Melbourne International Comedy Festival – Page 151

DeAnne Smith – Let’s Do This

By Elyce Phillips

At a point in ’Let’s Do This’, DeAnne Smith compares herself to Harry Potter, and while we could

draw a long bow and liken her comedic talents to wizardry, I can’t imagine Harry talks about vaginas

quite as much. Which is a shame, because if there’s anything I took away from this show, it is that

discussions about vaginas are incredibly funny.

‘Let’s Do This’ is a show about insecurity and confidence – the insecurities we all have and the

inexplicable confidence we perceive in others. The conflict between having the confidence to be up

on stage and yet having difficulties in everyday social situations is ripe for comedy and both sides

of Smith really shine here. Although she talks at length about her lack of confidence, you are also

reassured that she is very good at sex. Her bit about supremely cocky male comedians is an absolute

highlight.

Following the surprisingly boisterous show opening, Smith warned us that she needed to pace

herself, but seeing her up on stage, she appears to have boundless energy. The title perfectly

encapsulates the spirit of Smith’s show. We’re all in it together. It’s been a while since I’ve been in

an audience that’s been so receptive and willing to participate, and this is down to Smith’s skill in

engaging the room. She is adept at creating an open and inclusive atmosphere, freely calling out

closed-up punters with crossed arms early on and reassuring us all that we were in the hands of

an expert. Topics such as feminism and the advertising industrial complex are deftly handled and

spliced in with the faithful standards of poop jokes and ukulele. You’re left in no doubt that DeAnne

Smith is an absolute pro.

‘Let’s Do This’ is endearingly relatable and self-depreciating on a meta level. Go with friends, or be

prepared to make new ones very rapidly.

DeAnne Smith: Let’s Do This’ is on at the Cloak Room at Melbourne Town Hall until April 21.
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/let-s-do-this-deanne-smith

Energetic, bubbly and young at heart, the local favourite from across the Tasman is always a draw card in Melbourne. In Cal Wilson’s new show, she takes on the role of councillor, experienced life coach if you will. Cal is here to help us, help us face our fears in a open and trusting environment, a open forum on the topic of Guilt.

Before you even see the stage, Cal has got you soul searching, asking her audience members to write down on a piece of paper what we would like to stop feeling guilty about, while queuing. It’s a clever ploy to get you thinking and suck out the audience anecdotes, scattering them throughout her own. There were some doozies this night, and some great ones Cal’s collected from previous shows… sorry, no doctor/patient confidentiality during this consultation.

The topic of guilt is a treasure trove of comedy, Cal recalling her own long held guilts from sibling toy crushing guilt as a kid, awkward teenage sex guilt, awkward religious-god-fearing-boyfriend sex guilt, parent betrayal, son betrayal, the list goes on! It’s a relatable and hilarious timeline of Cal Wilson guilt, what makes us guilty, why, and how do we overcome it.

Cal recalls tales and explores the topic with pep and a sense of child like wonder, if you’re not into the show at the beginning, she’ll wear you down with her enthusiasm and by the end, you’ll be enthralled. Audience participation is gold once she gets there, but sometimes it felt like teacher asking questions none of the students wanted to answer, but like I said, that enthusiasm sucks you in eventually. Her quick wit helps her get the most out of any participation, and takes care of any hecklers/wafflers swiftly.

Guilty is a well balanced mix of masterful tale telling and audience “counselling” that’ll just make you happy, a sure bet.

Cal Wilson is Guilty at The Melbourne Town Hall – Powder Room
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/guilty-cal-wilson-is

5 Good Reasons to see Bart Freebairn, Wrongtown and Jared Jekyll

5 Good Reasons to see Bart Freebairn: The Age of Wonder

1. We were all kids once and our lives were full of interesting wonderful things. It could be fun to touch on that time once again.

2. Bart has a nice haircut and is rather handsome

3 Bart has consistently gotten great newspaper reviews and private messages from the queen. Find out his secrets.

4 This show has just come from a sold out season in Brisbane. There were no spaces left!

5 You could learn how to lucid dream.

Bart Freebairn is at the Spleen Bar
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/the-age-of-wonder-bart-freebairn-in

5 Good Reasons to see Wrongtown:Population You!

1. It’s where you belong

2. There’s no place like home

3. After you’ve laughed your tits off, you can buy a pair of Boob-ease

4. In Wrongtown we celebrate all things

5. “When you’re alone and life is making you lonely, you can always go, Wrongtown

Wrongtown is on at The Tuxedo Cat
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/wrongtown-population-you

5 Good Reasons to see Jared Jekyll – Loony Bin

1. Shenanigans

2. Beatboxing equipped with Loop Pedal action

3. A Magic Trick that features a lot of rude words

4. A talking Parrot

5. I like counting

Jared is performing at Word Warehouse
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/loony-bin-jared-jekyll

Tripod – Men of Substance

by Lisa Clark (with help from Virginia Graham)

The members of Tripod all recently turned forty and what’s lovely is that instead of being in denial or panicking they are embracing and celebrating their maturity through song and comic banter. So yes it’s another fabulously entertaining Tripod show that’s pretty much in the same style that they’ve been doing for sixteen years, if now with the surprising addition of interpretive dance.

