Tag: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Lessons with luis famoucity!

By Lisa Clark

Last year Lesson’s With Luis delighted everyone who discovered them. They were like slightly dotty neighbours who made you sit and watch the little play they’d created with handmade props and sets. This year they are still the same dotty and adorable family but they’ve become more hi-tech with the help of encouraging neighbour Mr Bianchi who has loaned them a TV and video camera along with some other exciting props and is even playing a pre-recorded role in the play within the show.

It seems that Luis has been inspired by his surprise win of last year’s RAW comedy award as well as the Golden Gibbo Award to perform a play (within the show) about his travails in getting himself to The Famous Awards in Famou-city with the help of his ever encouraging, loving dad Len and silent brother Luellin. Perhaps the most memorable magical moment from The Kidney Kingdom was Luellin’s shining spell on stage alone with a member of the audience. Luellin gets to shine here as well, but there are surprises I cannot spill. Needless to say Luellin’s character is developing in more ways than one and is going to win some teenage girl fans.

A highlight this year is also the songs, which are a lot more sophisticated and enjoyable to listen to including parody and audience sing-alongs. There is quite a lot of entertaining audience participation this year that turns out to be important to the plot leading to a surprising and hilarious ending.

The beauty of Lessons with Luis is that it satirises suburban Australia in a fresh way and yet this family could be neighbours of The Kerrigans in The Castle. We laugh at their naivety, blinkered confidence and silly jumpers, but also adore them for the way they support each other and work so hard to entertain us.

Luis and his Family’s Famoucity! will enchant the whole family. The kids in the audience can enjoy the simple story and bright colours while the adults get all the subtleties including a few surprisingly dark undertones. I can’t help but wonder if these have been inspired by director Justin Hamilton. They certainly work for the comedy. I’m glad the boys are doing a lot more shows this year in a more accessible venue at the Town Hall, so that many more people will get to see what everyone was raving about last year.

Famoucity! is on at the Melbourne Town Hall
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/famoucity-lessons-with-luis

Matt Dyktynski with Bang Mango Cools – Edible Pets: The Farewell Tour

By Colin Flaherty

Playing versions of themselves comedian Matt Dyktynski and musician Bang Mango Cools are Edible Pets, a band on the brink of collapse. The setting is backstage at a Pokies venue where the boys are preparing for their final gig. The tale of the band’s existence is told through flashbacks where each gig ends in disaster (usually due to the actions of one individual), bringing up yet another bad memory associated with their planned set list.

The amusingly bitter banter between the two is the focus of the humour and the script contains plenty of amusing barbs and comments. Most impressive was Cools’ stagecraft and comedic timing (I assume he is a relative newcomer to the comedy caper) that it sometimes threatens to upstage the veteran Dyktynski. It certain helps that Matt gives a great portrayal of a slightly repugnant and egotistical fellow so that Bang Mango’s character is allowed to shine as the likable one.

The numerous flashback sequences are fun. With a slight costume change and silly wig we are transported to a doomed gig from their history. We not only get a humourous situation involving the naivety of the boys but jokes making fun of the time period itself. There are plenty of historical references to raise a smile with those of a similar vintage (the younger folk can always Google them later). The use of identical motifs to end each of these scenes is a nice touch of comedic repetition.

The sound and lighting design works brilliantly in lieu of a changing set. Chatter/heckling from the gig punters and the venue PA Announcements create atmosphere and help progress the story beautifully.

Unlike other comedy shows about bands, they resist the urge to fill the show with humorous songs. There are a couple of parodies that tie in with the narrative but for the most part the songs are serious tunes that are impressive with Cools’ demonstrating his virtuosity on the guitar. This is successful at creating a sense of hope amongst the impending doom but this is at the expense of laughs.

The Farewell Tour is a fun theatre piece with strong performances. It isn’t quite a continuous tidal wave of laughs but there is enough here to keep you chuckling along at all the misfortune.

Edible Pets: The Farewell Tour is on at The Victoria Hotel

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/edible-pets-the-farewell-tour-matt-dyktynski-with-bang-mango-cools

Commedia Dell Parte

by Luke Simmons

Commedia Dell Parte may well be one of Melbourne’s best kept secrets. It’s got a reputation for holding a great “underground” night where new and high profile comedians can test their new and existing material. To the good fortune of everyone in the packed house, many of the performing comics provided samples of their upcoming Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows.

