Die Roten Punkte : Eurosmash!

By Alanta Colley

Astrid and Otto Rot are back this Festival with their latest tour of ‘Eurosmash’; their fourth album. The duo spared no expense in this flashy sense-saturating production. They take us into outer space, the world of celebratory diets, romances on the road, and reveal an uncomfortable amount of detail about their personal lives in the process.

The two have created a delightful mash up of rock concert and comedy gig. Combining the best of physical theatre, clowning, character comedy, and musical comedy, with added sparkles and face paint, this is an all-round glamorous and entertaining experience.

Die Roten Punkte (German for The Red dots) contains delightfully confusing layers of parody. Astrid Rot and Otto Rot (Australians Clare Bartholomew and Daniel Tobias) conduct a loose mockery of the White Stripes; the pair drawing on their relationship as siblings; where traditional boundaries are just a little dubious. Otto’s innocence and sincerity is constantly crushed by his bossy and overbearing older sister. These two don’t seem entirely suited to the glam rock lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock n roll they both purport to live. For some reason they are also hail from the roughly German school of pop rock. The two are in the process of trying to deliver a rock concert; as petty squabbles, grievances, tangents, and accidents keep interrupting the flow of things. Throughout the performance we slowly patch together their history as orphans and their bumpy journey to fame. As per usual an amount of awkward audience participation makes the whole thing more ridiculous. It’s a whole lot of fun.

Like Spinal Tap the pair bridge the gap between parody and also being an actual band; their new songs including ‘Do you speak Dance’ and ‘Body Slam’; both hilariously performed on children’s sized instruments. Go for the glamour; stay for the train wreck of sibling rivalry.

Eurosmash! is on at the Forum Theatre – Downstairs until April 19
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/eurosmash-die-roten-punkte

Sammy J & Randy’s Difficult First Album Tour

By Alanta Colley

Sammy J and Randy the puppet are back this Festival, with an all stops removed adventure in comedy.

There’s nothing like a tour to test the friendship of the most resolute duo. In this performance we hear of the phobias, the tricks, the grievances and the good times Sammy J and Randy have experienced in this; their difficult first album tour.

You can expect a delightful cocktail of the Sammy J and Randy branded duets, banter, and audience interrogations. Randy the puppet, with his purple tampon-shaped head and exasperated persona has been friends with Sammy J since their unemployed no-hoper university days. Sammy J, upright, clipped, and besuited, takes to the keys, his trusty juice box always within reach. The two challenge traditional ‘straight man, funny man’ formulas – both taking turns to challenge the patience of the other and the direction of the show. The two flirt with Randy’s identity as a puppet- sometimes destroying the illusion, sometimes pushing it to new (naughty) levels. The dexterity with which the two perform is phenomenal; it was sometimes easy to forget their was a man operating Randy from beneath the curtain (spoiler). Randy’s physicality is pretty amazing; transcending Sesame street norms, and wandering into delightfully adult territory for a puppet.

The many musical numbers are a highlight in this hour. Themes wander all over the place into deliciously original material; the existential angst caused by the census being an example . The only criticism that could possibly be made is the claim to have achieved nothing with their lives was at odds with the salubrious grandeur of the Forum from which they performed to an adoring audience who had packed out the venue.

This is an exceptionally tight performance. Fast paced, furiously cheeky and very witty; get along to this packed hour of entertainment before the end of the festival.

The Difficult First Album Tour is on at the Athenaeum Theatre until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/difficult-first-album-tour-sammy-j-randy-s

Squirrel Writers pick their Favourite MICF shows of 2014

The Squirrels see a LOT of shows during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival but what each of us sees varies a lot. The quality, we agree has been quite high and we’ve seen very few duds. Some of us see more shows than others, still have several shows to see and we don’t all see the same shows, so we can’t really pick a favourite overall, instead we each offer you our favourite shows for 2014:

Alanta Colley

Kraken – Trygve Wakenshaw

Noise adventure – Kate dehnert

It’s Eddo- Anne Edmonds

Dave – Zoe Coombs Marr

Pajama Party – Sarah Jones & Nicholas Johnson

 

Colin Flaherty

Damian Calinan – The Lost WW1 Diary of Private Paddy Callinan

John Kearns – Sight Gags for Perverts

Max & Ivan The Reunion

Fancy Boy Variety Show

Kraken – Trygve Wakenshaw

 

Elyce Phillips

Dr Professor Neal Portenza – Performs his Own Autopsy Live on Stage. One Night Only. (Obviously)

Asher Treleaven – Smaller, Poorer, Weaker, Cheaper

Lessons with Luis – By Myself

Rhys Nicholson – EURGH

Steen Raskoplous – I’m Wearing Two Suits Because I mean Business

It was a really tough pick through! Sam Simmons was also great and so was Paul Foot.

 

Ellyce O’Halloran

Set List

Joel Creasey – Rock God

Neil Sinclair – Charmingly Useless

Improv Conspiracy’s A Night in Chicago,

 

Lisa Clark

Justin Hamilton – Johnny Loves Mary 1994

Edge by Isabel and Rachel

Adrienne Truscott’s – Asking for It: A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else!

Lessons with Luis – By Myself

Ronny Chieng – Chieng Reaction

I also loved Alice Fraser, Stella Young, Max & Ivan, Celia Pacquola, Fancy Boy Variety Show and Wolf Creek the Musical (OK, it’s REALLY hard!)