Generally Tripod’s audience have matured along with them. They prove that forty comes to all of us; even World Famous Comedy Superstars and the songs are a funny and melancholy commentary about what that means. The opener Adult Contemporary is a sweet gentle acceptance of the way your musical taste has become closer to your parents’ than to your teenaged self. Triangle of Happiness is a surprisingly dark look at feeling trapped by the life you’ve chosen.
After the first few songs you could be worried that perhaps they might have forgotten their nerdy game boy roots but with their funky ode to maths and taxes, BAS Time and Waiting for the Game to Load you realise that while they have mellowed, their underlying geek still reigns.

Tripod’s songs have also matured over the years, with the musicality at times being sublime and rather than ditties about kitchen implements, sailors or Darryl Somers meeting the baby Jesus, they have occasionally become political and are better for it. Some of their best songs in recent years have been Santa’s Papers and Suicide Bomber both seemingly gentle in style with a surprisingly vicious humour and brutal message. This show does not let us down with an attack on the gentrification of the inner suburbs that is destroying the live Melbourne music scene in the gorgeous protest song The Blueprint.

I saw this show in its first outing at The Arts Centre last year and appreciated seeing Men of Substance in its mature state. The adorably sexy DILF had been placed earlier in the show and now works as a call back to earlier references to MILFs. Tripod have the benefit of being a band rather than a straight comedy act which means that you can see their show more than once and never tire of hearing their fabulous songs. Gaybar was another highlight and is a great singalong for the audience. This was a launch for their album which features not only the songs from this show but also some older songs that fit into the theme such as Thursday and Yon’s fear of surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, Climate Change.

All three of the boys (or should that be Men) have their time to shine, the banter is still funny and their harmonies are still the best in the business. I love Yon’s trumpet and Scod’s organ adding to the sound. If you love them, you won’t miss them, if you don’t know them you’ve been cruelly deprived. If you want a sure thing for the Comedy Festival, go and see Tripod, you can safely take your family and friends and have a fabulous time.

Tripod are performing at The Famous Spiegeltent at The Arts Centre
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/men-of-substance-tripod

Sullivan and Bok

By Colin Flaherty

Two relative newcomers to the Melbourne stand up scene, Claire Sullivan and Lauren Bok have joined forces for their debut festival show. The result is a wild hour of stand up and general mucking around.

Of the two, Bok is the most conventional stand up the two; regaling us with routines about working in retail and her unusual surname. It is solid material with a plenty of verbal imagery to bring her jokes to life.

Sullivan is the veritable loose cannon with plenty of random thoughts and surrealism while frequently interacting with audience members with silly acts or questions. Her on-stage persona is a ditzy bundle of hyperactivity which was a joy to watch.

At various intervals throughout each stand up set, the performer not currently on stage comments from the other side of the room (usually about how the show was going) or instigates a random segment of craziness (a particular highlight was the literal enactment of a pop song). Afterwards, the stand up set continues as normal; an interesting format choice that keeps the audience on their toes.

The show gets very self-referential at times (much to the delight of the comedian heavy audience I was in). Comedy savy punters don’t mind having the veil lifted occasionally but it is often pushed to breaking point. They manage to get away with it by being highly engaging and coating everything in a liberal layer of wackiness.

The girls remind me of that other Melbourne duo Dingo and Wolf without the comical aggressiveness. Sullivan assumes the role of the silly one but doesn’t suffer the humorous torment from the more serious Bok as you would normally expect from the classical comedic duo. I sensed that the interaction between the two had been tacked on to their individual stand up sets later in the development process. Even so, these exchanges are rewarding in the way they revel in a pure silliness and the audience can’t help but get swept up in it. It’s a great first outing for a couple of ladies to keep an eye on.

Sullivan & Bok are on at The Imperial Hotel

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/sullivan-and-bok

Tegan Higgenbotham – Touched By Fev

By Colin Flaherty

Since setting out as a solo performer several years ago after doing time in the trenches of sketch, Tegan Higginbotham has progressed in leaps and bounds. Her latest show, Touched By Fev, sees her at the top of her game; commanding the stage with absolute confidence and hitting every comedic beat.

Although Tegan sets out her adoration of Brendan Fevola at the beginning, those people who bought tickets primarily to hear about Fev have to sit through many personal anecdotes and various asides before she gets to the crux of the performance towards the end of the hour. This is certainly far from a chore as these are delightful tales and jokes delivered by a personable and adept performer.

She apologises for the show’s unfortunate title at the outset (it sounds more like a victims support group) and begins by covering her other youthful obsessions. I had seen her trialling this material in various rooms recently and it had given me the impression that this was going to primarily be about Idol worship. However through many detours, she presents something that covers so much more ground. Apparently random but humorous asides are tied into the main thread; perhaps not always perfectly but she pulls it off with such charm that you follow her regardless. Repeat customers from Million Dollar Tegan are even treated to material that expands upon themes covered previously which are carefully constructed not to exclude newcomers.

The show has a pleasing rhythm to it with her punchlines spaced at comfortable intervals that keeps the laughs rolling along. This however changes when she hits the extended tale of her interactions with Fevola and it becomes more sombre and the laughs drop off considerably. Not that this concerns the crowd as they are transfixed by her words; clearly fascinated by the story.
When referring to Fev, she does so in a compassionate way. We are allowed to have a laugh at the ridiculousness of his various indiscretions but for the most part the focus is about Tegan and her experiences. In the hands of someone else, Fev could have wound up as a comedic punching bag but not here, so those looking for dirt need look elsewhere.

Tegan has once again mined her real life experiences to construct a wonderful show with plenty of laughs while at the same time allowing for a bit of self-reflection.

Touched By Fev is on at Spleen

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/touched-by-fev-tegan-higginbotham