The night was MC’d by Sean Ryan (co-runner of the night) who commands attention on the stage with his Ned Kelly / ZZ Top style facial hair and comedic style of storytelling. He’s great at giving examples about how not to win friends and influence people – in a wide variety of settings. To his credit, not all examples feature him as the villain. He maintained the pace of the night well and kept the audience grinning throughout.

After Sean’s intro, the first act was Lijretta who is a unique comedian who hails from Ambassell, Ethiopia. With his sunglasses planted firmly on the top of head, he got the audience laughing straight away with a series of punchy observational one-liners. The highlight of his set came when he took everyone through an odd situation on the tram which involved two good Samaritans almost coming to fisticuffs. His show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is called The Lijretta Show.

Jay Morrissey stormed onto the stage and showed everyone how his thousands (not millions) of miles an hour style helped him win the Victorian final of the RAW competition. Whether he was talking about mind-altering experiences at work or how females find it easier to garner support on Facebook, he generally had the audience in stitches. Check out his #bollard show at the current festival.

Xanda Allen then came on looking like he’d come straight from a Whitesnake concert. Purely based on his look, he demanded attention on the mic and used his visual gags to extreme effect. In fact, if he grows tired of comedy, he could do well on the catwalk. Melbourne needs to see more of this guy because he has the X factor.

Dean Eizenberg’s quirky style provided an interesting change of pace for the night. He also used the intimate stage to full effect for his visual gags – mixed in with his stand-up of course. If comics are going to use some edgy material (see: bad taste gags), they need to be able to come back with a strong punch. Based on the crowd reaction, Eizenberg’s sucker punch almost hit the mark. His unconventional style of stand-up was a gas though.

Ronny Chieng hit the stage and unleashed a volley of jokes towards the audience for the length of his short set. For some of his material, he loves to use his ancestral roots as both a source of boasting and piss taking. After all, we are currently in the “Asian Century”. He’s clearly got a keen observational wit and an acidic tongue to match. He took exception to poor old (or, young) bar tender who had the audacity to capture his attention which was a highlight. His show at the current festival is “Can you do this? No you can’t” and would be well worth it.

Steele Saunders then took the mic and immediately took control of the crowd. In fact, this man oozes stage presence and doesn’t mind taking a risk with a bit of banter with the audience. His power set was a mixture of short gags and extended stories – which both went down well. Don’t make a fool of yourself in a nightclub when Steele’s there because karma may make you pay… His show at the festival is The Steele Saunders’ Venue Got Demolished Late Night Show.

Daniel Connell is a rising star and this stunning set proved why. His voice has the calming effect akin to a doctor which helped him connect with the audience. On this particular night, Connell took the audience on a journey of piss-funny storytelling with the highlight being his tumultuous (and sumptuous) upbringing. In fact, he made most in the audience lose their appetite based on the groans… See his Mr Personality 1988 show at the festival!

The night ended with Luke Heggie whose dry style of joke telling makes Dave Hughes sound like a giggling Rodney Dangerfield. He peeled off joke after joke and whipped the audience into a wee-in-the-pants frenzy. What a way to end the night. He obviously dislikes people with jet skis, sneaky strippers and would rather drink paint that head to the horse races and/or greyhounds. Unsurprisingly, his upcoming show at the festival is called Mega Dry. Check this man out!
Following Radiohead’s lead, the night is run on a pay-as-you-like basis with most being happy to part with a fiver or a tenner on the way out. If you’re ever around the St Kilda area and have a free Thursday night, Commedia Dell Parte is a perfect place to hear some short and punchy sets from a wide selection of comedians.

Commedia Dell Parte is at George Lane Bar every Thursday night thoughout the year.

Rich Hall

By Jayden Edwards

The ever grumpy, acid tongued Montanan? Montanite?(…he’s from Montana) Rich Hall is back in Melbourne and ready to tell us what’s what like only he can.

