Reviews – Page 113 – Squirrel Comedy

Dr Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown and his Singing Tiger… Again!

By Elyce Phillips

Dr Brown (Phil Burgers) and his Singing Tiger (Stuart Bowden) are going on an adventure! They are, however, woefully unprepared and are going to need all the help they can get to prepare for their journey. Luckily, they have a whole audience of eager kids and their somewhat-less-eager adults to give them a hand. The adventure may not go exactly as planned, but it’s a whole lot of fun, incredibly silly and contains just enough danger to make things interesting.

The show is an hour of unmitigated chaos. After a quiet beginning, it didn’t take long for the kids to get comfortable with the idea that they had permission to be a bit naughty. They threw themselves wholeheartedly into the participation segments, sometimes taking things a bit too far and needing to be collected from the stage by their adults or swept back in the direction of their seats by some wonderful and patient Arts Centre staff. If there is one image that will be burned into my brain from this show, it will be Burgers and Bowden looking just a little scared as they were surrounded by a swarm of rogue children. It filled my heart with joy.

Burgers and Bowden are a perfect team. Dr Brown gets the kids riled up without saying a word. His cheeky acts of mayhem and general cluelessness are incredibly endearing. Bowden’s Singing Tiger gently keeps things on track with his adorable songs and calm reminders that maybe we shouldn’t copy everything Dr Brown does as he is a terrible, terrible role model. Beneath all the pandemonium, this show has a lot of heart, and there are some beautiful lessons about the wonders of adventure and learning – very cleverly elicited from the kids themselves. Of course, as they did on the day I attended, the kids can also deliver some less beautiful truths, like telling Burgers and Bowden to their faces that they are annoying “just because”.

Dr Brown and his Singing Tiger is an anarchic delight for the little ones, and as an adult who’s not quite ready to be a grown-up yet, I loved it too. Take your kids, borrow someone’s kids, or pretend to be a kid and have some fun.

Dr Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown and his Singer Tiger is on at the Fairfax Studio at the Arts Centre until April 5

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/and-his-singing-tiger-again-dr-brown-brown-brown-brown-brown

Max and Ivan – The End

By Hannah Frazer

This quick witted duo Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez are simply put, masters of Sketch narrative. They take you through the lives of some of the more peculiar members of the small British town of Sudley-on-Sea. We arrive in Sudley on its darkest day yet, its nuclear power plant is about to cause permanent destruction to the town and whoever remains in it. Who will be left behind and who will survive?

Max and Ivan’s ability to shape shift between several different characters is something quite remarkable. The End is such a fast paced show, that between laughs you are left in awe sitting and wondering, how on earth are they doing this? Such detailed intertwining stories, one slip up and things could so easily unravel. But they don’t! Ivan’s failed attempt at whistling is as much ‘error’ that occurs.

Fast becoming audience favourites at the festival over the past few years, it is not hard to see why people keep coming back for more. They are not only talented comedians, but extraordinary story tellers. They have a great ability to create an unbelievably believable world, where no one questions or blinks when they jump seamlessly from one character to another. These two brits are wild, crazy and uninhibited but also bring relatability and likability to some unusual and generally unlikable characters. Unpredictable, as the story reaches its crescendo, the anticipation to see what is going to happen to all these characters intensifies. If you take a moment to check you will realise you are literally on the edge of your seat.

Even with such a careful and well-crafted script Max and Ivan like to allow room for them to be challenged, by bringing an unsuspecting audience member into the mix each night. This allows them a little more room to play, but also adding space for some fresh laughs and excitement for them as well each night.
You leave with not much else to say other than..wow! You may just need to go grab a post-show drink and de brief.

Max and Ivan – The End is on at Victoria Hotel

For information and bookings go to the MICF website:

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/the-end-max-ivan

Tessa Waters – Womanz

By Lisa Clark

Tessa Waters is a stunning physical performer, I have previously loved her in her debut solo Comedy Festival show How to Be a Lady (2010) and in the impressive Sexytime (2011) with Kai Smythe, a celebration of sex which I raved about to anyone who’d listen. She’s been honing her skills while living in the UK and her clowning/dance solo show Womanz has won her acclaim and many awards including best Comedy at Melbourne Fringe. I could not have been more excited to see her triumphant return to Australia, but unfortunately I found it a bit too patchy.

Womanz has an incredibly strong opening with an over the top Creation Story that gives a back story to Tessa’s character she calls Womanz. It was a pity that Tessa’s self-described “Dance Spectacular” couldn’t stay at this level of awesomeness throughout. There seemed to be an enormous amount of faffing about. This began after the intro when she started moving the audience about into different seats. I ended up in a more uncomfortable spot squashed against a cold wall with poor sightlines and was so stressed it took quite a while for me to get my mind back on the show.

There also seems to be way too much time between the major dance set pieces where she just stalked the stage staring at the audience saying ‘what’s happening’. Her charming, forceful personality could only push this so far before it became a bit dull. ‘Are you Bored?’ she asked me. She’d noticed. It was impossible for me to be honest but now I can say, actually I was a bit. She worked hard to win me back and did to a point, because I genuinely like and admire her talent, but the show itself just did not have that special something that I’d hoped for and, considering all the awards & hype, had kind of expected.

This could have been a really hilarious exploration of being a brave brassy woman and most of her dance numbers went close to this but instead it was a handful of often very funny dance numbers with a lot of empty space in between. It could be that Tessa having an off night, but some sort of script that suited her well thought-out dance numbers would’ve made things whizz by a bit more smoothly. The show led up to a dance class where she got all the audience on their feet and learning some classic moves. Audience members were encouraged to share their own moves with us and Tessa took us through an enjoyable dance class which everyone could approach at their own level. Encouragement without any pressure was appreciated and it was a lot of fun.

