Margaret Cho - Mother

Margaret Cho has consistently been praised for her progressive and transgressive brand of humour, but her performance felt distinctly one note. Though intensely likable and obviously a practiced...
comedy festival review
Trent McCarthy - A Sign From Nature Posted 17 Apr 2013 @ 1:32pm 133 views 0 comments Huddled in to the tiny and oddly charming Little Feat Theatre in Thornbury with a plastic cup of cask wine in my hand I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Trent McCarthy's A Sign From Nature?  I'd seen McCarthy perform many times in a variety of contexts but I had little insight into what this show would involve, other than it had Labor MP and (until very recently) Minister for Energy and...
Eliza Grounds - Stop It! You’re Killing Me Posted 17 Apr 2013 @ 1:29pm 385 views 0 comments Eliza Grounds returns for another Melbourne Comedy Festival in Stop It! You’re Killing Me!, a one-woman satire about life and death. Performed in Hardware Lane’s Amigos, the venue provides a shade of cerise that mimics Grounds’ monologue — intimate, personal, and witty. Grounds is fast-paced with an innate talent for timing. “I have had enough of fat people, on the ground, crying,” remarked...
Josie Long - Romance and Adventure Posted 17 Apr 2013 @ 1:24pm 248 views 0 comments Like many others, I would pay good money to see Josie Long spend an hour playing the part of the socially awkward young woman who is unlucky in love. She could fall back on this type of material and draw wonderful reviews, but her show Romance and Adventure is a hysterical look into the mind of a very sharp comic on the rise. Her overwhelming positivity and relentless energy belie a mature...
Lisa-Skye - Songs My Parents Taught Me Posted 16 Apr 2013 @ 2:28pm 139 views 0 comments Songs My Parents Taught Me is a wild walk through the sex-driven, Southern Comfort-drinking era of ‘70s Melbourne. Lisa-Skye tells of a couple – Bunny and Maddog – and juxtaposes their understanding of adolescence and sexuality with hers.  She’s a talented performer who can rescue a joke with the pull of a face. There’s little doubt about that. Her commanding delivery is the...
Sammy J - Potentially Posted 16 Apr 2013 @ 2:24pm 129 views 0 comments God bless Sammy J. He never fails to impress, with well written, well rehearsed performances that are more often than not well funny. If you like your comedy shows to have a beginning, middle and end, to take you on a journey with a strong central theme and cleverly looped references, Sammy is your guy. If you want massive belly laughs, maybe lower your expectations this year. Potentially sees...
Arj Barker - Go Time Posted 16 Apr 2013 @ 2:22pm 325 views 0 comments If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Go Time is your typical Arj Barker stand up and with over 20 years of comedic experience under his belt most of his audience should know what to expect.  He promises us 85 per cent new material and though he treads the line with some of his previous jokes, his originality has probably been strengthened by a brief hiatus from the Melbourne comedy...
Josh Earl - Is A Librarian Posted 15 Apr 2013 @ 4:35pm 262 views 0 comments Everything about dear Josh Earl is painfully hip, from his hair and jeans (which he eagerly mocks), the books he has stacked across the State Library stage – Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon, Ian McEwan, Tina Fey, Cormac McCarthy, Jonathan Safran Foer, Chuck Palanak and DBC Pierre – to his pre-show soul music including Clairy Browne and the Bangin’ Rackettes  and Eli ‘Paperboy’ Reed. What I am...
Xavier Michelides - Good Morning! Posted 15 Apr 2013 @ 4:33pm 135 views 0 comments No one is good in the mornings, this is why showers, coffee and Coco Pops were invented  - to distract us all from the pain - but poor Xavier Michelides takes mornings harder than most. He believes that they set the tone for his whole day, or even the year, and judging by the material he lays out in Good Morning!  he has had some bad years. Part stand-up, part sketch, part theatre and...
Simon Palomares - Still Crazy Posted 15 Apr 2013 @ 4:31pm 146 views 0 comments To be honest, Three Degrees is not the best venue for a comedy show.  It's noisy, at times hard to see, and has an odd vibe.  But Simon Palomares makes it worth it. Palomares is the definition of a comedy veteran.  He's been working at or somewhere near the pinnacle of the comedy scene in Australia for 26 years.  He's a polished performer and a very funny man.   ...
Stephen K Amos - The Spokesman Posted 10 Apr 2013 @ 2:32pm 307 views 0 comments Festival-favourite Stephen K Amos is back with a brilliant new festival show. There's much to say in support of The Spokesman, but first, let's get a minor gripe out of the way. The show begins somewhat inauspiciously, Amos' opening gags faintly familiar. The first five minutes covers bananas and being carded in Darwin, echoing previous shows. It's obvious Amos sought the assurance of proven...