Armed with a mic, that husky yanky accent, a guitar and a bag full of beefs, Rich rips through a broad range of loosely political and slightly more irrelevant topics, snarling and yelling at stuff he doesn’t understand.

Rich gives Target and Kraft a good old bashing as well as picky British horse meat consumers, Australian shoe repair/key cutting businesses, American politicians with stupid one syllable names and a bunch more.

One company that does escape his wrath though is Cadbury. Seeing a man compare the taste of chocolate to skipping on rainbows so brashly is so something to behold.

Where Rich really shines is with his off the cuff, half planned tunes where he “fucks with” some unfortunate audience members up the front. You’ll find yourself scratching your head as to whether he just came up with it or not, he’s as quick witted as the best of them.

Rich’s grizzled delivery, timing and well placed passion is a finely tuned art that he makes look effortless. Mix that with his razor sharp wit and brilliant musical comedy and you can’t lose. A true master.

Rich is on at The Capitol Theatre
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/rich-hall

Darren Freak: DFO Darren Freaks Out

By Luke Simmons  

Hailing from Adelaide Darren is a comic/musician who used his hour on the mic to vent his
frustrations at how the way things are in the world. However, it was always going to be tough for
Darren to build an atmosphere with the smallish crowd which was assembled at the Felix Bar in St
Kilda. Rather than having the audience in stitches, he generally had them smiling throughout the
hour long show. Perhaps the size of the crowd made people afraid to laugh out loud?

Over the course of his show, he took everyone through some stand-up, mixed with songs played on
his acoustic guitar, and even played sung to some karaoke tunes. Darren obviously gets inspired by
things that get under his skin. And with the way things are, it was easy for him to fill up one hour
covering items such as his 40th birthday, soy milk, long pauses in reality TV, dead soldiers, and a
review last year’s depressing events.

He may choose to select his audience when he jokes about dead soldiers. It was fine in this room
but it may not go over well if he gigged at Singleton Army Barracks – or if he was unlucky enough to
have a boozed up punter connected in some sort of way.

On a positive note, the crowd favourite was a piece dedicated to Alan Jones which provided an
“educational” insight into this controversial man’s past and his sexual persuasion. In this part, the
use of illustrations to depict the story was both original, clever and piss funny.

He also closed with a creepy tribute to Australia’s Young Talent Time which made everyone’s skin
crawl – in an awkward and comedic way!

 

Darren Freak: DFO Darren Freaks Out at the Felix Bar

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/dfo-darren-freaks-out-darren-freak

 

MIKE BIRBIGLIA : MY GIRLFRIEND’S BOYFRIEND

By Elyce Phillips

US comedian Mike Birbiglia is renowned for his storytelling prowess, and not without reason. The man is a master. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend is a long, winding tale about Birbiglia’s romantic past and his opposition to the institution of marriage. From his painfully awkward first date to almighty blues with his girlfriend about nothing, the show is bittersweet, honest and hilarious.

Those who listen to ‘This American Life’ might be familiar with parts of the show, like the tale of Bibiglia being involved in a hit and run in LA, but the stories are in no way diminished upon second hearing. It’s an absolute joy watching a performer who’s so in control of their craft. The audience was enthralled. You could hear the collective wincing as Birbiglia talked of the red flags he should have seen with his high school girlfriend – to which Birbiglia responded by simply taking a moment to say, “I know.”

And yet, for all its cynicism, ‘My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’ is incredibly uplifting. At its heart, this is a love story – one that is probably more relatable than anything you’d see in a romcom. By way of vomit, terrible kisses and car crashes, we arrive at deeper truths about love and relationships.

My Girlfriend’s Boyrfriend is a show that has clearly been honed over years of performance. The tone is sweet, but never schmaltzy, self-depreciating, but never defeated. It may be a monologue, but the delivery is so relaxed it never feels like you’re being lectured to. There’s not a line out of place, the pacing is spot on and Birbiglia is completely at ease up on the stage.

If you haven’t seen Mike Birbiglia perform before, do yourself a favour and check this one out. It’s an absolutely stunning show.

Mike Birbiglia – My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend is on at the Fairfax Studio at the Arts Centre until April 4.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/my-girlfriend-s-boyfriend-mike-birbiglia