Category: Reviews

Class Clowns 2014

By Noel Kelso

Everybody remembers the class clown in their year at school. The one person who was always messing about and making people laugh.

Now in its 19th year, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s own Class Clowns education programme takes those kids from the back of the class, gives them some workshops with professional comedians such as Kate McLennan, Danny McGinley (himself a former winner) and Aunty Donna, and places them front and centre on stage before a packed audience at the Capitol theatre in Melbourne.

The afternoon commences with our hosts Ronny Cheung and Luke McGregor – the unlikeliest double-act in comedy – arriving on stage and warming-up the audience with their very different performance styles. This got the audience laughing and opened them up for the young acts to follow.

Thirteen acts from all across Australia stepped on stage to entertain and delight those in the room. The audience laughed along to gags about school trips, teacher’s foibles, solutions to Melboune’s traffic problems and teenage surliness. It was two hours of joy from start to finish.

As the judges deliberated their decision the room was kept laughing by special guests Demi Lardner, RAW comedy winner 2013, and British sketch duo Max and Ivan. Their bizarre take on a botched bank robbery was effortlessly funny and their air guitar contest, which recruited an audience member to help out, was inspired lunacy which had the room roaring with laughter.

It was then time for the big moment and McGregor and Cheung led all of the young performers back onto the stage as they announced the winner and three runners-up as decided by the judging panel which included comedians Sara Pascoe, Dave Callan, Sammy J and Melbourne International Comedy Festival Director, Susan Provan.

The three runners-up were Mabita Makwaza from Sacred Heart College in South Australia whose material was both funny and socially aware; Jack Keenan from St Leonards College in Victoria whose routine was energetic and surprisingly mature for someone of fourteen, and Grace Bruxner from Darwin High School in Northern Territory, whose lampooning of the stereotypical surly Goth teen was sharply observed and laugh-out-loud funny.

The winner of the competition was 14 year old Gregor Tarrant from Wodonga Middle Years’ College in Victoria, whose elastic-limbed routine combined physical comedy and great gags to fine effect and had the audience rolling about with laughter.

Hopefully we will see more of these young comics in the future and they will continue their comedic endeavours further.

Heats will begin for 2015 later in the year.

Kate McLennan : The Duck’s Nuts

By Alanta Colley

McLennan quickly disarms her audience with a big, bright smile and a charming persona. McLennan feels like a friend within minutes of the show getting underway.

Kate initiated discussion by obeying the mandatory ruling that a female comedian must state her age, marital status and whether or not she has kids before the audience, like some sort of societal trial by jury. But luckily she carried the conversation into far more interesting directions and critically analysed the structures which dictate this social obsession. McLennan talks of the women who perpetuate the idea that success and fulfilment is solely governed by these attributes. She talks about her personal relationship with these pressures; on one hand rejecting them, another questioning them, and the struggle not to internalise other people’s expectations.

McLennan is a competent story teller. She builds a robust picture for us of her mother and father, both endearingly mad in their own way, and the experience of growing up in Mortlake in regional Victoria. McLennan speaks to a rugged Australian upbringing dressed in overalls, bikie adventures, secret clubs and trips to the tip. She speaks of failed family holidays and turning out okay despite the laissez fare approach her parents took to parenting, which was more the norm of the 80’s. McLennan’s masterful telling makes many of the themes of her stories of her family’s interactions recognisable to the audience, particularly the slightly dysfunctional way families deal with the harsher realities of illness or misfortune.

McLennan is confident enough to play with the audience a little bit, leading us down one narrative before revealing she’d made it up then taking us off somewhere else. She builds our trust enough that we can forgive her for letting us invest in a fictional account.

The mischievous and warm McLennan is more together than she lets on. This was a truly pleasurable hour with a surprise or two in store at the end.

The Duck’s Nuts is on at Melb Town Hall – Lunch Room until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/the-duck-s-nuts-kate-mclennan

Rhys Nicholson : Eurgh

By Elyce Phillips

Before he even stepped on to the stage at the Portland, Rhys Nicholson was in control of his audience, coaxing them from behind the curtain to sit in the front row. From that moment, he never lost them. Eurgh is a solid hour of belly laughs that will leave your face in pain from grinning.

