We're Nuts About Australian Comedy
5 Good Reasons to see Victoria Healy – Get In Line
1. I’m a babe.
2. I’m funny.
3. I’m friendly.
4. I’m available.
5. This is not some ruse to find a date.
Get in Line is on at The Imperial Hotel
For information and tickets see the MICF Website: http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/get-in-line-victoria-healy
By Noel Kelso
The Imperial Hotel is a hub for Melbourne comedians throughout the year and one of the regular comedy nights is We ♥ Comedy. Compered by the witty and acerbic Victoria Healy this is a showcase of the finest talents in Melbourne stand-up, improve and sketch, and provides laughs to the people of the city year-round.
Comics such as Celia Pacquola and Simon Keck have performed there in the past along with sketch duo Girls Uninterrupted and king of improv Jimmy James Eaton. The Melbourne International Comedy Festival allows the room to showcase a diverse range of acts which may not otherwise be available to them at other times of the year. Thus it was that last night the line-up consisted of improv from Rebecca de Unamuno, stand-up from Bart Freebairn and sketch comedy from The Lords Of Luxury.
De Unamuno began her set with some very funny gags related to dating and how she believes that some people just stay in relationships for far too long before interacting with the audience to discover how they have fared in love. Latching onto one couple in the front row she asks them a series of questions about their relationship and how they see one another before launching into an improvised and hilarious Shakespearean sketch based around the information she has just been given. This is a skilled improvisational comedian able to adapt to her situation and still bring forth strong laughs from the audience.
Second on that night’s bill was comic Bart Freebairn whose delightfully whimsical delivery style is easy to engage with as he talks about wanting to be a dinosaur when he was a child, dreams, scallops and universal knowledge. The very fact that he can say any of this and not leave the audience confused, but laughing loudly is testament to his comic timing and delivery.
The last act on the bill were Lords Of Luxury whose sketch comedy was hilarious and strange with ad libs from various team members added an element of anarchy to the proceedings. Their sketches about one of the members being dumped by his girlfriend and the predicament faced by a Private Investigator held captive by the Mob were inventive and funny and kept the audience laughing throughout. There was a sequence involving a water pistol which dragged on for far too long, yet just became funnier and funnier with each passing second. These are comics who know how to play a room and can milk every last line for maximum laughter.
As a host, Healy is a total pro, warming her audience up for the acts with her charm and delivering laughs with practised ease.
We ♥ Comedy is on at the Imperial Hotel until April 8
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/we-comedy-victoria-healy-presents
1. It’s a show about my love of board games and playing board games with friends. I’ve played a heap of them over the years, and have managed to find the most interesting, unique, and fun games and will bring them to the stage for some great gameplay.
2. Cool kids can’t stay away from a Slumber Party. Each edition has four special guests – comedians, musicians, artists and more competing for your love – but more importantly to say they are the Slumber Party Board Game Champion!
3. But those guests aren’t just playing for themselves – they could be playing for YOU! Each of the guests is playing for a member of the audience, with the winning audience member getting a board game of their own to take home.
4. The show is the perfect night-cap for a Friday night at the Fringe. Spend some time at the Imperial seeing Neil Sinclair, Victoria Healy, or Simon Taylor; then finish the night off with a Slumber Party!
5. It’s free. Board games, awesome guests, the chance to win a prize, and it doesn’t cost you a cent. Get your friends together and make a night of it.
The Late Night Board Game Slumber Party with Mike Brown and Friends is on Friday September 27 and Friday September 4, 11pm at the Imperial Hotel.
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/the-late-night-board-game-slumber-party/
5 Good Reasons to see Victoria Healy Presents We ♥ Comedy:
1.
The Variety
Each night three 15 minute spots of impro, stand up and sketch comedy.
2.
The Big Names
Jimmy James Eaton, Claire Hooper, Luke McGregor, Girls Interrupted, Lessons With Luis, Geraldine Hickey, Simon Keck plus loads more!
3.
The Cheap Tix
Only $13 presale. $10 on the door
4.
The Hostess
Oh stop it guys….shucks.
5.
The Venue
The Imperial is the home of comedy at Melbourne Fringe. Cheap drinks for any ticket holders and participants.
Cheap Drinks? Surely you only need ONE good reason! This should be a great way to get a taste of some really fabulous performers who are doing Melbourne Fringe this year and a lovely way to cap off a night at the Fringe.
We ♥ Comedy is on at The Imperial at 10.15 Tue-Thurs
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/victoria-healy-presents-we-comedy/
Five Reasons to visit The Imperial during Melbourne Fringe
ONE) The Imperial will be hosting 19 fringe shows this year! All comedy!
3 LITTLE GIGS
OUR LITTLE STORIES
XANDER ALLAN – GLAM
SIMON TAYLOR – FUNNY
LOVE, FACTUALLY WITH TOM LANG
NELLIE WHITE IS THE SHITTY CARER
NEIL SINCLAIR ‘CHARMINGLY USELESS’
VICTORIA HEALY PRESENTS WE ♥ COMEDY
MURPHY MCLACHLAN HAS TWO LAST NAMES
SONIA DI IORIO – DON’T KISS THE WEIRD GIRL
THE LATE NIGHT BOARD GAME SLUMBER PARTY WITH MIKE BROWN AND FRIENDS
SOME NUTTER’S DONE A RUNNER WITH CRAIG MCLEOD AND DOUG GORDON
THE HAPPIEST BOWERBIRD AND OTHER STORIES BY JONATHAN SCHUSTER
SITCOM THEME SONG SINGALONG (AND TRIVIA) WITH BERT GOLDSMITH
PEOPLE CRYING ‘ADAM KNOX’ AS THEY LEAP FROM PLANES
ROLAND HOFFMANN – EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT
BEING A WHEEL FAMILY. MEET THE MCGERES
BEAU STEGMANN: HERE’S LOOKING AT ME…
COME HECKLE JESUS
TWO) We have a lot of shows on every night. You can show up, and know something will be on. In fact, we only have two nights off for the whole festival (the first two Saturdays). We have shows starting on the hour, and we’ll have some discount drinks cards around for anyone who wants to come and hang out in between shows. We’re a comedy hub!
