Hunter Smith – I Feel Bad About My Tattoo

By Sofia Monkiewicz Hunter Smith

Tattoos are a permanent fashion choice: one which can either be worn proudly every day for the rest of your life or, if you are like Hunter Smith, be a sad and endless stamp of regret.

Smith really hates his tattoo, and who can blame him? It is hilariously tragic, and a forever reminder of his poor teenage decision-making abilities. Despite this, his shame doesn’t override the comedic potential of his ink embarrassment, and he has created a delightfully self-deprecating, tattoo-focused hour of stand-up.

I Feel Bad About My Tattoo is a very personal show, in which Smith talks about his family, his teenage years, and of course his infamous tattoo, along with many other observations about the ways that people choose to permanently imprint designs on their skin. He details the top three worst types of tattoos that a person can get, and makes some hysterical comments about the moments in time that these artworks represent, and what they have come to signify as the years have passed and fashions have severely changed.

Smith has a wonderful energy that fuels his honest, relatable comedy. He combines his self-esteem issues with some good-natured, light-hearted fun, and has ended up with a show that is both sincere and wildly entertaining. His anecdotes about living on campus while at university and scaring a certain group of students with his ink is very funny, while his short but succinct list of things he dislikes is classic side-splitting observational comedy. Quips about old people and technology, cultural appropriation and his cousin’s appearance on Australia’s Funniest Home Videos are eagerly lapped up by his audience, but the highlight is definitely the big tattoo reveal, which is kept a secret for as long as Smith can manage to hide his shame.

It is difficult to decide whether Smith should be laughed at or pitied for the unfortunate ‘artwork’ etched in his skin, but he has managed to transform his sorrow into enthusiastic entertainment in his 2015 festival show. As soon as he walks on stage, he exclaims that he is going to be presenting a whole bunch of ‘truth bombs’, and he certainly delivers on this promise. I Feel Bad About My Tattoo is brilliantly raw, consistently funny and will probably stop you from going out and getting that Southern Cross tattoo that you thought you truly wanted.

So what exactly is his embarrassing tattoo you ask? You will just have to watch the show to find out…

Hunter Smith’s I Feel Bad About My Tattoo is on at the Owl and the Pussycat until April 19.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/i-feel-bad-about-my-tattoo-hunter-smith

Lisa-Skye – Art, Sex and Snacks

By Lisa Clark

Late night interview shows pop up all over the place during festivals, Art, Sex & Snacks is very much your alternative talk show that fits perfectly into the fringe of the Fringe that is The Tuxedo Cat. It really is the kind of frank talk show that will not be finding itself on mainstream TV anytime soon.

In a room suitably draped in red crushed velvet, we enter to discover the brightly clad host and her guests are chatting informally with each other off mike on stage which gives a friendly atmosphere. Lisa-Skye is a relaxed and skilled host, keeping the pace up and the balance of giving each guest their time to shine, while occasionally shining out herself. Her guests are encouraged to open up about their art, their sexuality and their favourite snacks. I’d had no previous knowledge of any of tonight’s guests, but by the end I felt we had all shared a fairly intimate, if at times raucous experience.

Lisa-Skye brought together four artists from widely varying parts of the Fringe Festival who were all very entertaining with fascinating shows on. The night I went we had Rennie McDougall who’s dance performance Yes Dance (Deeply Superficial) works against the idea of dance as storytelling and celebrates the body. Nell Kentish of the theatre company Big One Little One is doing a Live Art piece that is performed for one audience member for one minute – Confetti, the rest is a secret for you to discover. Simon Morrison-Baldwin who was giving Lisa-Skye’s outfit a run for her money in his drag persona as Lady Diamond is doing a cabaret show called Corpse about an 18th century transgender spy who spent half his life as a man and half her life as a woman. Finally there was gay comedian Hunter Smith whose show Apprentice Heterosexual explores feigning heterosexuality.

If the aim was to familiarise audiences with artists and encourage them to see the shows of her guests that was achieved. Starting out with performers completely unknown to me, by the end I wanted to see all their shows. Except for maybe dance, which is not my cup of tea, despite Rennie’s charm and humour, that would take some extraordinary persuasion. I’m sure each evening depends on the guests involved but we had an uproarious time of laughs and confessions. Topics included food during sex, sex toys, the gay hankie code and an excellent legal drug to take while giving birth. None of this is surprising while Lisa-Skye is at the helm.

It’s a short run and I’d recommend you catch it while you can.

Lisa-Skye – Art Sex and Snacks
is on at 10.45 til Sept 24th
Tuxedo Cat

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/art-sex-and-snacks/

There is a Podcast of these shows available here:

http://artsexsnacks.podbean.com/

 

Rennie McDougall – Yes Dance (Deeply Superficial) [Dance]
Fringe Hub Warehouse
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/yes-dance/

 

Nell Kentish of Big One Little One – Confetti [ Live Art]
North Melbourne Town Hall
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/confetti/

 

Simon Morrison-Baldwin (Lady Diamond) – Corpse (Le Chevalier d’Eon and the Mystery of His Sex)
Butterfly Club [Caberet]
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/corps-e/

 

Hunter Smith – Apprentice Heterosexual [Comedy]
Tuxedo Cat

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/hunter-smith-apprentice-heterosexual/