Sonia Di Iorio : Brain Colours

By Noel Kelso

One of the revelations of the last couple of years of attending live comedy shows has been the quality of sketch comedy which is coming through on the scene. This allows the comedians to keep the laughs flowing in a series of bite-sized segments without the need for a continuous narrative or awkward gear-changes in topic which can sometimes arise in stand-up. Local talents such as Lords of Luxury, Wizards Sandwiches and the sketch Gods that are Jimmy James Eaton and Jason Geary have been joined by a fresh voice from the world of stand in the form of Sonia Di Iorio.

Sonia is perhaps more familiar to regular comedy attendees as a stand-up comedian – her previous show ‘Don’t Kiss The Weird Girl’ being an hour of stand-up based around her experiences of others perceptions of her in contrast to her own which entertained audiences at the last Fringe and Comedy festival. Here she tickles the funny bone with a different tactic inhabiting the lives of over twenty different characters each caught in their own bizarre, sometimes cringeworthy, situations.

Clearly an accomplished performer, Di Iorio has no qualms of allowing each scene to form from its own premise in a clear and concise manner such that the audience are instantly familiar with the scenario being presented so that there is the minimum of dead-air between sketches. Characters are believably sketched in just the first moments of appearing, their form and personalities clearly distinguishable from each other through the performer’s, often subtle, physical and vocal mannerisms.

Through the course of the show we meet the owner of a New Age herbal medicine shop who is really the victim of nominative determinism; learn how blokes form opinions of one another via their chosen nickname and eavesdrop on the readings being made by an honest psychic. There are some running gags also – such as a character who periodically appears and gets lost in the high-energy music to which they are listening or the person listening to tunes about the apocalypse – which have rather satisfying and very funny conclusions to them. One of the most memorable sketches involves very few words and is a testament to the comedian’s ability to communicate largely through body language as she procrastinates and becomes increasingly more distracted by a bag of crisps.

Sometimes sketch comedy can suffer from the need to transition from one scenario into the next, particularly if the show only has one performer but Di Iorio manages these transitions for the most part smoothly and delivers her lines clearly and distinctly so as to leave no confusion as to when we have begun a fresh scenario.

Overall this is a very funny show from a performer who seems to have found their calling and I look forward to seeing more sketch comedy from her in future.

Sonia Di Iorio – Brain Colours is on at the Imperial Hotel at 6pm until September 25th.
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/sonia-di-iorio-in-brain-colours/

5 Good Reasons to See Impromptunes: Whose Chorus Line Is It Anyway?

1. Improvised + musical + comedy

When you put these three things together, you get magic. This show is an incredible experience for audiences as you get to watch a fully fledged musical created right in front of your eyes. Amazing!

2. One night in Lithuania
The show is on at The Lithuanian Club on Errol St. It’s an amazing space – with a bar where the drinks can be purchased at Lithuanian prices!

3. See it while you can
Every other Impromptunes season has sold out by the end. Go early, so you can be the one telling others to, not the one missing out on closing night!

4. See it and see it again
Every show is completely different, so you can head to North Melbourne and start your night with Impromptunes and then head to another show – any night of the week! (Except Mondays. No one likes Mondays)

5. They’re presenting a new format
This work has never been done before – anywhere. So you can guarantee you’ll see nothing else like it in all of Fringe.

For tickets and more information see the Fringe Website:

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/impromptunes/#

5 Good Reasons To See The Earth is Flat by Simon Godfrey

1. I play 22 characters, one of which is Clive Palmer and when it comes to comedy, that man is a blank cheque.

2. I also play a horse. It’s taken me 30 years to realise, but I am happiest when pretending to be a horse. I just think that’s psychologically interesting.

3. There are very few things that are better than medieval cardinals hatching a dastardly plan. There are also very few things better than the word ‘dastardly’. The Earth is Flat features both.

4. The science underpinning the show ranges from unlikely, to improbable, to impossible. Come and see science nerds in the audience silently seething, desperate to jump on twitter to attack my poor grasp of physics. #HowCanYouSawTheEarthInHalf

5. The Herald Sun said “Godfrey will have you uncontrollably cackling.” I don’t know what it is about my comedy that turns people into witches. Most likely, it’s the cauldron and my pact with the devil.

For Tickets and Information check out the Fringe Website:
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/the-earth-is-flat/

FIVE GOOD REASONS to see A FOUR-EYED GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Rowena Hutson

1) There’s a spaceship, a sausage dog and an astronaut suit. Each fits perfectly inside the other. Like Russian Dolls. Or like a sausage dog inside an astronaut suit inside a spaceship.

2) There’s a lot of interesting space facts that we learnt from Eric Idle.

3) There’s quite a lot of floating (in zero gravity). This activity is optional for audience members. Particularly those who get car sick.

4) The set is a DIY obsessive’s heaven so you may, just may, learn how to make your own jetpack.

