MICF 2017 – Page 4 – Squirrel Comedy

Gillian English is a Bitter Shrew

By Lisa Clark

Most of us have a shitty romance or breakup story, and Gillian English has put hers into lists for us. She is questioning why she has on several occasions been called a “Bitter Shrew”. She goes about this by loudly naming and shaming men who’ve behaved badly towards her and while trying to shift blame fails somewhat to prove her point but is entertaining none the less.

This is an autobiographical festival show made up of the stories of Gillian’s life that all relate to sex. This is not about love, though it does get the odd look in, it is about sex. Gillian is fierce and fearless. She is not shy of sharing intimate details of her varied sex life as she describes losing her virtue, one night stands and Buzzfeed-style lists the 5 worst ways a man has dumped her and more briefly her worst Tinder experiences. Things get fairly graphic as seems to be the current fashion in comedy but Gillian manages to carry it off with her larger than life personality and her ability to keep the laughs flowing throughout.

Gillian clearly has a lot of stage experience, she’s brimming with confidence as an entertaining storyteller and has a good rhythm and tone to her voice. At times, I could sense some influence from Samantha Bee when she got on the feminist pep talk podium. Not a bad influence to have as a strong feminist comedian. There is one hint of vulnerability when she admits briefly she doesn’t feel traditionally pretty and there are some times when she shows some negative sides to her personality like putting a stage costume ahead of the life of a man she loves who is having a heart attack which she recognises is a really low act and something she’d not do again. But she loses the audience’s sympathy somewhat as she fails to look deeply in the mirror or even to explore what the term Bitter Shrew means and whether, even comedically there might be a kernel of truth.

Gillian English is a Bitter Shrew could be a great girls night out, especially if you are in the mood to share a girl power vibe and hear about how annoying men can be in the world of romance; well…hook-ups, one night stands and potential relationships. There are certainly a lot of laughs here, but in a Festival brimming with autobiographical shows this one is a bit like her one night stands, fun and interesting at the time, but not one that will live with you in the long term.

Gillian English is a Bitter Shrew is on at The Imperial Hotel until April 23

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/gillian-english-is-a-bitter-shrew

Different Party by Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan

By Angela East

As the audience take their seats Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan—or rather, Grareth Krubb and Dennis Chang—welcome you into Rucks’s Leather Interiors showroom. They hand out business cards while running a sales pitch for their leather goods with the catch phrase “imagine a room covered in skin” and they admire any leather products people in the audience have with them.

The welcome is the extent of the audience interaction. The rest of the performance takes place on stage in the ‘office’. With minimal dialogue, their brilliant skills in clowning and physical theatre take the audience through their absurd day. There is whimsical exploration of their office relationship. Briefcases become dogs. Everyday office banter mutates into surreal scenarios. And in a fight of dominance they take on animalistic behaviours to explore their underlying sexual tension in absurd acrobatic displays.

The most ordinary office staples such as coffee cups and sheets of paper are used in a variety of hilariously unexpected ways. The simple act of looking for a pen while on a phone call becomes a madly chaotic farce.

Trygve and Barnie are masters at clowning and together in Different Party they form a great odd-couple comedy partnership. The never-ending source of slapstick and visual gags from the various props around the stage is inspired: a wafer biscuit snack becomes a believable cigarette, a pot plant is involved in a ridiculously funny running gag, and a scenario on the sourcing of leather for a new chair cover is hilariously grotesque.

Both performers have been being nominated for various fringe and comedy festival awards in the past few years and Different Party shows why. Trygve and Barnie each have other shows on during the festival (Nautilus, and Weekend at Barnies respectively) and if Different Party is anything to go by, those two shows will also worth trying to catch.

Different Party is at ACMI until April 23rd
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/different-party

Andrew Kelso – A Virtual Tour of Melbourne

By Colin Flaherty

Andrew Kelso’s A Virtual Tour of Melbourne takes the audience through a detailed history of various aspects from the city’s past. This comedic lecture is not only highly informative, it also contains plenty of cheeky historical jokes, digs at current (and not so current) events and some whimsical wordplay. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a brief quiz so that audience members can show how smart they are.

For a show selling itself as a virtual tour, Kelso doesn’t do much theatrically with the tour theme. Aside from a couple of quips and references to walking, this is essentially a slide show of Melbourne landmarks with witty commentary. Similarly he doesn’t adopt a persona to suit the topic, leaving us with Andrew presenting this information that he admits to finding on Wikipedia. This demonstrates his stand up talents adequately but it lacks razzle dazzle.

His spiels are huge collections of facts and figures which Kelso impressively recites from memory with few hitches. On the surface it all seems legit so any humorous misinformation contained within will probably pass you by. There are a lot of local references in his jokes which he occasionally stops to explain to outsiders. He has a pleasant chatty demeanour on stage and the content is always family friendly.

Some segments are a little dry and favour trivia over funny but others have amusing comments, creeping puns and a bit of social satire. Fatigue sets in part way through this performance as we are pummelled with fact after fact with jokes thrown in at seemingly lengthening intervals. The segment on the gold rush seems especially long because although the Ballarat goldfields figure heavily in the history of Melbourne, going into so much detail about what happened in Ballarat tends to bog things down. Sometimes you have to kill your darlings to make for a snappier show.

This stationary tour is a fun and informative hour for all ages. If you need to brush up on your Melbourne trivia and have a laugh, this emerging stand-up comic is your man.