If you are up for a gorgeous woman in a splendiferous spangled corset sharing the joy of her body of work with you this could be a great night out. With a touch more work this would be great show to take a group of girlfriends and some glasses of bubbly to. A comical celebration of dance and womanhood with sparkle and spice. Just let the worries of the weekend go and give in to the rhythm.

Tessa Waters – Womanz is on at Melbourne Town Hall in the Lunchroom.

For bookings and information see the MICF website:

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/womanz-tessa-waters

Cal Wilson Undercurrents

By Lisa Clark

While I always encourage punters to go see new and unknown performers, it’s always a joy to relax and put your money on a sure thing. You can’t really go wrong with Cal Wilson.

Last year Cal did a theatrical character based show that was one of my favourites of 2014, this year she’s doing straight standup. When I say straight some of it is slightly twisted and occasionally raunchy but Cal is so damned perky & cute she can just about get away with anything.

Cal tackles all of the topics you should avoid in polite conversation, politics, religion, death and sex. She also asks the audience to participate. She starts off asking the audience for creative Australian colloquial sayings and goes on to invite the audience to tell her new positive ways of saying vagina. She is not judgmental and welcomes each contribution with grace and good will.

I’ve been enjoying her character the sexually repressed Adele at The Shelf but it’s lovely to see Cal breaking out as her energetic bunny self, just putting on a damn fine standup show. Cal does observational and short form story standup. She’s smart, cheerful and brilliant at making her life into accessible and timeless humorous routines.

There’s a whole generation of experienced comedians having kids and starting to write material about their new families, Cal is no different, but if kids turn you off the tales are genuinely hilarious and not the main topic of her show. Unlike a lot of married comedians who complain about their spouses Cal encourages us to sympathise with her other half who has to put up with her own childish behaviour. He seems to have 2 kids to put up with.

Luckily for us Cal Wilson’s cheeky side is perfect comedy fodder for her show Undercurrents. The title never really makes much of an appearance, it was obviously one of those names that went on the Festival application before the show was conceived, but hey who needs a theme when you’re putting on entrancing entertainment and are completely adorable.

Undercurrents is on at The Swiss Club until April 19
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/undercurrents-cal-wilson

Dr. Pam Rana & Tom Lang : Meatbags

By Colin Flaherty

With a show about the human body they couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate venue than the Science Lab themed bar The Croft Institute. Taking us around the human body, Dr Pam Rana (an actual qualified medical doctor!) and Tom Lang (not a doctor!) described the various systems that make us tick. Through interesting facts, bizarre anecdotes and hilariously graphic analogies, we were educated as well as entertained.

This comedic lecture was an informal affair that almost belied the strong scientific basis of the show, making it clearly aimed at the lay-person not just the science geek. The crudely drawn PowerPoint slides added a home-made aesthetic and reinforced the light-hearted nature of the show.

There were a few eye opening tales of surgery and research that were in the ‘strange but true’ basket and plenty of bodily facts described using various pop culture references. Only a couple were cringe inducing so the squeamish needn’t be took worried. Puns were used at every available instance, some were impressive while others were suitably corny.

Rana was a ball of energy and came across as a cheeky child rather than a respectable doctor. Her onstage persona regularly got overexcited which forced Lang to rein her in.

Meanwhile Lang is a science communicator who has presented a number of comedy shows based on science. He acted as a sort of slightly reserved counterpoint to Rana but participated in a lot of the wackiness.

The pair worked well together on stage, bouncing off one another effortlessly. Interestingly all the heavy lifting of explaining the science wasn’t left to Rana, she and Lang alternated setting up jokes with facts while the other drove the punchline home. They introduced a sprinkle of mild comedic tension to add some spice but overall it was a breezy atmosphere.

If you are willing to navigate the alleyways of Melbourne, it’s worth taking a trip to the Croft Institute to see a brilliant show that’s informative and hilarious.

Meatbags is on at The Croft Institute until April 4.
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/meatbags-dr-pam-rana-tom-lang

Laura Davis – Ghost Machine

By Elyce Phillips

After the success of last year’s ‘Pillow of Strength’, Laura Davis is back at MICF with her new show ‘Ghost Machine’. Appearing before the audience as a ghost, Davis tackles the big questions surrounding our existence – What are we made of? How real are our feelings? What is the point of it all anyway? It’s the funniest existential crisis you’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.

In a way, it’s tough material to make comedy from. Questioning your own existence doesn’t tend to be a barrel of laughs. And yet, it’s such a quiet, secretive thing that most of us do, to discuss it in the loud, blunt way that Davis does highlights the absurdity of so much that is deep and scary in this world. We are all ridiculous creatures, dealing with the unknowable in our own imperfect, stupid ways.

Davis isn’t afraid to get personal with the audience. She shares stories about her childhood, her menial day job and her regrets, and invites the audience to do the same, applying her sharp wit to make comedy of our own sadnesses and terrible decisions. The show is raw, but this makes it feel more intimate and honest. It’s that honesty that makes Davis’ work so hilarious. She holds nothing back in her performance and it makes you want to reciprocate that openness by sending back laughter and joy into the terrifying void she speaks of.

‘Ghost Machine’ is introspective, but not self-pitying. Sad, but not despairing. It’s loose enough to draw your own conclusions from, or leave you questioning whether there are even any conclusions to be drawn. You’ll certainly be thinking about Davis’ words long after the show has ended. When I left, I felt like I needed a support group to help process all the thoughts and feelings it brought up, but in the absence of that, I feel like the next best thing would be to go and see the show a second time.

Laura Davis – Ghost Machine is on at Fort Delta until April 19
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/ghost-machine-laura-davis