5) This is a show about life, the universe and everything. The answer isn’t, but could quite possibly be, 42, so bring your towel, just in case.

For Tickets and more infor see the Fringe Website
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/a-four-eyed-guide-to-the-galaxy/

The Squirrels Warm Up to Melbourne Fringe 2014

By Lisa Clark

It’s spring and we’re excitedly shaking off the cold with lots of nuts in store. Melbourne Fringe Festival tends to be particularly nutty with comedians taking risks for our entertainment. Yum.

As usual we will be reviewing our fluffy tails off and the following article is a brief overview with some of the acts that have whet our appetites and as usual our list of shows that we have previously reviewed. Here’s hoping that this has you salivating for Fringey treats.

Shows previously reviewed

Dan Willis – Control Alt Delete

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=3253

Dr Professor Neal Portenza performs his own autopsy live on Stage

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=6733

Fancy Boy Variety Show

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=6647

I Love Green Guide Letters Live

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=5892

Kate Dehnert – Noise Adventure

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=5964

Lisa-Skye – Art Sex & Snacks: The Talk Show

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=4861

Rama Nicholas – After Ever After

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=5862

Steen Raskopoulos – I’m wearing two suits because I mean business.

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=6700

Xavier Toby – ‘Mining’ My Own Business

https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=5855

Other shows re-appearing at Fringe that you can catch up with if you missed them first time round include: Dan Willis – The Walking Dead, Day of the Dead by Cath Styles, Fiona O’Loughlin – My Brilliant Career and Pajama Party

International Acts coming to Melbourne Fringe this year include Arj Barker trying out some stuff in Keeper or Crapper and Donnell Rawlings of Chappelle’s Show and The Wire doing Unchained for one night in Thornbury. Local big names you might know from the telly who are putting on Fringe shows include Heath Franklin in Tiny Horse, Big World, Josh Earl is a Square Peg and Claire Hooper in School Camp.

There is a charity comedy debate arguing “That Technology will Save Us” and if you enjoy comedy with a political bent you can rely on Rod Quontock who’s giving us an Invitation to a Revolution and the showcase of Melbourne political comedy Political Assylum.

Instead of Heckling Christ we’ll be encouraged by Joshua Ladgrove to Come Heckle [Joe] Hockey which should be much less controversial. Sam Marzden with Peculiar Avenue and Watson with Who’s Afraid of The Dark? are adding terror to the laughs by doing horror-comedy shows.

There are always comedians performing in interesting shows in the other sections of the Fringe. In the Performance section there are funny plays like Bucket’s List with Justin Kennedy, geeky rom-com Who are You Supposed to be? with Rob Lloyd and the astrological The Moon in Me with Dylan Cole. In the Cabaret section there are always laughs to be had especially with Gillian Cosgriff’s new show Whelmed and Ethal Chop’s return to The Fringe with the terrifying sounding Ethel Chop Has a Pianist. Geraldine Quinn will be bringing her extraordinary talent to The Festival Club with Video Killed the Cabaret Star.

Late night shows are a chance to get a taste of various Fringe acts. The Imperial Late night shows are called Up Late & Loose hosted by Lori Bell and Geraldine Hickey. The Court House Hotel is doing Night Court on Friday and Saturday nights and there is always something on at the Festival Club at the North Melbourne Town Hall nearby.

A final note to mention that Date Night with Simon Taylor has been cancelled.

I could go on but there is too much on to fit here. So many shows and so little time. Do as we do: as well as checking out a favourite, try seeing someone you’ve never heard of, get out of your comfort zone – It’s Fringe!

The Melbourne Fringe Festival is on from Sept 17 to Oct 5 and although the club is at the North Melbourne Town Hall there are major comedy venues in the CBD and others dotted around the city. For more information check out the Fringe Festival Website

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/

Five Good Reasons to see WHO ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE?

1. Time travel! By the end of the show you’ll be one hour into the future and you’ll wonder how we packed so much hilarity into sixty minutes!

2. “It’s The Taming of the Shrew with sonic screwdrivers and a TARDIS travel case,” said Geek Chocolate in Edinburgh. We tested it out in the UK and it passed, so now it’s coming to Melbourne Fringe!

3. See Rob Lloyd (star of Who Me, The Science of Doctor Who and BBC America’s Doctor Who: Earth Conquest) act like a geek at a science fiction convention. See him stretch his muscles as Gene, who thinks Captain America is better than Batman – and that Rose is the best New Who Companion. (You can shout at him after!)

4. See Jennifer Lusk dressed as Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor. Marvel at how many more curves the Fifth Doctor has now – even more than he had in Time Crash. (Jen has toured with the show to Edinburgh and London.)

5. Come and laugh with Rob & Jen (as Gene & Ash) about Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek and so many other science fiction franchises it would require an encyclopedic knowledge of the genre to list them all.

For Information and tickets go to the Fringe website

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/who-are-you-supposed-to-be/