I heard rave reviews about this show when it was being performed back in 2017, but never got around to seeing it. Now Ella Kamer and Jake Glanc have reincarnated their sketch show for the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Twenties is exactly what the name suggests; an abstract exploration of what it’s like to leave university and enter the working world. It is a … Continue reading Twenties: Sketch a Cut Above the Rest
The University of Melbourne’s newest theatre company, Melbourne Uni Modern Theatre, couldn’t have chosen a stronger play through which to make their debut. Annie Baker’s The Flick, awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is funny, smart and deceptively deep, chronicling the workdays-and-nights of two ushers and a projectionist at a suburban cinema in Massachusetts. Such playwriting prowess requires equally strong direction, admirably provided by Arthur … Continue reading The Flick: Ushering in a New Era
On a Stark and Dormy night in the tower of the Malthouse Theatre, strange happenings are afoot. The lights flicker and the wind howls (via playback), as the characters of Bunk Puppets’ sci-fi thriller are brought to life on stage by Christian Bagin and James Pratt. The production combines shadow puppetry and live-action characters to tell the story of Fox’s Family Fun Park, a theme … Continue reading Stark and Dormy: Puppets with Character
Tom Ballard’s Enough, directed by Bob Franklin and staged at the Melbourne Town Hall as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, is at its heart an opportunity to explore. And when I say explore I really mean scream into the void at the smorgasbord of imminent personal, national and global crises facing millennials today. Now, if there’s one thing I loathe watching, it’s an … Continue reading Tom Ballard: Just Can’t Get Enough
It’s hard not to be drawn in by Josh Glanc when he is on stage. He has the most incredible stage presence with sparkly eyes and a cheeky, knowing smile. You know it is going to be a wild show when the warnings displayed outside the theatre include: “Audience interaction”. This one is definitely not for the faint hearted and did cause me to cautiously … Continue reading Josh Glanc: Tomfoolery not for the fainted hearted
A Very Fancy Dinner Party may take place in “the basement” of the Victoria Hotel, as Michelle Brasier – one half of comedy act Double Denim with Laura Frew – points out whilst slapping the roof at the start of the evening, but this show deserves a thousand-seat theatre, as Brasier and Frew leave the audience gasping for air. In the past few years the … Continue reading Double Denim: A Very Funny Dinner Party
La Mama joins the ranks of the Melbourne Comedy Festival and produces a deliciously satisfying who-dunnit with all the hallmarks of a great production. The stately faux-English lounge room sets the stage as a lone man in a finely pressed suit speaks into a Dictaphone. Dénouement! begins with the investigation of a brutal murder and the audience are immediately hooked. Which of these fine characters … Continue reading Dénouement!: Cluedo on the Stage
Cal Wilson, a fiery haired kiwi comedian is back for the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival for her show Gifted Underachiever. She has become a voice for the forty something year olds of the world, particularly since filming her recent Netflix special. The venue, although pokey, is packed with her exact demographic. I am seated in front of a particularly appreciative man who guffaws loudly … Continue reading Cal Wilson: Just doing her Job
With an audience of only seven people, you’d think young comedian Taco might be crumbling a little. Think again. I’m watching a self-assured, charismatic young woman use her life experiences as witty comedic material. After an interesting half-undressing start to the show (‘my friends said I had to do some undressing’), Taco and her double bass (named Terry) launch into a stream of musical comedy. … Continue reading Taco Knight: A Musical Comedy that Knows it’s Audience
At 9:30pm on a Tuesday night you’d forgive a city for being a little sleepy, but there is a buzz in Melbourne as I walk down Swanston St, it must be Comedy Festival time. I’m in town to see Anne Edmonds perform What’s Wrong With You? The show begins with Edmonds introducing herself and we’re already away, launching into an hour of high-intensity laughs. Edmonds … Continue reading Anne Edmonds: There’s nothing wrong with Anne Edmonds
The Dialog 