begins to dazzle us with all of his creations.

From paper babies, to flying birds of various sizes to up-close and personal facial features, Oldaker covers pretty much everything.

There is a touch of Dr. Brown’s mannerisms and character in Oldaker’s comedy but it is far less confronting and so allows the audience to be more at ease with what he is doing and to just enjoy it.

The disappointing thing about the show would have to be the length. At 35 minutes I did not feel like I had been on a full journey with the character. As much as I enjoyed the straw and paper moments and the bit of juggling, knowing what Oldaker is capable of I did not leave feeling fulfilled by what I had seen.

Oldaker informed us at the end of the show that this was the beginning of Dandyman and that it would eventually turn into a “totally different beast” than what we saw. There is great potential to develop this character and that is something to look forward to.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Season: Until 9 December | 9:00pm, Sun 8:00pm

Tickets: $23 Full | $15 Concession

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

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

Review: DEATH OF A COMEDIAN at La Mama Courthouse

Getting behind the scenes of the comedy circuit

By Myron My

Death of a Comedian by Fred Rowan is a privileged view into the  green room of a local comedy club as a group of comedians warm up for their show, but it might as well be a group of patients in the waiting room of a medical centre awaiting test results. As the performers wait backstage we witness their tension and anxieties, and as they return from the stage we wait with dread to see if they “killed it or were killed”.

Death of a Comedian

The whole amusing performance takes place over the course of this one night in the green room. The set design was very realistic in depicting what the back room of a pub looks like, and some great stage lighting involved having the comedian who was giving their set take centre stage while the rest of the cast remained in the background of the green room, thus allowing the two worlds to combine yet remaining visually separate.

Jeremy Kewley was brilliant as Graham Dempster, the organizer of the event raising funds for a hospital. His energy and endearingly annoying character were well received by the audience. Kevin Summers as a comedian desperate for a comeback, Johnny Mazing, was reminiscent of the fear we all have of not wanting to be forgotten and trying to hold onto our past. Although it took him a while to settle into his character, the audience was firmly on his side by the end. Believing in a few of the other performers was sometimes a struggle however: it felt like I was watching comedians acting and not actors being comedians.

There was some sharp dialogue and at times this reminded me of the backstage shenanigans that go on during something like Noises Off! which allowed Death of a Comedian to bring home the laughs. I think cutting ten minutes from the show would have created a much cleaner show and the ending, whilst trying to bring in some poignancy, needed editing too as it seemed to go on that little bit too long.

Death of a Comedian is, self-consciously, a drama about comedy. But there are more than enough laughs in this production to make you think otherwise.

Venue: La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton

Season: Until 9 December | Wed, Sun 6:30pm. Thu-Sat 7:30pm

Tickets: $25 Full | $15 Concession

Bookings: http://lamama.com.au

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

Review: PANIC! with Neil Sinclair

Crisis advice has never been so charming

By Myron My

Neil Sinclair’s stand-up show Panic! delves into the British comedian’s personal experience of the riots in London last year.

Sinclair’s recount of seeing roads on fire and people getting dragged from their cars to tales of a looter’s attempts to break into his flat cover much of the “equal parts terrifying and equal parts hilarious” moments he refers to.

Sinclair comes up with three sure-fire way to protect oneself from the looters from his man-made ‘command centre’ in his kitchen flat. Barricade your door with ANYTHING you can get your hands on, dress like a looter and get drunk! His story-telling methods are very relaxed, the flow of which is quite smooth as he includes the before and after effects of the London riots.

Sinclair has some great interaction with the audience, and there are many times when those invisible barriers are let down and it feels like you are just having a chat with a friend.

His lesson on the ‘art of small talk’ to help ease the tension after the riots was a highlight and there is something about the presence of an old school cassette player that I find endearing in any show.

Panic! is littered with pop culture references and only the coolest of the cool will understand them; I managed three. Sinclair has some great word play and some ‘pun-tastic moments’ with his “command centre” twitter feed but even when he makes a few bad ‘dad’ jokes he takes on the failure with a cheeky smile and moves on. This is indicative of Sinclair’s humbleness and his affableness as a performer.

