Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2013 – Page 5

Late Night Letters and Numbers.

By Lisa Clark This is a fun nerdy little comedy quiz show that is based upon the stupidly axed Letters and Numbers which was based on the UK show Countdown, but not called Countdown for very obvious reasons. Before that there was a French show called Des Chiffres et Des Lettres, but you didn’t need to know that. The best way to see it on TV is being sent up in a stunning episode of The IT Crowd. called The Final Countdown.

The basic idea is; two contestants compete in various rounds, in this case they are guest comedians. The Letters round is like boggle where the contestants try to make the longest words out of 9 random letters. In the numbers round a random target number under 1000 is given by an audience member, then 6 random numbers are drawn and the contestants must use these to somehow reach the target number using mathematics. The final round is the Conundrum which is an anagram that the contestants must be the first to unscramble. Where it differentiates itself from the TV shows is that it is live, it is comedy and it is late at night.

The late night comedy atmosphere means that although they take the game seriously to a point, there is a lot of silliness, veering off topic and naughty language. They are also fairly encouraging of audience participation and will award points to impressive audience members. You could hear a lot of audience members around you guessing at words or getting the maths perfect, but not everyone was brave enough to pipe up when invited to do so. It can be pretty hard not to participate in this infectious show.

The night we were there guest comedians Karin Danger – nee Muiznieks (Hot Box) and Yianni (Numb & Number) made admirable adversaries while up the other end of the desk the Watson (Once Were Planets) duo played comedy relief with Adam McKenzie and Tegan Higginbotham as moderators in charge of the giant dictionary. Ben McKenzie (Splendid Chaps) makes a fair go at being Lily Serna, letter displayer/ maths genius but for reasons I can’t put my finger on, cannot quite capture her demure allure. The host, in great contrast to the cheerful and rather straightlaced Richard Morecroft, is the famously cynical & comically grumpy Nick Caddaye who does a great job of keeping it all rolling and not running too late.

Late night Letters and Numbers is a fun way to finish a full Friday night of comedy. Also keep your eye out for further Letters and Numbers nights happening outside of the festival at Trades Hall throughout the year.

Late Night Letters and Numbers is only on Friday nights of the Festival at Trades Hall in the Old Council Chambers
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/late-night-letters-and-numbers

Yianni – Numb & Number

Since relocating several years ago, Yianni has been kicking goals in the UK comedy scene. At last years Edinburgh Fringe he presented the show Numb & Number which had a hilarious YouTube promo video:

Yianni is currently in Melbourne & has been popping up as a guest on various MICF shows. While here Yianni will be treating us to a one off performance of his fabulous solo show about being diagnosed as mildly autistic at 33 years of age. We saw it in Edinburgh and can thoroughly recommend it.

Numb & Number will be on this coming Monday 15th of April at Ding Dong Lounge (18 Market Lane, Melbourne).

The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $25 full / $20 concession (available at the door).

Sammy J – Potentially

By Luke Simmons

When Siamese twins are cut in two, there is an expectation that bad things will follow. And after his much publicized split with Randy (video), some may have feared the worst. In fact, some people forget that he did make a name for himself in his own right before pairing up with Heath McIvor (Randy’s vital half). However, any doubters in the audience were quickly brought around with Sammy J’s brilliantly constructed show which contained a mixture of stand-up, readings, songs and even some tap dancing.

After calmly entering the stage, he started off slowly with a female voiceover reciting his rejected children’s novel manuscript with Sammy then providing the comedic context. Things then gathered pace as he wove in a philosophical welcoming to all present before breaking into some stand-up drawing a clever parallel between comedy and political manoeuvring.

Sammy clearly uses personal experiences and interesting facts as a basis for his comedy and had the audience in stitches as he spoke about blimps, possums, g-strings, and the oddities of life as a performing comic. At stages, the audience had to be patient before reaching the punchline – but it was almost always worth it.

The show also featured a number of live renditions from his “Skinny Man, Modern World” album including the show’s namesake, “Keep it Clean (F**k Song), and “You Held My Hand”. Contrary to his fears, the hearty applause was all genuine from the crowd. After one song he cheekily moaned that the audience was “only clapping because I’ve just finished the song and you feel obliged!” He was wrong on that account because he’d nailed it.

The absolute highlight of the show was his ability to simultaneously develop a number storylines and making everyone feel satisfied at the show’s completion that all loose ends had been tied up nice and tightly. He exudes a unique charm which is skilfully used as a decoy for the wild and raw material he covers in his show. In all, Sammy J delivered the goods on this night and proved that he’s lost nothing at all as a solo comedy act.

Sammy J is performing at The Arts Centre
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/potentially-sammy-j

GAVIN BASKERVILLE – CRUNCH TIME

By Lisa Clark

I’ve got to give it to Gavin Baskerville for having the best opening gag at the festival this year. He had the geared up audience cheering from the start. He also handed round a pack of potato chips and promised we’d all get a pack at the end. Way to get an audience on side!!