 

Noel Kelso

So far I’ve seen 84 shows, the vast majority of which have been great. My top 5 are –

The Earth Is Flat – Simon Godfrey

She Was Probably Not A Robot – Stuart Bowden

Sketch-Ageddon – Jason Geary & Jimmy James Eaton

The Boy With Tape On His Face

Max And Ivan The Reunion

 

Sofia Monkiewicz

Stephen K Amos – What Does the K Stand For

Wil Anderson – Wiluminati

Kate Dehnert – Noise Adventure

Luke McGregor – I Worry that I Worry Too Much.

Sam Simmons – Death Of A Sails-Man

Micah D Higbed in DisasterChef

By Elyse Philips

As a society, we’re more obsessed with food than we’ve ever been. Cooking shows are some of the most popular on tv, social media is riddled with pictures of people’s meals and new food trends seem to crop up every week. In ‘DistasterChef’, Micah D Higbed takes aim at this obsession and breaks it down in hilarious ways, getting to the heart of why we eat what we eat.

‘DisasterChef’ is a show with broad appeal. It isn’t, as the title might suggest, focused on poking fun at the culinary reality shows that flood our TV screens (although for those of us that watch MasterChef, there’s a story about George in there that you’ll enjoy). Instead, Higbed looks at our wider relationship with what we eat – from religion and ethics, to fast food and superfoods. There are some touchy subjects in there, but Higbed handles them beautifully. His material is thoughtful and doesn’t resort to cheap shots – often.

Higbed has a great knack for connecting with the audience. Right from the start he struck up a rapport with his casual, conversational tone. He jokes about “breaking down the fourth wall” as he sets up his own introduction and sneaka peeks at his crib sheet while sipping beer throughout the night. This isn’t a particularly polished show in terms of performance, but Higbed’s style works well with the material. Jokes about things like Catholicism and famine are all taken in good humor because it feels like a friendly chat with a mate, rather than a comedian lambasting you.

‘DisasterChef’ is a show that will keep you laughing, but also make you think. Higbed is an intelligent comedian and he approaches his topic in a way that is fascinating and funny. It’s a great pick for all the foodies out there.

DisasterChef is on at Fort Delta until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/disasterchef-micah-d-higbed-in

The Bathtub Grin : The Inspection of Stanley Manor

By Colin Flaherty

A frustrated vampire (Howard), a suicidal ghost (Phillip), a brain dead mummy (Adio) and a kooky mad professor were the housemates in the titular Manor. All was idyllic until the arrival of an inspector from the council. Faced with the demolition of their home, this unlikely group had to band together and get the place in order whilst all manner of wackiness ensued. It was almost like a sitcom version of the TV series Being Human with less bloodshed.

The majority of the humour came from the stupid behaviour of the various ghouls and freaks. All displayed hilarious witlessness which was a joy to watch. The character of Howard mostly played the straight man, with a wonderful Nick Cadaye-esque grumpiness, but he occasionally got to shine comedically when ineptly interacting with humans. Overall the script was fairly solid even though it didn’t have rapid fire laughs often demanded by a comedy festival audience. Things often got bogged down with exposition which created some quiet patches, but there was always the anticipation of more stupidity around the corner to keep you interested.

Towards the end things started to get meta as the character’s reality started to break down. We saw the narrator go rogue, Howard trying and failing to explain some large plot holes, a minor character suffering an identity crisis and an admittance of inaccuracy in the show’s advertising blurb. These were very clever and amusing ways of subverting theatrical conventions that added to the anarchy of the piece.

Minor characters were introduced throughout the show and, with only four cast members switching between the roles, it almost became difficult to keep track of them all. Most of these bit players existed only for a single joke that had a tenuous link to the plot. Considerable effort was made in costuming and voicework for these beings, perhaps more than they really deserved. The cast did a wonderful job in their portrayal of all these eccentric creatures, hamming it up and exaggerating every gesture.

The staging of the show was impressive with dramatic lighting and gorgeous shadow puppetry used in the introduction and linking between scenes. Some scenes even took place entirely behind the large screen, giving an otherworldly atmosphere to scenarios exploring the mundane. There were often delays in transitioning from one scene to the next but considering the small cast and their ambitious staging, this was inevitable. Congratulations to the cast for creating this wonderfully absurd comedic play.

The Inspection of Stanley Manor is on at The 86 until April 19
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/the-inspection-of-stanley-manor-the-bathtub-grin

George Glass : Advertising Death

By Alanta Colley

The George Glass Boys have taken their musical ensemble to the next level by building a black comedy about love, death and revenge around their music.

The Frissal Brothers, who smell faintly like con-men are staring down the barrel of bankruptcy as Frissel Funerals’ loans have run dry. But just as they accept this fate the funeral opportunity of a lifetime comes along. The only challenge is that unfortunately the old man the funeral is for hasn’t quite popped off the perch yet. Plots aplenty ensue.

Scenes are interspersed with a full complement of musical numbers; the actors transforming into the band and then back again. There’s dance numbers, an odd acrobatic stunt or two, and not an insignificant amount of costume changes; involving a large amount of rather ludicrous drag.

Like a number of theatre pieces that have registered for the Melbourne Comedy Festival, this piece probably suffers from the expectation created that this is a laugh a minute comedy. There are jokes, but they were muted in their delivery and created very little punch. While the premise for the story was a fertile one; death, romance, doctors, widows, preachers and dodgy business men all make for chaotic comedy, this play didn’t quite get there. Sadly the acting of several (but not all) the cast was rather tepid; feeling like people delivering lines rather than fully embodying their characters. It seemed that there was an expectation that the drag was supposed to accrue more laughs than it did. It felt like the play was built around the music, which was the strong point of the performance. Sadly the plot also has gaping holes too – it’s really not clear how one of the main characters met his end.

This play needs a lot of work before the comedy, plot and acting can match the quality of the music.

Advertising Death is on at Mechanics Institute until April 19
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/advertising-death-george-glass