At only 45 minutes, it is quite a short show but this is clearly an example of quality over quantity and Sinclair’s personable nature makes him one to keep an eye out for in the future.

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Season: Until 11 November | 7:00pm, Sun 6:00pm

Tickets: $15 Full | $10 Concession

Bookings: http://thebutterflyclub.com

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Performances, Whats On

REVIEW: Izaak Lim Sings TOO MANY SONGS

Classic comedy that delivers

By Christine Moffat

Izaak Lim explores the songs, and more importantly, the bent of Tom Lehrer in this one-hour cabaret at the iconic Melbourne venue The Butterfly Club.

Many lovers of darkly comic cabaret will be familiar with one or two songs from Lehrer’s catalogue such as The Masochism Tango or Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, but in this show Lim also dusts off some under-loved gems and makes them sparkle again.

For those who don’t know Lehrer’s work, this show would be an excellent introduction to the skewed worldview of the comical, musical, mathematical genius who was a highly respected professor as well as a fabulously disrespectful human being.

Lim captures this second element especially well in his own performance, which is very faithful to Lehrer without going anywhere near an impersonation.  Lim is himself, and that self seems to be almost as dark, strange and hilarious as his ‘mentor’.

On opening night the room was small, intimate and warm, as was the mood created by Lim and his oh-so-accomplished accompanist Trevor Jones.  Lim’s performance was superb: his voice has a beautiful tone that echoes Lehrer’s own deceptively sweet-noted delivery of deliciously sour concepts.

It is a humorous format that is milked for all it’s worth by Lim and Jones.  They are in synch musically and their tetchy banter really keeps the ball rolling.  As a result, the show seemed much shorter than it was, even including our predestined ‘encore’.

When he performed, Lehrer was most often trapped behind a piano, relying only on facial expression and nuance to reach his audience.  By utilising Jones for the majority of the music (watch out for some sneaky accordion action) Lim has the benefit of embodying the songs with high-energy physical humour, an hilarious addition to the already funny songs.  More than once I found myself laughing a bit too loud, and I wasn’t alone.

In closing, I will simply say this about Too Many Songs: if you don’t like laughing, don’t go.

Dates: Saturday 25th July 7pm/ Sunday 26th July 6pm

Tickets: $23 Full, $20 Conc, $18 Group 8+

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank St, South Melbourne

Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com

Events, Musical Theatre, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: MADEMOISELLE by Michael Dalley

Behind closed doors is where camp comedy begins

By Myron My

I was not sure what to expect from the world premier season of Mademoiselle, advertised as “a gothic camp music theatre revue” with two satirical manservants singing tunes about what could have been, but I knew I would be in for a treat.

Our two manservants, played by creators Michael Dalley and Paul McCarthy, sneak into their employer’s boudoir and let loose some glitzy musical numbers revolving around fantasy, regret, power and servitude.  The very opening song relaxed the audience and assured us that we were in for a night of cheeky laughs.

Mademoiselle is a very wordy and witty revue with just a few jokes falling flat. However, the characters had such an air of assumed superiority that you had to second-guess yourself when you didn’t laugh – was it because the joke wasn’t that funny or because you were just too lower class to get it?!

The banter and bitchy retorts between the two servants as they try to gain one up on each other was a joy to watch and Dalley and McCarthy have a great rapport together. You can clearly see they are having a ball with this. However, I would have liked to see the pair push themselves more with volume and vocal projection – at times, their speaking voices were louder than their singing ones, as if they were holding back during the songs. Also, there were moments during the duets when the performers were not in time with each other, but they were far and few between.

Composer John Thorn on piano was delightful to hear and played with great precision. Favourite numbers of the night were “The Passive Aggressive Filipino Amway Lady” which had me in stitches when the title character met the articulate call centre operator from Dubai, and “The Nasty Queen From Menswear” made delightfully scarier by the fact that I too was once a victim of such a person in previous employment.