The Funny Tonne : Some Shitty Thoughts After Seeing 76 Shows So Far Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 1:09pm 768 views 1 comment A month ago, I applied to be a contestant in the Funny Tonne – a comedy festival initiative where three of us race to see as many shows at MICF as we can. Whoever has the emptiest life and most spare time – wins. Just like most things in my life, I sort of jokingly applied, threw in a dick joke, and nek minnit I’ve been accepted. For every show I see, I also agreed to film a short 10-15...
The Rapture Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:59pm 259 views 0 comments The long awaited apocalypse is looming and the Church of the Filius Dei Nullius are waiting to kindly escort you on your journey to heaven...and to cash in on your fear. You don’t need wallets in heaven right?  The clever comedy duo Christian Bagin and John Forman come together as Dun Dun Daa productions to bring there dry and sometimes dark humour to the stage at the Melbourne...
Pajama Men : Just The Two Of Each Of Us Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:55pm 209 views 0 comments Somehow I missed the Pajama Men in 2009, when they won the Barry Award, and again in every show they’ve done in Melbourne since. But if Just the Two of Each of Us is indicative (pretty certain it is) then I finally get why all the fuss, etc.   Wearing pyjamas, and with no set and only a couple of chairs as props (and the occasional keyboard tinkling of their on-stage musician), the titular...
Hannah Gadsby : Happiness Is A Bedside Table Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:52pm 250 views 0 comments Hannah Gadsby is that girl you want to be your best friend. She’s funny, but not at other people’s expense. She’s interesting, but not in the “I go to bondage nights for kicks” kinda way. She’s vulnerable, but in a manner that has the audience rooting for her. When she tells a story it’s not hyperbolic and not overly embellished. Happiness Is A Bedside Table is enthralling, witty and dare I say...
Faulty Towers : The Dining Experience Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:47pm 333 views 0 comments I've loved Fawlty Towers as long as I can remember, but I've always been somewhat scared to attend the Faulty Towers - The Dining Experience. I didn't know that spending a night being abused by a John Cleese lookalike and trying to explain my order to a faux-Manuel would be that enjoyable. But I was wrong.   The hugely successful Dining Experience was created in Brisbane and has been...
Dave Bloustien : Grand Guigold Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:42pm 193 views 0 comments Dave Bloustien’s Grand Guignol was meant to play at last year’s comedy festival, but wasn’t ready in time. So, 12 extra months of fine-tuning and a season at the Adelaide Fringe, and it’d be fair to expect a pinpoint-polished performance, right? Not so much. But the charm of Dave Bloustien is such that a little shambolocism actually does wonders for the show.   And what a lovely show it is...
The Comedy Zone Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:36pm 765 views 0 comments The Comedy Zone provides a tantalising tasting plate of comedians discovered through RAW Comedy and Class Clown competitions. Five comedians ­take to the stage to give you a veritable concoction of the finest up-and-comers.   Amos Gill was the chosen MC. His friendly smile assured the audience that though he is young, he’s got this. We were right to trust him. His presence was...
Debra Batton & Cathering Magill : She Knows Too Much Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:32pm 126 views 0 comments Debra Batton and Catherine Magill return as Such N Such for She Knows Too Much, their Comedy Festival debut about life and its frustrations. However, just like life, it’s pretty disappointing too.   Despite having frequented The Butterfly Club with their endearing tirades, the ladies are disenchanting. Either their catastrophic brand of humour elicits laughs or none whatsoever. This...
A Modern Deception : Live To Air Posted 9 Apr 2013 @ 12:28pm 256 views 0 comments During his set at Headliners last Sunday, American comedian Pete Holmes quipped that the audiences at comedy shows want to see the comedian succeed, but the audiences at magic shows want to figure out the tricks and therefore desire the magician to fail. But what about magic comedy shows?   A Modern Deception: Live To Air stars a handful of talented magicians crafting an elaborate...
Danny Bhoy – Dear Epson Posted 8 Apr 2013 @ 10:18am 1 view 0 comments In 2007, Danny Bhoy made an indelible impression on Australian audiences with his now legendary dissection of Australian Parliament. The Scot’s latest show, Dear Epson, is perhaps his most complete and polished yet. The show is based around several angry letters that Bhoy had written to corporations, in particular the printer company Epson. From airlines to cosmetic companies, Bhoy’s sarcastic...