Whether talking about touring or growing up with his grandma, Nicholson is quick-witted and pleasingly cynical, with a steady undercurrent of filth. His material is incredibly strong and delivered with the confidence of an old hand. At no point are you left in doubt that the self-dubbed ‘Mama Showbiz’ belongs on that stage, and should be playing on much bigger stages in the near future.

While Eurgh has its fair share of cock jokes (and really good ones at that), underneath it all the show is sweet and altogether warm and fuzzy. At its heart are stories about the people who are there for Nicholson and the people – and animals – Nicholson cares about. A lot of this show is about growing up and reaching that point where you re-evaluate where you stand. We hear how Nicholson’s young life was shaped by his nanna, how pets have taught him to be protective of others and plenty of anecdotes about questionable choices he’s made. But again, just to be clear, this is heartwarming filth. You’ve got to be willing to take the fisting jokes with the emotional finales.

Nicholson is one of the most impressive young stand-ups around and Eurgh is a show with as much polish as his glittery fingernails. This has gone straight to the top of my list of Festival favourites. Bring along a spare 20 bucks and you can buy a rather snappy hand-made bow tie from Nicholson after the show.

Eurgh is on at the Portland Hotel – Gold Room until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/eurgh-rhys-nicholson

Shappi Khorsandi

By Lisa Clark

Shappi Khorsandi is one of those enjoyable comedians who make you feel like you are catching up with a friend you only see every couple of years. She even does material about this and her own intermittent friend who she chose to be her birthing buddy for her new baby after the father piked out. Yes a lot has happened since we last saw Shappi and as jet-lagged as she is, she’s going to regale us with some pretty juicy stories, interesting theories and even a bit of surprisingly blue material that seems to surprise her more than it does us.

Her last show in Australia Me and My Brother In Our Pants, Holding Hands in 2012, spoke more about her amazing childhood as an English immigrant from Iran and about being a mother in a marriage that’s falling apart. She also covered some ground that she goes over in her current show, such the difficulties in dating as a single mum, but her 2012 show had a lot more depth to it and the surprise ending of having just started a relationship with a woman. In part of the whole catching up thing, she lets us know pretty early that that relationship didn’t last.

I first came to know Shappi through her fabulous autobiography A Beginner’s Guide to Acting English. Her comedic storytelling skills are clearly inherited from her famous father who fled Iran with his family because of his comedy writing. Shappi touches on her past with her material on refugees. It’s hard to tell if she knows what a hot political topic that is here, but she’s not aggressive about it and finds a very appreciative audience.

Shappi is not a shouty or angry comedian but she manages to cover a lot of controversial ground and while occasionally garnering gasps of horror she maintains just right light touch to make it all palatable and keep the show in a fun mood. Her last section about sex, which she sizzles early on, is also about her vague theme of being free to speak up as well as feeling more comfortable about your sexuality as you get older.

Like all her previous work this show has a lot of great jokes and ideas, it’s clear that Shappi is a talented, entertaining, comedian with a lot of experience but the show itself could use a director to get it into some sort of shape. It’s very funny, charming and spicy, but also a bit scrappy and all over the place. Yet, it still manages to be a fun show to take your friends to. Considering Shappi is a sleep deprived new mother with two kids trying to put on a Festival show on the other side of the world, a bit of scrappiness, with so many great stories and laughs, is pretty forgivable.

Shappi Khorsandi is on at Melb Town Hall until April 13
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/shappi-khorsandi

Luke McGregor : I Worry That I Worry Too Much

By Sofia Monkiewicz

Luke McGregor worries a lot. He worries about burglars and murderers, about being alone in the dark, and about talking to girls and breaking into a sweat. He worries that he is the only person who worries about these things, and he wants to worry less about all of these unnecessary worries.

