Squirrel Comedy – Page 187 – We're Nuts About Australian Comedy

Matt Okine – The Other Guy

By Noel Kelso

This year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival I have made a conscious decision to see a broader range of comics than in previous years. For me, that means attending performances by some of the more established names rather than limiting my viewing to the smaller shows and venues, and this is proving to be quite an enlightening comedic journey as I discover what makes these other comics so popular.

Yesterday I took myself to Matt Okine’s show ‘The Other Guy’ at The Victoria Hotel after seeing some of his stand-up on a TV show and finding myself wondering why I had never been to see this clearly funny man. This would prove to be a welcome variation in my already eclectic comedy diet with his style falling somewhere between my usual fair of weird and wonderful surrealism and the more straightforward forms of stand-up with feedlines and punchlines.

Okine is known to many people in this country for his work as a host on breakfast radio and this informs the beginning of his show where he talks of people asking him when he needs to be awake; don’t the hours bother him and how crazy it is.

Clearly a confident and polished performer, Okine engages the audience with tales of online trolling, and how social media has made it easier for people to directly let performers know just what they think of them – often in unnecessarily blunt terms. His joy at finally earning a wage which allows him to indulge in luxuries such as eating proper food is wrung for every ounce of humour it is worth.

An important factor in Okine’s appeal is his open and friendly personality which lends an honesty to his performance as he visibly cringes at the thought of some of the things he might say next. This is particularly evident during the central piece which concerns his relationship break-up and reminiscence of early love when at school. The latter in turn leads into some very funny asides on the nature of racism and the apparent differences between how the wealthy and the poor express their racism which had the audience laughing along in thoughtful recognition.

Okine makes excellent use of metaphor throughout his show and has excellent narrative structure, connecting the various parts of the routine smoothly and without the need for awkward segues. His recounting of his attempts to get back into the dating scene using social media are simultaneously hilarious and awful to behold as he details each awkwardly embarrassing misstep and misunderstanding.

The comedic situations mentioned here are not only funny and recognisable, but engender sympathy for the awkwardness and uncertainty of each one. His musings on the nature of body image amused those present whilst also hammering home a few truths.

Overall this is a great piece of comedy from a comic who isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve and let his audience see him at his most vulnerable.

Matt Okine – The Other Guy is playing at the Victoria Hotel, Little Collins Street until 19^th April.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/the-other-guy-matt-okine

Neil Hamburger – Discounted Entertainer

By Elyce Phillips

As he shuffles onto the stage at the Portland, Neil Hamburger (Gregg Turkington) cuts a tragic figure. His oily comb-over is slicked firmly to his skull, the four drinks he cradles in the crook of his arm slosh over his tuxedo with every movement he makes. The expression on his face is pained, his spirit already as deflated as the balloons that are scattered across the floor. This is America’s Funnyman – a monstrous congealment of every hack comic that’s played a dive venue for booze money in the last 50 years.

Hamburger is a magnificent creation, simultaneously hideous and hilarious. His jokes are filled with pop culture references at least a decade old, taking shots at the likes of Gene Simmons, Paris Hilton and Blind Melon. Vile, convoluted set-ups lead to baffling, filth-ridden punchlines, all punctuated by Hamburger hawking up a seemingly endless supply of phlegm and whimpering pitifully. What may have once been signs of showmanship in Hamburger are now pathological ticks of delivery, his catchphrases nothing more than whining drawls directed at the floor. As you watch, you can feel the soul-crushing history of his career.

This is a show for comedy masochists. It’s a chance to wallow in the stinking morass of comedy at its most repugnant. The audience was almost disappointed on the odd occasions a well-crafted joke came along. One audience member actually exclaimed, “Hey, that was actually a good one!” after a particularly funny joke about hummus. However, rest assured, these moments are few and far between. Hamburger harbours nothing but contempt for his audience and himself. When the jokes don’t work, the blame lies squarely with the punters, and abuse is doled out accordingly.

Both painfully funny and just straight-up painful, ‘Discounted Entertainer’ is a very unique comedic experience. Take a chance, brace yourself and you will be rewarded with one of the most brilliant acts going around this festival.

Neil Hamburger – Discounted Entertainer is in the Portland Room at the Portland Hotel until April 19.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/discounted-entertainer-neil-hamburger

Penny Greenhalgh : Pop Pop

By Lisa Clark

Pop Pop is a show that needs an audience… well, requires an audience….Well, without one there is not much show. Despite Penny’s obviously well-honed stage skills, this show was a bit of a disappointment for me because it was not my cup of tea as I’m not a big fan of excessive audience participation.

