Tag: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Stephen Hall – Raiders of Doom’s Last Crusade

By Elyce Phillips 

The Indiana Jones films have a special place in the hearts of many a film fan.  Their blend of action and humor, not to mention being helmed by what remains one of the coolest  protagonists ever created, made them as close to perfect an example of the adventure genre as there has ever been. Stephen Hall has taken on the challenge of condensing three of the most beloved movies of our times into a single hour, performing all the characters himself. The result is a loving homage that captures the spirit of the original trilogy, but is not afraid to poke some fun.

Hall blazes through the three Indiana Jones films at breakneck pace (We won’t speak of ‘Crystal Skull). The man has clearly done his research. His method of taking on the characters is stripped-back – there are no drastic changes of appearance, but through his mannerisms he manages to distill the essence of all the main players in a way that is immediately recognizable. Hall’s rendition of Dr. Brody was particularly great. Visually tricky sequences are handled in wonderfully lo-fi ways – the show’s solution to re-creating the iconic map sequences is hilariously simple.

Hall keeps the energy up through the entire hour. He throws himself into the last chase scene with as much gusto as he does the first. It’s impressive how much of the plot is crammed into the hour. All the major story points are in there, and there are a few sly nods to things that had to be cut. Despite the cracking pace that the story needs to travel at to fit into the allotted time, it’s easy to follow. If you haven’t seen the Indiana Jones films, you would still get a kick out of the show. However, fans will get this most out of this. It’s an absolute joy to see the tiny little details that Hall has managed to weave into the show.

‘Raiders of Doom’s Last Crusade’ is a must-see for fans of Indiana Jones. Hall’s version is every bit a quick-witted and action-packed as the originals, and twice as funny.

Stephen Hall – Raiders of Doom’s Last Crusade is showing at The Fringe Hub – Meeting Room at North Melbourne Town Hall until October 5.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/raiders-of-the-temple-of-doom-s-last-crusade/

5 Good Reasons to see 24 Hour HOO-HAA!

5 Good Reasons from The Big HOO-HAA! 

1) 24 hours of Melbourne’s best improvisers running low on sleep and high on energy.

2) It’s presented by The Big HOO-HAA!, who have been making audiences howl with laughter for over 10 years in both Perth and Melbourne.

3) A show as interactive as you want it to be – join right in or sit back and watch the chaos.

4) Tickets are $24 and you get a dollar back for every hour you stay – plus it’s right near the Fringe Hub in North Melbourne so it’s easy to pop in and out!

5) How often do you get the chance to be part of a 24 hour comedy show? In the past these roller coaster events have a achieved legendary status in comedy folklore. You don’t want to miss this one!

For One Night and One Day Only (Just as Well!) From 8pm on Friday the 4th of October through Saturday 5th of October at The Czech Club in Queensbury St, near the North Melbourne Town Hall.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/24-hour-hoo-haa/#

Sitcom Theme Song Singalong (and Trivia) – Bert Goldsmith

By Lisa Clark 

If you grew up enjoying sitcoms and singing along with theme songs like Family Ties, Laverne & Shirley and Cheers this is the show for you. It’s a great show to grab some friends and some drinks from the bar and have a great late night of singing, calling out answers to questions and winning lollies.

The bones to the structure of the show is a list of Top 10 most popular Sitcom themes, (clearly voted for by Americans unfortunately, but that’s OK). Each song pops up on the video screen throughout the show with words underneath Karaoke style and the audience is encouraged to sing along. The audience is a little shy at first but by the end no one wants to stop singing and we’ll even sing a song that’s not in Bert’s plans. Between the singing Bert gave us some lots of trivia and zingers, other sections of the show included ‘Real Sitcom or Fake Sitcom?’, ‘Who’s The….am I?’ and ‘the ‘Most Boring Sitcom Character of All Time’

Bert Goldsmith is a quick witted nerdy host who knows his stuff when it comes to sitcoms. He had all bases covered for a great night of exploring television sitcoms. Whether you’re into oldies or more recent shows there was something for all ages. He had lost his side kick Rosie because she broke her foot and is doing a spiffing job at running the show solo as well as doing all the teching. It’s quite a tech dependent show and after a slight glitch during our performance it occurred to me that it might be a good idea for Bert to have back up cards and recordings
 just in case. Still he has fabulous slides that he’s put a lot of work into and some very funny filmed skits. Well done to director Timothy Clark too for giving it some polish.

A great way to finish off a night of the Fringe, the audience didn’t want it to end. Maybe all those lolly prizes made us all a bit giddy! This show should come with a health warning for the risk of diabetes and being hit by flying objects. Lots of fun, it will definitely be one of my Fringe highlights; I recommend you make it one of yours too.

Sitcom Theme Song Singalong is on at The Imperial til Sept 27.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/sitcom-theme-song-singalong-and-trivia/

A Very Zac & Gotchy

By Colin Flaherty

Billed as a two hander sketch show, A Very Zac and Gotchy (starring Zac Cooper and Matt Gotch) was an exuberant hour by two young actors. This basic set up was quickly abandoned with a nudge and a wink to include Caitlin McInnis in all the female roles.