A Virtual Tour of Melbourne is on at Aeso Studio until April 21

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/a-virtual-tour-of-melbourne

Clara Cupcakes – The Worst

By Angela East

In The Worst Clara Cupcakes is the queen octopus who has been evicted from Seaburbia by her love, the King, and this is her quest is to find a way back into the castle and attempt to win him back. She desperately wants to get back into the castle to prove to King that they are meant to be together but romantic relationships, like adventure games, are not that straight forward.

Clara utilises her bright and quirky burlesque performance style in many entertaining ways during her hero’s journey. Each stage of her game play is an attempt to win her way back into the castle and King Octopus’ heart. She tries to do that through a seductive strip tease, a reverse psychology song played on the ukulele, and a delightfully fun bit of audience participation. But with no save points to be found her attempts fail, so it’s game over and she ends up back at the start.

The Worst is full of 8-bit charm, from its music and styling to Clara’s movements, and little touches such as at the beginning when the shows tech inserts the game cartridge, and needs to blow on it to make it work. These details will delight old school computer game fans. There’s the on-screen pop-up character who, like a concerned friend, tries to offer helpful (if amusingly annoying) advice to Clara in her adventure. But Clara wants to find all things on this journey for herself. There are many ways you can try to get a relationship back, but sometimes you need to find the all-important save point that allows you to accept that things are The Worst and move on.

Elly Squires, as her alter ego Clara Cupcakes, has created a hugely entertaining show about how hard dealing with the end of a relationship can be, all the while keeping to a fun bright retro computer game aesthetic. If you’ve ever had to deal with heartbreak or you love video games, The Worst is a fabulously kitschy fun time.

The Worst is on at The Butterfly Club until April 23rd
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/the-worst-1

Josh Earl and Daniel Tobias – Josh Earl’s Festival

By Colin Flaherty

Josh Earl’s Festival condenses spending a day at a music festival into an hour using songs, sketches and even interpretive dance. It is at times nostalgic, derisive, kooky and hilarious. All that’s missing is the dirt/mud, sweat and Tinnitus.

Josh Earl and Daniel Tobias (and a mystery guest) do a brilliant job in lampooning all aspects of the music festival experience. From the quirks of the eccentric performers (an indecipherable Dylan-esque song was especially brilliant) to the annoying punters you encounter (I still don’t understand the recent phenomenon of dudes wearing flag capes!) to the frustrating logistics of a large event, all of their targets are hit perfectly.

Structured as a series of vignettes, Earl navigates the site while keeping in contact with his friends by phone. Each call provides a cue for an amusing song involving an act on one of the festival stages. A number of musical genres are sent up including young indie bands in over their heads, anonymous DJs, poorly treated female acts and poe-faced serious artists. All the songs are distinctive Josh Earl songs, even when Tobias is singing, but don’t rely so heavily on the densely spoken lyrics Earl is known for. These tunes aren’t parodies of specific songs instead they make fun of the situations the characters find themselves in using an appropriate musical style and plenty of witty ideas.

Earl plays the downtrodden festival punter perfectly with his beautifully escalating exchanges with characters presented in voiceover. Tobias is always up for dressing up, so he dons many wacky outfits to portray a number of larger than life creations. Josh Earl’s Festival is a brilliant showcase for their years of musical comedy experience and radiant talent.

The audience on this night unfortunately lacked energy for the extravaganza that Josh and Daniel have created. These punters paid attention and laughed at the right places but didn’t really liven up until some Flaming Lips styled audience interaction at the end. This theatrical production put some distance between the characters and the audience even though we could relate to the situations. This was amplified by the polite seated theatre set up, the lack of excessive volume and a noticeably older crowd (possibly some of Josh’s ABC fans).

This is a fun and hilarious piece of theatre about a collective experience which many are nostalgic for or still look forward to every summer, it deserves a big crowd of music comedy fans ready to have a ball. This is one festival within a festival you should attend.

Josh Earl’s Festival is on at Malthouse Theatre (The Tower) until April 23
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/josh-earl-s-festival-1

Greg Larsen – A Grub In The Muck

By Elyce Phillips

Greg Larsen may have top billing on the posters for A Grub In The Muck, but upon entry to the Zeus Room, you discover that A Grub In The Muck is a late night show and Larsen is not in charge. He has cast himself as the sidekick to creepy mannequin host Bruce Mumm, aka Mummy (voiced by Ben Russell), as well as playing the string of guests appearing that night.

There’s a level of desperation in all of the men Larsen plays, from a city council worker to a concerned dad. They’re men in tough situations that stretch their dignity, trying to make the best of it. As people, these characters are often quite unlikeable, but Larsen plays them with enough heart that you do feel for them while they are in the depths of humiliation. Another common thread that runs between the guests of A Grub In The Muck is that they are all utterly ridiculous, and it’s the combination of self-importance and triviality that makes it all so hilarious. One segment, in which Larsen gives a TED talk, had me crying with laughter.

Larsen isn’t afraid to get down amongst the filth for his comedy. While this show isn’t as confrontingly revolting as some of his previous work, it’s certainly an element that remains. Throughout A Grub In The Muck, Larsen struggles with his desire to make political comedy that does some good versus the big laughs he gets from being gross and debasing himself. It’s an interesting tension to discuss, and bringing it up makes the final moments of the show all the more effective. Russell’s voicework as Mummy is also to be commended. His brash, over-the-top confidence is the perfect foil to Larsen’s doormat co-host and works as a physical representation of his baser instincts.

A Grub In The Muck is a fabulous show that perfectly balances the crass and the clever. Larsen might play the sidekick here, but his talent truly shines through.

A Grub In The Muck is on at the Greek Centre, Zeus until April 23
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/a-grub-in-the-muck