I feel sorry for the couple who come in on that quiet mid-Festival Wednesday when they are the only audience members and discover they have to play all the parts the rest of the audience would normally perform. Hope they are in the mood for a bit of audience participation. Well a LOT of audience participation.

Penny is very assured on stage… well, extremely confident… well, bordering on looney megalomaniac. She starts out badgering the sound guy, which is always a bit of fun schtick in a show and he barely bats an eye as he hits every cue perfectly, though at one point he added an extra one to catch her out and make her laugh. Or to get revenge.

Penny is giving us her ridiculously grand idea of what her show would be if it were performed at Rod Laver Arena with huge props and elaborate costumes she cannot yet afford. Meanwhile her skits deconstruct different styles of comedy. Unfortunately for me it actually played like a precocious 12 year old performing a series of stunts for visitors who are trapped in a living room while she shows off her skills, talents and knowledge about ‘how comedy works’. To entertain an audience while you deconstruct comedy requires you to be bloody brilliant at it, but unfortunately Penny doesn’t quite have the comedy chops to pull it off.

The same can be said about her stunt audience participation which she took too far without the comedy skills to back it up. She bullied audience members to do some pretty outrageous stuff at one point refusing to take a polite ‘no’ for an answer which is where she lost me. He should not have had to explain his disability to the audience before she finally gave up. Forcing passive or unwilling audience members into physical interaction is a no-no as far as I’m concerned. (I don’t like it when famous comedians do it either).

The opening had a bit of Paul Foot about it. She intricately explained what she was doing and roles for every audience member and dragged it out to extremes, repeating it as latecomers arrived. By the third time it was actually very funny but only if she can arrange exactly 3 groups of late comers, more or less and it wouldn’t be so funny. The closing however was inspired, joyful and worked really well. As long as she has a big audience to help her carry it off.

Penny is an engaging performer, with a lot of potential, she elicited laughs from the audience and there were others in the room clearly having a great time. If you love audience participation and watching others being bullied by an overbearing performer, and many do, then you should go along and give this show the audience it needs.

Pop Pop is on at The forum Theatre until April 19
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/pop-pop-penny-greenhalgh

5 Good Reasons to see Jekyll x James – Cactus Blastus

1. We were nominated for Best Comedy at Perth Fringe World this year. Look, let’s not beat around the bush, I mean, we’re about to take over the world. Every second you spend reading this article is a second we’re getting more famous and jaded. Come bask in the final blinding rays of our anonymity; which is in short supply.

2. If you like beatboxing, guitars, mime shoot outs, cowboys, cowgirls, reverse cowgirls (sex sells) & want a legal way to experience a peyote trip – we’re your dudes.

3. Just quickly; back to the first reason for a moment. We didn’t mean to sound conceited, or nothing. We just really believe we have a great show & that you will enjoy it. Sorry if that came off as arrogant!

4. Our 2014 show, Paradise, was compared favourably to The Mighty Boosh & Flight Of The Conchords. Which is pretty flattering. To them.

5. Sorry, I just realised that sounded cocky. Man, it’s hard not to sound like a dickhead in these things. Especially when you know your act is flawless. Just trust us, the show is really funny.

Jekyll x James – Cactus Blastus is on at at the Forum Theatre, 26 March to 19 April
For Informations and bookings go to the MICF Website
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/cactus-blastus-jekyll-x-james

Isabella Valette – Media Release

By Sofia Monkiewicz

After a successful season at last year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival, Isabella Valette has brought her cabaret-style show Media Release to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, with a few changes in place and many more laughs to be had.

The performance centres on April Fools, a fame-hungry actress who finds herself taking a couple of drastically wrong turns in an attempt to kick-start her career, and ends up down a horrifying path to reality television stardom. We meet her simpering agent, her arrogant British love interest, her in-the-closet, homophobic brother, his prim and proper wife-to-be, and several others, in a series of short scenes that take us through Fools’ life of faux luxury.

Valette has taken on even more ownership of this production since MFF, playing not only naïve April, but also the majority of other roles in the show, previously shared between three other actors. This change showcases her performance talents well, as she switches effortlessly between characters, adding a prop or costume piece to distinguish between them further.