Gavin is a ‘seasoned’ performer, one of Australia’s best joke ‘smiths‘ and a compelling storyteller. From the guilty joys of potato chips and family who have become food snobs to reality TV, he is a genial observer of modern mores and misbehaviour. He ‘peppers’ his observations with crowd pleasing puns, the occasional grinning groaners, clever call-backs and seamless segues.

Things become serious as he takes his theme down the wider path of politics, the world economy and how people are generally screwing up the Earth for short term gain. Light hearted observational jokes at the beginning of his show take on deeper meanings, and as he gets more serious, the jokes gradually become harder to find. He brings it back before the end, like a trooper, and never fails to be entertaining, but if he could have kept serving up more of the dark wisecracks during the serious part it would have been a lot stronger.

Gavin is that sort of intelligent, jovial, warm-hearted bloke you look forward to chatting to at a ‘barbeque’. I’ve always thought of him as a bit of a Tasmanian Dave O’Neil in that way and I worry that he’s been around so long that he might be taken for granted. His ability to pop out ‘rib’ tickling zingers can run ‘rings’ around a lot of younger comedians and is really worth going out of your way for.

Last year Gavin’s awesome show turned out to be one of my favourites of the festival, but because I saw it in the last weekend, it was pretty much too late to get the word out about it. This year I made sure I got in early and am still impressed with his ability to make highly skilled comedy seem effortless and am urging everyone along to see one of the most overlooked comedy talents in Australia. Crunch Time is a scrumptious delight.

Gavin is performing at Three Degrees
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/crunch-time-gavin-baskerville

School Dance by Windmill Theatre

By Caitlin Crowley

The team at Adelaide’s Windmill Theatre have served up one hell of a wild ride in the 70-minute theatrical award-winning production School Dance.

This is the story of three high school nobodies navigating the hell that is the Year 9 school dance. They’re officially losers but each in their own unique way: Jonathon (Jonathon Oxlade ) is a loser in denial, Luke (Luke Smiles) a loser with long hair and Matt (Matthew Whittet) is the worst kind of loser – an invisible one. The cast is rounded out by the hulking school bully Derek Sturgess (Jack Wetere) and Amber McMahon, who shines playing a variety of characters from all-knowing big sister Joanie, to the invisible Danica and the hot girl of every teenage boy’s dreams, Hannah.

There’s a cleverly written voice-over to introduce our characters and their stories. The cast are all gifted physical comedians and there are lots of randy teenage, gross out fart- joke, pick-a-nose sight gags. The narrative is a little slim, Matt’s starting to disappear and his mates have to save him, but the character comedy covers for it. There are moments of genuine pathos when we catch a glimpse of the boys’ home lives but the scenes of the world of invisible teens is a little obtuse and trippy and could do with a tighten up. However the ending is so fun and triumphant that it is impossible to leave the theatre feeling anything other than uplifted and humming Spandau Ballet tunes.

The finely choreographed BMX bike scene is a definite highlight and there’s an orgasm metaphor in there that rivals Meg Ryan’s efforts in When Harry Met Sally.

At a time when adults can’t keep their noses out of young adult novels and teenagers are donning side ponytails and channelling Molly Ringwald, School Dance seems to have driven a DeLorean directly into the zeitgeist. This is a show about 15 year-olds, so I made sure to take one with me, and she loved it.

Part coming-of-age tale, part children’s pantomime and part 80s daggy dance party this mash-up shouldn’t work playing to an audience to of grown-ups in the Arts Centre, but work it does – and so, so well. Take a teen and your dancing shoes for a super silly, fun night out.

School Dance is on at The Arts Centre – Playhouse

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/school-dance

Never Say Always

By Colin Flaherty

A sequel to the 2010 Midsumma show From Arsehole to Breakfast (fear not if you didn’t see it, the characters are easy enough to get acquainted with), Never Say Always sees a group of friends and family coming together for the commitment ceremony (although it’s deemed a marriage by all) between Steve (Daniel Madrigali) and Joe (Francisco Lopez) in Bali.

The Bali setting of this play ensures that humorous situations are plentiful. There is some fun to be had with some racy encounters and lots of scatological references about an unfortunate guest. They play up the comical conflicts and amusing moments of awkwardness, but many scenes appear to be merely excuses for the characters to talk about the upcoming nuptials in various exotic locales.

The cast do a good job at bringing the characters to life with Marcus Ingleby a particular stand out as the bitchy queen Nathan. Some of the actors have difficulty projecting their voices and this isn’t a huge issue in the intimate venue, but if you have hearing problems you would be advised to sit towards the front.

This is another situation of a play advertising itself as comedy but leaning too much towards drama. The script is rather heavy handed in covering the issue of same sex marriage. Although this is the crux of the performance it feels too didactic. There are quite a few humorous lines that get big laughs but on the whole the plot is rather serious. Thumbing its nose at comedic theatrical conventions the play ends on a tragic note. This is possibly keeping the door open for a follow up but it doesn’t leave the audience in a chipper mood.

It’s understandable that writer Warrick Glynn wants to reach a wide audience with his message of equal marriage rights, as opposed to preaching to the choir at Midsumma, but this show doesn’t exactly fit neatly into a Comedy Festival.

Never Say Always is on at Mechanics Institute Performing Arts Centre

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/never-say-always