Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award Nominees

On Monday morning at the Spiegeltent the Nominees for the 2016 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Awards were Announced with the aid of Guest Barry Humphries. You may have heard of him, The Barry Award is named after him.

Congratulations to all the phenomenal Nominees!

The Golden Gibbo 

Asher Treleaven & Gypsy Wood – Peter & Bambi Heaven – The Magic Inside

Luis Brown – Lessons With Luis

Tommy Dassallo – Little Golden Dassallo

Zoe Coombs Marr – Dave Trigger Warning

Best Newcomer Barry Announcing the Barry's

Demi Lardner – Life Mechanic

Guy Montgomery (NZ) – Guy Montcomedy

Tom Walker – Beep Boop

Rose Matafeo (NZ) – Finally Dead

The Barry Award

Zoe Coombs Marr – Dave Trigger Warning

Damien Power – Sell Mum into Slavery

Luisa Omielan (UK) – Am I Right Ladies?!

Tom Ballard – The World Keeps Happening

Anne Edmonds That’s Eddotainment

David O’Doherty (IRE) – We Are All In The Gutter, But Some Of Us Are Looking At David O’Doherty

Rhys Nicholson – Bone Fide

There are more Awards that will be announced next weekend.

Also RAW Comedy Award for 2016 was won by Danielle Walker from Victoria

 

Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night

By Lisa Clark Ali McGregor

This is the tenth year of Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night and it’s still going strong in the Spiegeltent at the Arts Centre. Always a wonderful way to catch some of the best quirky acts from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival handpicked by our gorgeous host.

Ali delights us with her spine tingling takes on gorgeous songs in between reclining on her Chaise Longue to enjoy the work of her Guests.  The Guests are mostly inclined towards Cabaret, clever circus or quirky standup. Ali is supported by a delightful Jazz band who enjoy the show as well.

We had current cabaret sensation Gillian Cosgrove doing a few numbers at the piano, including one about yoga. She’s fabulous and my friend has recently become a massive fan since seeing her current show at the festival.Ali McGregor's Variety Night

Jan Van de Stool, a character who would not be out of place in an episode of Kath and Kim, who usually apparently teaches singing, provides a little variety by dragging two teams of audience members on stage and have them compete at peeling and eating an apple. The joke was that this was an actual game described in a vintage “Party Games for Adults” book and it was as stupid and pointless as it sounds. Jan doesn’t do this in her own show which is a relief, but the audience enjoyed it and she carried it off.

Mario Queen of the Circus was Queen’s biggest fan and is a much sharper level of comedy character. Dressed as Freddy Mercury, an outrageous flirt and brilliant juggler, his act was clever, slick, weird and surprisingly wildly entertaining.

Tim Vine pummelled us with an avalanche of his brilliant one-liners then did the breathtaking Pen Behind the Ear bit with success. Hussah!

The highlight of the evening though, returning to Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night, was Asher Treleaven. In the past he has been her faithful butler Saxon McCallister, tonight he was The Sexual Gentleman and gave us the most impressive and sexy juggling (of the diablo) I’ve ever seen and one of his best readings of a Mills & Boon ever. It had the audience, the band and Ali howling with laughter.

It can be really hard to give or take a recommendation for a MICF show worth seeing. It depends on each person’s taste, but if you like your comedy on the offbeat and a bit of top class cabaret you are going to have a great time and hopefully become a fan of a new act and go see their full show.

Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night is showing on weekends at The Famous Spiegeltent at Arts Centre Melbourne

For more informations see the MICF website:

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2016/season/shows/late-nite-variety-nite-night-ali-mcgregor-s

Peter and Bambi Heaven – The Magic Inside

By Elyce Phillips Peter and Bambi Heaven

Peter and Bambi Heaven (Asher Treleaven and Gypsy Wood) have travelled down from the Gold Coast and are here to share with us The Magic Inside – a variety show packed with dance, illusion and danger. It’s an hour of oscillating between cringing and laughter, as the duo put all their talents on display.

The Magic Inside is joyfully chaotic. The show is full of slips, near-misses and horrific accidents. As the performance wears on, greater feats are promised and the failures escalate. Acts with names like ‘Wizard Ninja’ are built-up, only to be revealed as pale shadows of what was promised, mostly padded with questionable dance moves and terrifyingly-placed high kicks.

Treleaven and Wood are spectacular as the Heavens. Decked out in sequins, faux fur, and poodle-esque hair, the duo would not look out of place on the line-up at a RSL variety night. It doesn’t matter how off-the-rails their show is going – smiles are plastered on their faces and their enthusiasm is endless.

Treleaven is at his funniest as Peter in his more serious moments, whether he is attempting to perform mime or putting all of his emotion into a piece about the plight of the Great Barrier Reef. Wood is gloriously ditzy as Bambi, her willingness to please only reined in by Peter’s concern. Her specialty boot-scootin’ act is a thing of comedic beauty.

Peter and Bambi Heaven –The Magic Inside has everything you want from a magic show – the cheesiness, the glamour, and the complete dissent into disaster. Treleaven and Wood have created roles they are prefect for, bringing together their circus skills with their talent for complete silliness. This show is absolutely hilarious.

Asher Treleaven and Gypsy Wood perform Peter and Bambi Heaven – The Magic Inside  at Roxanne’s Parlour Room until April 17

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2016/season/shows/the-magic-inside-peter-bambi-heaven