Melbourne International Comedy Festival – Page 141

Picture This!

By Colin Flaherty

Live cartoons drawn alongside stand-up comedy is an intriguing concept. Add a lively host in Alexandra Elizabeth Howell, four brave guest comedians, Illustrator Hadley Donaldson, a guest scribbler (in this case Jason Chatfield, who has his own cartoon based show), a willing audience and toasted cheese sandwiches, and you have Picture This!

Lining up to have their words immortalised visually at this particular show were Luke McGregor, Michael Hing, Claire Hooper and Celia Pacquola. Apart from Michael (who is a multiple visitor to the Picture This! stage) they performed sets that I have come to know almost word for word from seeing them often at local rooms. I was dying to see what dimension the drawings would add to their material.

The illustrators used one of two methods to work with the comedian; they either drew a literal representation of the jokes or they would toy with the performer and add their own humour to the images. Both were entertaining in their own way.

The literal method resulted in a detailed picture that grew as the routine went along and, while not always adding laughs to the source material, was a feat to behold. It was amazing how rapidly the illustrator worked as the jokes went through their life cycle. After the punchline was reached, it would have to be sadly erased (I hope copies are saved!) to make way for the next joke.

A loose cannon approach tested the comedian’s improv skills as they were forced off the script. Some performers suggested additions to the drawings to which the cartoonist would oblige with amusing results. For the most part it was an exercise in trying to embarrass the comedian with suggestive doodles (ie. lots of penises).

This is a show of sensory overload. Focusing on the screen runs the risk missing any nuances of the comedian’s performance but the words aren’t really the main focus of this show. If you are familiar with ta particular comic’s material you can see where this set goes visually while keeping an ear open for any instances of a curve ball being dealt with. Many times the comedian was surprised by what had been made of their words but usually they were intrigued by the visual representation of themselves.

It was a fun event and certainly something different from your bog standard stand up show with tight five sets. It left some interesting memory imprints to go along with the jokes.

Picture This! is on at The Tuxedo Cat

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/picture-this

Dave O’Neil in 33 Things I Should Have Said NO To

By Caitlin Crowley

In 2013 Dave O’Neil’s looking back over his life and weighing up some of the decisions he’s made. Should he have caught that train? Should he have accepted that gig? Should he have eaten the hot dogs?

Tying the show together through this series of reflections works perfectly with O’Neil’s self-deprecating story-telling style. Every anecdote is recounted with warmth and humour, even when O’Neil is poking fun at himself he does it affectionately. O’Neil makes the whole thing look effortless and you get the sense that if he weren’t on a 50 minute time limit he could probably mine his life for another 50 regrets, as a result the show flies by.

I don’t know if O’Neil just attracts a good natured crowd, or if he creates that atmosphere through his own energy, but the result is that it feels like O’Neil is in a room chatting with a bunch of mates. He has such an easy relationship with his audience, employing them to help him out when required and bouncing off their energy. I’m probably sitting right in O’Neil’s demographic when it comes to age, background and stage of life but there was a bunch of teenagers in front of me who appeared to enjoy it just as much. Interestingly one was sporting a mullet and a sheepskin jacket, very early 80s Melbourne, which led O’Neil to wonder if this kid had been someone who beat him up as a teenager.

The venue is the upstairs bar at Hairy Little Sister and it’s a comfortable, convenient spot to catch a string of fine acts.

There’s a sense that O’Neil is glad he didn’t say ‘no’ to any of his experiences, that all those mistakes led him right to where he is now – happy and successful – but there’s no way he’d ever employ such mawkish sentiment. Dave O’Neil is damn fine company.

Dave O’Neil is at Hairy Little Sista
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/33-things-i-should-have-said-no-to-dave-o-neil-in

These Kids are Good.

By Lisa Clark

It’s great to see a show where you get a taste of several performers, to give you an idea of what they are like and hopefully encourage you to see their solo shows. This one is six regular comedians, plus a guest, who do around five minutes each. If one doesn’t appeal, it won’t be long before you’re checking out the next one.

The comedians appearing in this show have been handpicked by affable host Tom Ward, most famously best friend of Josh Thomas in real life as well as playing the part in the TV series ‘Please Like Me.’ Tom is getting a fine reputation of his own in comedy circles and has chosen the kind of comedian that he enjoys and is unsurprisingly closest to his own and Josh’s style. So we get a line-up of six youngish gen Y bespectacled and/or bearded, smart, slightly awkward, gentle charmers doing a modern brand of observational humour and getting away with the occasional filth. These are not ‘angry young men’ (or woman) shouting about what boils their blood, they’re more likely to be bemused or annoyed about stuff.