Debra Batton & Catherine Magill - She Knows Too Much Posted 5 Apr 2013 @ 10:51am 183 views 0 comments Debra Batton and Catherine Magill return as Such N Such for She Knows Too Much, their Comedy Festival debut about life and its frustrations. However, just like life, it’s pretty disappointing too. Despite having frequented The Butterfly Club with their endearing tirades, the ladies are disenchanting. Either their catastrophic brand of humour elicits laughs or none whatsoever. This problem stirs...
Barry Morgan – Organ Is Not A Dirty Word Posted 5 Apr 2013 @ 9:21am 247 views 0 comments I think I’ve figured this all out…’organ’ is a double entendre for a musical instrument and genitals, right? That seems like a simplistically crass premise straight outta the Are You Being Served? collar tugging '80s, but then a lot of Barry Morgan’s one man musical journey is like that.  Morgan bursts onto the stage to the sounds reminiscent of a long forgotten game show,...
FanFiction Comedy Posted 4 Apr 2013 @ 4:02pm 237 views 0 comments FanFiction Comedy is good. Really good.  Performed at the Victoria Hotel, the venue provides a perfect setting for the talent-show-like production of FanFiction Comedy. Hosted by a camp man and two geeky judges, the pretense of FanFiction Comedy is to get all of your favourite characters, whether they’re Harry Potter or Legolas, and “just...fuck with them”. As in the case of Joseph Moore’s...
Frank Woodley and Simon Yates - Inside Posted 4 Apr 2013 @ 3:51pm 385 views 0 comments Let’s get one thing out of the way: Inside is supposed to be a comedy show. And funny it is, intermittently, but it’s not packed with the slapstick humour you’d expect from Frank Woodley. And there are only a few acrobatic feats from Simon Yates. That aside, the duo present an emotive piece of absurdist theatre that has some parts that should make you laugh – just not what you might expect from a...
Idiots of Ants - Model Citizens Posted 4 Apr 2013 @ 8:35am 724 views 0 comments If anything could reignite Australia’s infatuation with sketch comedy, it’s UK comedy troupe Idiots Of Ants. The four funny lads have returned to Melbourne International Comedy Festival to present Model Citizens, a show bigger and better than its 2012 predecessor. The first clue as to the group’s self-styled evolution is their stage design. The Banquet Room hosts lounge room decor reminiscent of...
Sam Simmons – Shitty Trivia Posted 4 Apr 2013 @ 8:33am 312 views 0 comments At this point in the game, those who have heard him on the nation’s youth radio station or caught his 2012 TV series are acutely aware of Sam Simmons’ shtick. Hmmm, ‘Sam Simmons’ shtick’, that’s just the type of off kilter phrase that Simmons might say repeatedly with odd inflection, maybe once whispered, once wailed while staring down the face of a doe-eyed admirer.  Then comes the...
Josh Thomas - Douchebag Posted 3 Apr 2013 @ 6:26pm 254 views 0 comments Josh Thomas is, fundamentally, a pretty likeable guy.  In his latest show, Douchebag, he explores a bunch of his thoughts, actions and impulses which lead him to believe that he may be not so nice at all.  He may be, well, a douchebag. Towards the end of the show Thomas emphasises that he put forward the concept for the show in haste, a decision he has seemingly regretted ever since....
Greg Fleet - The Boy Who Cried Sober Posted 3 Apr 2013 @ 1:37pm 289 views 0 comments Greg Fleet’s show would have been amazing, if he’d ever gotten around to writing it.The Boy Who Cried Sober is a reflection on his legendary 1998 show, 10 Years in a Long Sleeved Shirt – to this day, one of the best hours of comedy I have ever seen. In 10 Years, Fleety took us on a scenic tour through his ever-escalating drug addiction, from cigarettes to pot, acid to...
Paul Foot – Kenny Larch Is Dead Posted 3 Apr 2013 @ 12:27pm 217 views 0 comments Paul Foot is absurd, original, eccentric and brilliant. However, after this year’s show, I wonder if perhaps I appreciate him as a comedian because of his uniqueness rather than judging him on the laughter he provides.   There’s just no comedian like him. The beginning of last year’s show comprised of Foot rambling offstage – in what felt more improvisational than rehearsed (even though it...
Tom Gleeson - Hello Bitches! Posted 3 Apr 2013 @ 12:23pm 778 views 0 comments Tom Gleeson has no respect for authority and he secretly hates Wil Anderson’s hair. Hello Bitches! is slightly edgier in subject matter than his previous work, but still safe in terms of sticking to traditional stand-up. He bases his material around everyday life: getting his first iPhone, ageing and fatherhood. Void of any set values or morals, Gleeson has begun to question how to raise his one...