I Worry That I Worry Too Much is McGregor’s second Melbourne International Comedy Festival show, following on from the success of his 2013 debut, My Soulmate Is Out of My League, which won him Best Newcomer. This year’s production looks like it’s going to be just as popular, with McGregor moving across the road to the Hi-Fi for the final two weeks of the festival, to accommodate an impressive number of ticket sales.

And with very good reason. This show is superb.

McGregor spends just under an hour awkwardly talking about his excessive amount of thoughts, fears and concerns, and we are oddly engaged with every single one of his issues, whether we find them relatable or not. His quirkiness is what makes him such a delight to watch; his exaggerated facial expressions (intentional or otherwise), his nervous noises, and his almost childlike excitement over everything he talks about creates this lovable character that you can’t help but adore. While he definitely uses his oddities to his advantage and plays them up for some guaranteed audience laughter, Mcgregor is honest and self-deprecating, and his self-conscious personality wins over every single person in the room. His idea of ‘banter’ is to ask those seated in the front row how they are, and they quickly warm up to the comedian, with some audience members gladly answering his questions without the usual fear of being humiliated in front of the rest of the crowd.

The most popular part of the show by far was when McGregor discussed his inability to meet girls and his experiences with the dating app Tinder. His theories about the app appealed to quite a few twenty-something-year-old girls in the audience, who seemed to relate a little too well to the Tinder techniques he confessed to using. McGregor knows how to work a crowd. His jokes about his unknown prowess in the bedroom are expertly delivered and absolutely hilarious, and he concludes his show with an original ‘gift’ to each audience member that perfectly sums up how his worrisome attitude affects his talents in the bedroom.

I don’t need to encourage you to see this show. Luke McGregor clearly does not need any help convincing people to see him flurry about nervously on stage. But if you want to see a production this comedy festival that is genuine, modest, and just simply fantastic, then make sure you purchase a ticket now before they all sell out.

Now that would be something to worry about.

I Worry That I Worry Too Much is on at Melb Town Hall – Portico Room until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/i-worry-that-i-worry-too-much-luke-mcgregor

We ♥ Comedy

By Noel Kelso

The Imperial Hotel is a hub for Melbourne comedians throughout the year and one of the regular comedy nights is We ♥ Comedy. Compered by the witty and acerbic Victoria Healy this is a showcase of the finest talents in Melbourne stand-up, improve and sketch, and provides laughs to the people of the city year-round.

Comics such as Celia Pacquola and Simon Keck have performed there in the past along with sketch duo Girls Uninterrupted and king of improv Jimmy James Eaton. The Melbourne International Comedy Festival allows the room to showcase a diverse range of acts which may not otherwise be available to them at other times of the year. Thus it was that last night the line-up consisted of improv from Rebecca de Unamuno, stand-up from Bart Freebairn and sketch comedy from The Lords Of Luxury.

De Unamuno began her set with some very funny gags related to dating and how she believes that some people just stay in relationships for far too long before interacting with the audience to discover how they have fared in love. Latching onto one couple in the front row she asks them a series of questions about their relationship and how they see one another before launching into an improvised and hilarious Shakespearean sketch based around the information she has just been given. This is a skilled improvisational comedian able to adapt to her situation and still bring forth strong laughs from the audience.

Second on that night’s bill was comic Bart Freebairn whose delightfully whimsical delivery style is easy to engage with as he talks about wanting to be a dinosaur when he was a child, dreams, scallops and universal knowledge. The very fact that he can say any of this and not leave the audience confused, but laughing loudly is testament to his comic timing and delivery.

The last act on the bill were Lords Of Luxury whose sketch comedy was hilarious and strange with ad libs from various team members added an element of anarchy to the proceedings. Their sketches about one of the members being dumped by his girlfriend and the predicament faced by a Private Investigator held captive by the Mob were inventive and funny and kept the audience laughing throughout. There was a sequence involving a water pistol which dragged on for far too long, yet just became funnier and funnier with each passing second. These are comics who know how to play a room and can milk every last line for maximum laughter.

As a host, Healy is a total pro, warming her audience up for the acts with her charm and delivering laughs with practised ease.

We ♥ Comedy is on at the Imperial Hotel until April 8
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/we-comedy-victoria-healy-presents