Some of the performers though unknown have been treading the boards for a while and are pretty solid standups including the laid back Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall, cheeky Jonathan Schuster and ever delightful Neil Sinclair. Then there is Nellie White who’s been living away from Melbourne, in the UK and Perth for the past six years. She’s someone I’ve always admired for being very left of centre, if a little nervous in her delivery. She’s doing some filthy gear and it’s nice to have her back on the scene.

It’s lovely to discover new faces too like tonight’s guest comedian John Campbell (he had a MICF show last year, but is new to me) reading his annoyed letter about public transport and the confident Andy Matthews who is currently doing a double act in the festival with Tony Besselink

I’ve seen several of these comedians performing elsewhere and they’ve been refreshing in the line up and often even killed the room, but all together, I felt they needed some sort of contrast to add more balance to the hour. Still, if this style of comedy is what really rocks your boat, it’s a great way to see some appealing up and comers who are pretty good at it.

These Kids are Good is on at The Imperial Hotel
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/these-kids-are-good

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

Pat Burtscher’s Breaking Even

By Cathy Culliver

Pat Burtscher doesn’t have any grand ambitions. As the title of his new show suggests, he’s just focused on breaking even and not losing any more of what he currently has.

And this mentality sums him up as a performer quite well too; he’s not flashy or self-important, he just gets up on stage and tells his jokes and stories. No gimmicks, no complex light and sound show (Burtscher freely admits he doesn’t even a tech guy because he can’t afford one).

But just because his approach to life and this particular show is simple, you shouldn’t think that the same goes for his abilities as a comedian. This guy knows his stuff.

The UK-based Canadian has some interesting and very funny ideas about life; what’s so great about them is that they seem so obvious and yet you never thought of them yourself, like the idea that people should have to earn their face. If you’re a good person, you get a nice face. And vice versa. So simple.

It’s also pretty clear that Burtscher doesn’t suffer idiots. Imagine my trepidation as he told the story of when he’d thrown a reviewer out of his show in Adelaide for being a heckling smart arse. That probably makes him sound like a bit of an arse himself, but he actually comes off as the good guy in the story; he just didn’t want the show being ruined for everyone else. So it turns out I was safe as long as I kept my mouth shut.

This is a simple, back-to-basics, gimmick-free show but it’s still a really fun way to spend 60 minutes. Burtscher is a genuinely funny man who will make you laugh at his unusual world view, but at the same time somehow make you eventually agree with everything he says.

Breaking Even is playing at Tuxedo Cat until April 21.
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/breaking-even-pat-burtscher-s

5 GOOD REASONS TO SEE CRAIG HILL, Angus Brown and 50 Shades of Gravey

CRAIG HILL – 5 GOOD REASONS TO COME TO MY SHOW JOCK’S TRAP

REASON NUMBER ONE
So you can say you’ve seen a dancing Scotsman in a red leather kilt with a spectacular entrance!

REASON NUMBER TWO
Every night’s a different show! So it’s fun to be there on the night something special happens…like when I found a man who was an ‘artificial pig insemanator’ or like last week when a lovely homely blow dried granny came out as lesbian and gobsmacked the audience!

REASON NUMBER THREE
I only come once a year! To Melbourne that is…

REASON NUMBER FOUR
It’s in The Famous Spiegeltent! Probably one of the loveliest venues you could play in. It’s got ‘Night Out’ written all over it!

REASON NUMBER FIVE
Because me and the audience have a riotous laugh together and I’d feel awful if you missed out! Come join us! Can’t wait!!!! X

Craig Hill will be performing at The Famous Spiegeltent at Arts Centre
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/jock-s-trap-craig-hill

5 Good Reasons To see Angus Brown – Mania

1 It’s at The Forum, which is seriously one of the greatest theatre’s in the world. And it’s in the Carpet room, so you know the show is going to be “plush”, so hot it “burns” and several other puns about carpet.
(*Note, there are no jokes about carpet in the show)

2 Erotic Murder, She Wrote fan fiction.

C I will give away a prize. Every night someone in the audience will win something and get to take it home! And it’s something good. And useful.

4 Climate change. There is a good chance that we’ll all be underwater in a few years and jokes will be less funny when the punch-line to everything it “blub blub blub” so you should come and see my show now while it’s still funny and dry.

5 It’s silly. And it’s fun. And it doesn’t hurt anybody. I just want us all to have a good time, we’ll tell some stories, have a few laughs and at there will be dancing and maybe confetti.

Anugus Brown will be performing in the Forum Theatre – Carpet Room
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/mania-angus-brown

5 good reasons to come and see “50 Shades of Gravey”!

1. It’s a rockin show

2. There are 2 puns used

3. It’s got a catchy name

4. We play instruments and sing (at the same time)

5. We like people coming to see us, it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy

50 Shades of Gravey is on at Word Warehouse

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/50-shades-of-gravey-gravey