The sets and costume, while minimal, added so much to this revue. The constant presence of the toilet was a constant reminder that despite their airs, these two manservants were just that and nothing more. The single props for their impersonations were well-chosen and clearly distinguished their changing characters: from Indian call-centre workers and Filipino Amway ladies to bitchy sales assistants, they were spot on, which is no surprise given Dalley and McCarthy’s established performance backgrounds in comedy and theatre.

Mademoiselle is certainly cheeky good old-fashioned camp fun that will see you leaving the theatre with many belly laughs having been had.

Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane
Season: Until 19 August 2012 | Tues to Sat 8:00pm, Sun 5:00pm
Tickets: $35 Full | $28 Conc
Bookings: 03 9662 9966 or http://www.fortyfivevdownstairs.com

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

REVIEW: Showko’s JAPANESE PUPPET RAGUKO

Prepare to be enchanted!

By Myron My

I was surprised that I’d never heard of Rakugo theatre prior to this evening (considering I had lived in Japan for two years) so I was quite excited to witness The Butterfly Club hosting the number-one Rakugo performer in Australia, Showko (even if through her own admission, she is the only Rakugo performer in Australia!)

 Rakugo is a 400-year-old traditional form of storytelling involving a lone storyteller using minimal props whilst kneeling on a cushion. Movement, action and characters are all expressed through body language, voice and facial expressions. Remarkably, Showko only utilizes half the small stage of The Butterfly Club but is able to create a world twice as big in our minds.

Showko warms up the crowd so effectively that you don’t even realize the show has begun purely because you are mesmerized by her genuine excitement to be here and sharing with us the magic of storytelling and creation.  There are not many performers who can win over an audience with their opening line being about the joys of heated toilet seats.

In one hour, Showko manages to create an entire Japanese comedy show with puppetry, ventriloquism (and at one point, triple ventriloquism), song, bamboo magic and…monsters. The time and effort that has gone into creating the puppets is evident and Showko works wonders as she manages to bring them all to life with their own distinct personalities. I’m now on the hunt for my very own Cucumber Sushi Monster.

A few minor technical issues with music stopping and lighting changes requested took us out of the world Showko was creating for us, but such was her passion and charm that she drew us right back in.

By the end of the performance, there was not one person (I was watching) walking away without a smile on their face – perhaps Showko had really got everyone in touch with their inner child.

Date: June 14th, 15th, 16th  7pm/17th  6pm

Venue: The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

Tickets: $23 / $20

Bookings: thebutterflyclub.com

Events, Performances, Review, Theatre, Whats On

Review: MTC’s Boy Girl Wall

A theatre experience that is innovative, intriguing and highly engaging

By Christine Moffat

“Side by side in a leafy suburb, Thom lives in one flat, Alethea in another. It’s pretty clear that their respective unsatisfying lives would improve enormously if they just met each other. But with literally a wall between them, this seems highly improbable.”

This is the scant information ‘about the play’ that the programme divulges; a tantalising three sentences that give you no idea of the dynamic and entertaining 90 minutes you are about to embark on.

Boy Girl Wall is a story about life and love, not just those of the two protagonists, but also of the people, and especially the seemingly inanimate objects, around them.

It is not a story I can set out in this review without removing the magic of discovery as you watch the story unfold.  Suffice then to say, this show is an unorthodox, amusing, entertaining ‘trampoline-like’ experience.

Upon entering the theatre and being seated, you are presented with a set by Jonathon Oxlade that resembles a giant fold-up ping-pong table.  A woman sits to one side of the stage waiting.  This turns out to be Neridah Waters, musical designer and musician and understated partner-in-crime to Lucas Stibbard, the hilarious one-man-band-of-a-performer who delivers Boy Girl Wall.

The implied ping-pong effect is not diminished once the show is underway.  Stibbard appears to be made of energy, delivering an hour and a half of entertaining, intelligent, rapid-fire dialogue (and at least 25 personalities!) and story-telling in a way that makes you feel that the time flew by.

This show is a perfect example of minimalism at its best, where less truly is more.  The production has not much more than a cast of one, a musician, that table-tennis like set (much of which is ‘dressed’ in real time with a stick of chalk), a xylophone and a ruler.