While the concept of parodying reality television is far from original, Media Release does provide some comical perspectives. We watch as April transforms from a sweet drama school graduate with a big heart and bigger dreams, to a plastic, self-centred ‘celebrity’ with an inevitable plummet to infamy, and see how her newfound fame affects the lives of her family as she drags them, unwillingly, into the spotlight. It proves quite challenging to truly like or relate to any of the characters; they are outwardly funny, but are essentially nothing more than shallow stereotypes. Despite this, these stereotypes certainly achieve what they set out to do: make us laugh. The agent is a crowd favourite, with her cold smile and callous attitude, and the South Yarra persona of April’s sister-in-law is frighteningly familiar. A scene involving a hipster barista is a little stilted and not as polished as the rest of the play; the character only appears in one scene and doesn’t really add much to the overall performance.

Amid the sketches and monologues, Valette regularly breaks into song, changing up the lyrics of well-known pop tunes to describe the sad state of affairs surrounding April Fools. With a voice not unlike Australian songstress Kate Miller-Heidke, Valette hits the high notes and then keeps going, incorporating some impressively piercing shrills in almost every song she delivers. She also attempts to involve members of the audience in several scenes, which relies heavily on the enthusiasm of the chosen individual in order for it to work. Valette has little difficulty transforming herself from character to character, however some of the transitions between scenes are long and sloppy. One particular scene involves a long (and necessary) costume change, and no theatrical distraction is provided while the change is happening; instead the audience is forced to patiently wait several minutes staring at the empty stage, wondering if there is a technical problem or some other major production issue. Unfortunately, the scene transitions distracts from the enjoyment of the performance, which makes it harder to properly engage with the storyline.

Media Release is a fun and energetic production that delves into the dark side of reality TV, but it is let down by a lack of character depth and poor technical decisions. The catchy songs and witty one-liners, along with Valette’s talented and quirky efforts, are what renders this show entertaining, and with further tightening and editing it could be something really remarkable.

Media Release is on at Pleasance House Comedy until Sunday 5 April.
For bookings & further details visit the Comedy Festival Website:
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/media-release-isabella-valette

Wolf Tokyo Club At Rehearsal

By Colin Flaherty

Wolf Tokyo Club are a struggling band trying to get through a rehearsal. As much as Anton wants to get through a single take of his new love song, the others would rather be talking about or doing something else. Ahh…the joys of working with bunch of dysfunctional people on a project!

For a show about a band the music certainly took a backseat to the story. All seemed competent on their instruments but as soon as a groove started, things would hilariously fall apart which was fine as we got to learn more about this group of loveable misfits and see the comical sparks fly.

On paper, 45 minutes of some guys bickering with each other may seem like it would get tiresome quickly, but the wonderful script certainly prevented this. Not only were there plenty of clever and amusing distractions to keep derailing the rehearsal but some interesting sub-plots were introduced to keep the animosity bubbling away throughout. We got to chuckle at some inane conversations that musicians probably have to endure as well as marvel at a unique method of identifying notes. The various methods of procrastination led to many amusing lines to keep the laughs rolling along.

It was interesting to see how they managed to shoehorn the usual character traits that are normally associated with a comedic trio into this four person (with a small fifth role by Shane Matheson) performance. Your Alpha male guitarist Anton (Seamus McAlary) played the role of straight-man perfectly while cool guy drummer Fudgy (Eric Hutton) was a constant source of hilarious disruption. The dim character was split between the seemingly stupid bassist Matty (Rodney Todd) and the extremely slow-witted keyboard player Ethan (Todd Allen) which worked brilliantly. You got some smarts beneath the surface of Matty (in between going off on many a hilarious tangent) to make him a threat to Anton leaving Ethan, in his permanently stoned stupor, to be totally clueless.

I’m still trying to get my head around the conclusion to this play. Following what would be the final punchline of the story they immediately launched into a post-script that was quite surreal. It certainly tied up the main sub plot neatly but it was quite a shock after the relative normalcy that had preceded it. Perhaps this wacky curveball was influenced by Matheson? Despite leaving the venue slightly confused, it was a satisfying and hilarious play performed by some of Sydney’s great underground comedic talent.

Wolf Tokyo Club At Rehearsal is on at the Tuxedo Cat until April 7
For Bookings & information go to the MICF website:
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/at-rehearsal-wolf-tokyo-club