Category: MICF 2013 News and Features

Winners of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Awards 2013

By Lisa Clark

What an amazing fabulous festival it has been.

As usual the winners of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Awards were announced on the final night at the Festival Club in the Hifi Bar. This year American UK resident Rich Hall was rewarded for his fifteenth show at the festival in Melbourne. We give our heartiest congratulations to all the winners (as well as all the nominees. how do they choose between them?)

The Full List of Award winners is below.

Funny Tonne Award – Nick Taras who saw 147 shows

The Golden Gibbo – Simon Keck for Nob Happy Sock

highly commended by The Golden Gibbo – Standard Double by Kate Mclennan and Wes Snelling

The Piece of Wood – David Quirk – Shaking Hands with Danger

Directors Choice Award – Mel Buttle – How Embarrassment

People’s Choice is Arj Barker – Go Time

Best Newcomer – Luke McGregor – My Soulmate is Out of My League

Barry Award – Rich Hall.

Given out previously…

RAW Comedy – Demi Lardner

Class Clowns competition –  James Warren

 

Class Clown Winners

The Class Clowns competition was held today with hosts Matt Okine and DeAnne Smith and special feature act the Pajama Men.

There were contestants from all over Australia and the winner was Tasmanian James Warren. James wins $2,000! Well $1,000 for himself and $1,000 for his school.

The runners up were Lachie Clark (VIC), Emma Hogan (SA), Sam Perry (NT). Our heartiest congratulations to all who took part and we look forward to your future Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows!

Squirrels Top 5 Picks of the Festival

Well the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival is winding down this weekend.

We no longer hand out awards, because it is just too difficult for us to see everything, or even see the same shows as each other. Instead most of the Squirrels have picked their Top 5 shows. If they are still running we recommend that you might like to see some of them this weekend. It was really hard to narrow it down to only five.

Of course the festival isn’t over yet and we may see something that changes our list but we wanted to put this up before the festival was over so you could gain from our recommendations.

You’ll notice a few of the names crop up more than once. Some sold out shows are putting on extra performances in the final weekend like the play Choir Girl that had finished its run of three performances, but has added one on Sunday afternoon.

Check out the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website for details and keep festivalling ’til you drop!!

Lisa Clark 

Hannah Gadsby – Happiness is a Bedside Table

Dave Bloustien – The Grand Gignol

The Writers

Luke McGregor – My Soulmate is Out of My League

Sammy J – Potentially

 

Caitlin Crowley

Luke McGregor – My Soulmate is Out of My League

Hannah Gadsby – Happiness is a Bedside Table

Michael Workman – Ave Loretta

Best Comics Worst Gigs

Dave O’Neil – 33 Things I Should Have Said No To

 

 

Cathy Culliver 

Dayne Rathbone – It’s Me Dayne

Luke McGregor – My Soulmate is Out of My League

Simon Keck – Nob Happy Sock

Dr Professor Neal Portenza

Ryan Coffey – Late & Loud

 

Colin Flaherty 

Fabian Lapham & The Actual Musicans:God Fights the Dinosaurs & 9 Other Stories That Will Awesome You in the Face.

Simon Keck – Nob Happy Sock

Set List

Choir Girl – Sarah Collins

David Quirk – Shaking Hands with danger

 

Elyce Phillips 

Lessons with Luis – Famoucity!

Lords of Luxury

Sam Simmons – Shitty Trivia

Lawrence Leung’s Part-time Detective Agency

Mike Birbiglia – My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend

 

Luke Simmons 

Khaled Khalafalla – Devious

Brendon Walsh

Bev Killick – Goes “There”…Again

Daniel Connell – Mr Personality 1988

Trevor Noah – The Racist

 

2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival finishes on Sunday 21st of April

MICF Award Nominees Announced

There are seven Nomineed shows for The Barry Award this year.

Hannah Gadsby who is doing two shows – her personal show about surviving her teen years and becoming an adult – Happiness is a Bedside Table and her art show which this year is called Nakedly Nudes and is becoming a bit of a tradition and sells out pretty quickly.

John Conway – The New John Conway Tonight Show. An anarchic crazy late night chat show.

Kitty Flanagan, for Hello Kitty Flanagan. A stunning performer who came back to Australia from the UK a couple of years ago for which are all immensely grateful.

Max & Ivan Are Con Artists –  British performers who’ve been getting some good reviews. (I’ve clearly not seen them)

Michael Workman with another magical lyrical story Ave Lorretta.

Rich Hall he’s so fabulous his show doesn’t need a name. He kicked ass at Political Asylum’s Late Night Riot too.

Trevor Noah The Racist. He’s South African and have heard fabulous things about him.

 

Now for this year’s Nominees for The Golden Gibbo! (Named in honour of the late Melbourne comedian Lynda Gibson it is awarded to “a local, independent show that bucks trends and pursues the artist’s idea more strongly than it pursues any commercial lure”.)

Kate McLennan & Wes Snelling for their Moosehead awarded, site specific work Standard Double. A character  based show set in a hotel room that can only hold a small audience.

Simon Keck – Nob Happy Sock – For his moving and amazing show about depression with the most heart stopping opening of the festival

Slutmonster and Friends (Jessie Ngaio, Lucas Heil & Wes Gardner) – a gorgeously designed, joyful celebration of sex, silliness and puppets.

Tommy Bradson – Sweet Sixteen or the Birthday Party Massacre. Rock Musical satire of suburbia.

The Writers (Bob Franklin, Stephen Curry and Stephen Stagg) – What goes on in the mind of Bob Franklin?

 

The Best Newcomer nominees were announced on Tuesday April 16th they are….

Damien Power – Monkey’s in Space

Dayne Rathbone – It’s Me Dayne and The New Conway Tonight Show.

Luke McGregor – My Soulmate is Out of My League

and Steen Raskopoulos – Bruce SpringSTEEN LIVE IN CONCERT!


Congrats to all the 2013 Nominees, Winners will be announced next Saturday April 20th (well… actually early Sunday morning)  at the Comedy Festival Club Hifi Bar

Yianni – Numb & Number

Since relocating several years ago, Yianni has been kicking goals in the UK comedy scene. At last years Edinburgh Fringe he presented the show Numb & Number which had a hilarious YouTube promo video:

Yianni is currently in Melbourne & has been popping up as a guest on various MICF shows. While here Yianni will be treating us to a one off performance of his fabulous solo show about being diagnosed as mildly autistic at 33 years of age. We saw it in Edinburgh and can thoroughly recommend it.  

Numb & Number will be on this coming Monday 15th of April at Ding Dong Lounge (18 Market Lane, Melbourne).

The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $25 full / $20 concession (available at the door).

I Love Green Guide Letters Live.

Last Saturday, Steele Saunders kicked off his run of Live “I Love Green Guide Letter” podcasts at the Melbourne Town Hall.
Special guests Tony Martin, Sam Pang and Tom Ballard helped Steele discuss letters about Digital TV, netball, Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me, Formula 1 advertising, Peter Mitchell’s Melbourne and The Biggest Looser.

Check out the shorter sizzle video below for a taste of what went down, and grab the entire episode from iTunes or direct from here.

The Green Guide Letters live show will continue throughout the comedy festival with more special surprise guests.
Grab your tickets here http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/with-steele-saunders-i-love-green-guide-letters