THREE) Whether you want to sing along to sit com themesongs, or shout abuse at Jesus Christ, we have a show for every taste! We also have a lot with zero audience participation, if the singing and heckling isn’t your style. The Imperial is a great place to take a punt on a new show. Our volunteers on the door can tell you all about the shows, and make recommendations based on your tastes. Sketch, poetry, standup, impro, storytelling, and whatever else you can think of.
FOUR) We are very generous. Head to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/impycomedy) where we will be giving away tix and keeping everyone up to date on deals, whether tickets will be available on the door and of course, instagramming the hell out of the whole thing.
FIVE) The Imperial is a great place to observe comics in their natural habitat. Stick around after the show, have a beer with these kids, and you’ll be fast friends. Buy the beer, and you’ll have a friend for life.
The Imperial is one of the main Fringe Festival venues in Melbourne’s CBD at the corner of Bourke and Spring streets right near Parliament Station.
Find out more at The Imperial Website
by Lisa Clark
Not a Lot of People Know That is a new comedy panel show coming to Channel 31 on Thursday night at 10pm and will be on for six weeks. This takes the show through the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but smartly they have pre- recorded it, because just about everyone involved will be performing in a show. We realise that everyone has their minds on the Festival at the moment, but it’s nice to rewind at home occasionally in front of the TV, so this show could be a relaxing way to keep you in the Festival mood.
Three of the performers were lovely enough to give us an idea of what to expect.
N: Neil Sinclair
V: Victoria Healy
A: Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall
Tell me about the people involved, was it someone’s project or a collaborative effort?
N: Luke McGregor played all the parts.
A: And it turns out in the final episode Luke was played by 75 different people.
(All laugh)
N: It was very much a collaborative effort.
A: Neil Sinclair, Emma Sharp and Andy Matthews got this project up and running.
V: Alasdair became interested in this show when he realised he could just turn up and fail.
N: And I got Vic on board by accident because I just cruised around the St Kilda streets for hours asking anyone on the footpath but they all asked for money, but Vic said she’d give it away for free.
How long have you been working on it?
V: Yonkers
A: The idea germinated about 8 months ago
N: Yeah, The drunken conversation I had with Emma happened about 8 months ago.
V: We started writing in August 2012
How do you get a show up at Channel 31 anyway?
N: With practice, or is that Carnegie Hall?
V: Or ask Lessons with Luis. They are a great example of Channel 31 success.
N: Bully Emma Sharp into doing it. She’s a great producer.
A: Go through the Channel 31 protocol as found on their website
V: That’s very practical, Al. Are you a Virgo?
A: No I’m a Logician – a person who studies logic
Are you frustrated that commercial TV doesn’t want to give these types of shows more space?
N: Don’t they? This would be a really cheap show for them to make. I wouldn’t cost much at all.
A: I think they do, we just need to show them how good community produced shows can be.
How does this differ from other trivia panel shows?
V: I think it’s different because we are showcasing local comedy talent. We’ve had Michelle Nussey, Sam Petersen, Xander Allen, Rob Hunter, Hayman Kent and Luke McGregor on the show, just to name a few.
A: And we’ve also introduced people to other amazing talent in Melbourne – stunt women, a local politician, and writers.
N: And it’s funny.
How many episodes are there?
N: Six in this first season
V: But there will be more. A second season is in talks. High level talks. The UN might be involved.
Are you relieved the episodes are all pre-recorded before the series goes to air so you can relax and concentrate on your own live MICF shows?
N: Yeah, my show Neil Sinclair: Phoney is a lot of work.
V: He’s lying! I can tell! He taught me how to lie in his show about how to like. He’s saying this while he’s touching his anatomy. I know this because I am well aware in what an anatomy looks like cos I’m doing a show about the anatomy called Victoria Healy’s Anatomy.
A: And I’m going to try hard to work my show into this question. My show is called Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall in Trying Hard
I hear you had to re-record some of the episodes, tell me how that came about?
N: Some git stole our hard-drive
How was the re-recording experience?
V: Great, it made the show better
A: Once I knew the answers to the questions, it made it even more difficult to get them wrong the second time round.
Is this show just an elaborate promo clip for your Festival shows?
A: This show is completely unrelated to Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall Trying Hard and has nothing to do with promoting his comedy fest show at the Forum 9:45pm (everyday except Monday).
N: No, it’s a calling card for our writing skills and our ability to make a professional panel show on a small budget.
V: It’s not a promo because we can’t mention our shows on the program, that’s community TV for ya! Everything has to be non-commercial. I should’ve just told them that no one makes a profit from an MICF show.
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT, PREMIERES 10PM THURSDAY 28TH OF MARCH ON CHANNEL 31.