The humour was a little hit and miss at times but that is generally the case with all sketch shows. I found that it started off with scenes that were silly for silliness sake and relied a little too heavily on mugging to get the laughs. As the show went on, some interesting ideas began to emerge and the consistency of the laughs increased. Personal highlights included a reluctant verbatim performance of a comedy routine that hadn’t aged particularly well and the Hollywood artistic licence taken with a Stephen Hawking biopic.

All the performers played everything extremely broadly which was in keeping with the artificial sitcom styled setting. This initially put me off-side (as it seemed to be at the expense of amusing content) but it did suit the majority of the sketches where surrealism and absurdist lines were the order of the day. Some touches of ironic misogyny, outrageous lines and costuming, and fun with literal misunderstandings tickled our funny bones.

With the main focus usually being on the relationship between “Zac” and “Matt” (or a myriad of other character pairings), they often took on the traditional roles of comedic duo with Gotchy being outwitted by the controlling and manipulative Zac to provide plenty of amusing conflict and twisted wordplay. Matt did manage to add a little subtlety in the unhinged nature of some of his characters but generally they were played with wild abandon and extreme silliness.

They had very apt choices of music between scenes which tied in with the theme explored in the preceding sketches. This made for some grins and titters as the audience heard how they cleverly tied things together. Sometimes the audio happened to be the exact source material used in the sketch to fill the gaps for those unfamiliar with the references. This was useful but perhaps it was used a touch too late to effectively garner laughs from everyone in the room.

Staging this performance in a white cube art gallery helped with the heightened sense of reality. The bright stage lights lit the whole room and gave the performers a slight unworldly look. Artwork hanging in the walls didn’t quite fit with the scenes and made this strange world of strange people all the more weirder.

A fascinating take on the traditional sketch show.

A Very Zac & Gotchy is on at Brunswick St Gallery until September 28.
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/a-very-zac-gotchy/

Xavier Toby – 2013: When we were idiots

By Elyce Phillips 

The year is 2113 and we are living in an environmentally-sustainable socially-harmonious utopia. You are a member of a tourist group exploring North Melbourne circa 2013, wondering how they got it all so wrong. That is the premise of Xavier Toby’s novel comedic walking tour ‘2013: When we were idiots’ – a refreshing, bizarre and often fascinating look at the Fringe’s home town.

Meeting in the foyer of the Fringe Hub, hi-vis vests are doled out to attendees and you are instructed to follow the penguin (Toby) outside. After hearing a quick safety chat and being informed that everyone on the streets around you is an actor, you set off for some learning.

Toby deftly weaves fact and “fact” as the group trundles about the streets of North Melbourne. You hear about the old Benevolent Asylum, Scrap metal merchant Old Ma Dalley and the history of the Hotham Football Club, but are also reminded of things like how we use waterslides as public transport in 2113.

There’s a strong social message throughout the show. Toby underscores the problems of 2013 with tales of how we are doing it right in 2113. In his utopia we’re working less, creating more and are generally a more caring lot. But for all its moral aspirations, the show never feels preachy. After all, we’re from 2113 and all these wonderful changes have already occurred, so there’s no need to harp on about it. Everyone’s already on-board.

Micah Higbed is glorious as a series of historical special guests, ripped from their own times and sporting some questionable costumes. His “mystical” psychic, whose name seemed to be some sort of high-pitch shriek, was a highlight of the tour. There’s also a quick stop for some poetry with Emily Andersen. Her ode to hipster boyfriends is a perfect little slice of 2013 Melbourne.

Some of the best moments came from the group’s interactions with strangers on the street – all of whom were remarkably good-natured about being set upon by a large group of neon gigglers. A beautiful sense of camaraderie develops and at the end of the 90 minutes, you do feel a bit like a group of travellers from somewhere better, out of your own time.

2013: When We Were Idiots starts at the Fringe Hub – Lithuanian Club Foyer and is on until October 5.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/2013-when-we-were-idiots/

5 Good Reasons to See Ben Pobjie: Wearing A Towel

5 Good Reasons to See Ben Pobjie Wearing A Towel:

1. You know from the title and the poster that I’ll be showing some skin. You’ll be getting your money’s worth as far as acreages of flesh go.

2. This is the first time I’ll be devoting an hour to exploring my own feelings, stripping back layers of pretence and artifice to reach a place of true honesty on stage. As such it is possible that during the show I will suffer a nervous breakdown, and you KNOW that’s gotta be entertaining!

3. In their review of my last show, Australian Stage wrote “Pobjie bundles all kinds of comic devices together into a brilliant hilarious mess.” And that’s coming from Australian Stage. They review actual, proper plays and stuff. They know what they’re talking about. I am indeed a brilliant hilarious mess.

4. I give out hugs to people who come to my shows. Good hugs too. I’ve got these enormous arms. It’s like being hugged by a gigantic plush orang-utan. Really the hug will be worth the price of admission alone. The jokes are just a bonus.

5. Because there is nothing like hearing about another person’s problems to make your own seem less daunting.

You can see Ben Pobjie at the Lithuanian Club at 9pm til the 27th

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/ben-pobjie-wearing-a-towel/