The lighting design by Keith Clark apparently consisted simply of two large retro light globes and an old school overhead projector: all of which are used to great effect for comedy but also, surprisingly for lovely moments of pathos as well.

The ingredients for Boy Girl Wall may not sound like much of a theatrical shopping list, but with these few items this production delivers an evening of surprise, laughter, love and an unexpected dash of optimism for good measure.

Venue: The MTC Theatre, Lawler Studio

Season Dates: 17 April to 4 May 2012

Tickets: From $40; Under 30s just $25

Booking Details: The MTC Theatre Box Office 03 8688 0800 or www.mtc.com.au

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

Review: IMPRO MELBOURNE’s Late Night Impro

Get spontaneous for MICF!

By Myron My

For those who are looking for something a little different for this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, look no further than this, Impro Melbourne’s Late Night Impro performance with their season of Stuck In The Middle.

Improvised comedy is non-scripted comedy based on spontaneity from the performers. Think Who’s Line Is It Anyway? and Thank God You’re Here and you’ll have a pretty good idea on what this is all about.

The premise of this 55-minute, mind-blowing, pure-craziness-of-a-show involves one performer being ‘stuck’ in the middle of the stage with five or six improvisers coming at them with various games and scenes that they must participate in. There is no break for our lone target as the predators surround him. Only sheer smarts and wits will get him out of this alive.

The beauty of improvisation is that every night you treated to a completely different performance. No two shows are ever the same. The improvisers are always different as are the special guests, who have so far included Rama Nicholas, Cal Wilson, Andrew Mclelland and Eric Amber being “stuck in the middle”.

Highlights from Saturday night’s performance were some white male gangsta-rapping, tackling homosexuality in 1970s Spain and a brief history of how Napoleon won Waterloo.  The audience feedback afterwards was nothing but positive, especially from people who had never seen this sort of comedy performance before.

With only two nights left this is the show you must see if you are looking for something inspiring and completely different to stand-up performances during the 2012 Comedy Festival.

VENUE
Melbourne Town Hall
DATES
13 – 14 April
TIMES
Fri-Sat 11pm
PRICES
Full $20
, Concession $15
BOOKINGS
Ticketmaster: 1300 660 013

Cabaret, Cabaret Review, Events, Festivals

REVIEW: Simon Taylor’s 10 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT YOU

Fall in love with laughter!

By Adam Tonking

Every now and then a show comes along that you can’t help but fall in love with. One of the many joys of reviewing is that I get to write a love letter to it.

I admit it, I have a crush on 10 Things I Know About You, written and performed by Simon Taylor.

On the surface, this show is about psychology, a topic that clearly fascinates Taylor. He takes us through the psychology of morality, delusion, love, comedy, and ultimately happiness; but this is first and foremost a comedy routine, and it is hilarious.

Taylor sings to us, he dances for us, he regales us with stories from his life and quotes from his psychology textbook. He is so delightful, and so very talented, that you can’t resist being drawn into his upbeat exploration of the human mind.

In between the constant laughs and all the psychology, this is a cleverly-crafted show. Taylor is in complete control of his audience and his material the entire time; no line is superfluous, no joke misses its mark. Even when it’s informative, it never ceases to be funny. And through all of his antics, he never strays from the flow of his narrative arc.

The various butts of his jokes were sometimes a little too obvious, but he comes at them from a fresh perspective, and keeps them contextual. It never feels like pandering, or playing for cheap laughs.

All of this builds to an amazing finale of such simplicity and brilliance it blows you away. You leave the show with a smile on your face and a spring in your step, and – if you’re me – head home to write a love-letter to it.

Taylor’s show is magnificent, and I dare you to see it and not come out feeling better about the world. And a little bit in love.

But enough gushing like a schoolgirl. Simon Taylor’s 10 Things I Know About You is on at The Butterfly Club, 204 Bank St, South Melbourne from Wednesday 28 March till Sunday 22 April, at 8pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays, and 9pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Book at www.thebutterflyclub.com, and do it now.