Melbourne International Comedy Festival – Page 150

MIKE BIRBIGLIA : MY GIRLFRIEND’S BOYFRIEND

By Elyce Phillips

US comedian Mike Birbiglia is renowned for his storytelling prowess, and not without reason. The man is a master. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend is a long, winding tale about Birbiglia’s romantic past and his opposition to the institution of marriage. From his painfully awkward first date to almighty blues with his girlfriend about nothing, the show is bittersweet, honest and hilarious.

Those who listen to ‘This American Life’ might be familiar with parts of the show, like the tale of Bibiglia being involved in a hit and run in LA, but the stories are in no way diminished upon second hearing. It’s an absolute joy watching a performer who’s so in control of their craft. The audience was enthralled. You could hear the collective wincing as Birbiglia talked of the red flags he should have seen with his high school girlfriend – to which Birbiglia responded by simply taking a moment to say, “I know.”

And yet, for all its cynicism, ‘My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’ is incredibly uplifting. At its heart, this is a love story – one that is probably more relatable than anything you’d see in a romcom. By way of vomit, terrible kisses and car crashes, we arrive at deeper truths about love and relationships.

My Girlfriend’s Boyrfriend is a show that has clearly been honed over years of performance. The tone is sweet, but never schmaltzy, self-depreciating, but never defeated. It may be a monologue, but the delivery is so relaxed it never feels like you’re being lectured to. There’s not a line out of place, the pacing is spot on and Birbiglia is completely at ease up on the stage.

If you haven’t seen Mike Birbiglia perform before, do yourself a favour and check this one out. It’s an absolutely stunning show.

Mike Birbiglia – My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend is on at the Fairfax Studio at the Arts Centre until April 4.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/my-girlfriend-s-boyfriend-mike-birbiglia

Shane Dundas – Believe

By Elyce Phillip

You’ll know Shane Dundas from The Umbilical Brothers – those great stalwarts of the Aussie comedy scene. He’s the one that makes the noises. But he doesn’t do that anymore. He’s not in for that kind of thing. Definitely not. Well, maybe sometimes.

‘Believe’ is Dundas’ first foray into stand-up and his first time going solo. The show is part auto-biography, part discussion of bigger themes concerned with the concept of belief – religion, science, large congregations of chickens – and above all, it’s about believing in yourself. This is a big leap into the unknown for Dundas, something that he refers to throughout the show. It has got to be nerve-wracking making the shift from a successful duo to standing alone in a small room in front of a bunch of people, and it’s really admirable to see Dundas take the risk and try something new.

‘Believe’ is still a little shaky on its feet. Some gags didn’t hit the mark and ran overly long, and in those moments, you could feel the audience getting a little tense and restless. A chunk in the middle of the show involving some questionable accents was cringe-worthy and though it eventually paid-off, it wasn’t worth the extended discomfort. It feels like this is a show that sticks too rigidly to the script. Even if a joke doesn’t land, Dundas persists with it to the very end. There’s no flexibility, no room to adapt to the audience.

But there’s a lot that’s great about this show. Dundas’ strength is that he’s a really engaging performer. When the material is good, he’s absolutely delightful. His stories about growing up in Canberra are wonderfully silly and a little dark and the bizarre ending ensured the audience left giggling and confused.

Dundas certainly has a knack for stand-up and it’s a good effort for a first attempt at the form. With a few tweaks here and there, ‘Believe’ has the potential to be fantastic. It’s just not quite there yet.

Shane Dundas – Believe is on at The Gold Room at the Portland Hotel until April 21

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/believe-shane-dundas

Dave Bloustien’s Grand Guignol

By Lisa Clark

This is an awesome show by master story teller comedian Dave Bloustien. I’ve been enjoying watching his comedic talents grow and improve over the years and have never been disappointed. Dave has been working on The Grand Guignol for some time and all his toils and dragging puppet booths through airports have paid off.

The hour is made of of several tales, all tinged with horror which often comes as a surprise, even though you know it’s how the show is promoted and the house music is made up of great boppy horror classics by The Cramps and The Damned. We are willingly led with humour into dark places by some delightfully demented characters, such as the be-fezed Professor Mahmoud of the Cairo Museum telling the Tale of Tutankhamen’s penis and creepy door to door beat poet Tupperware Jack.

Dave also appears as himself giving the audience a short chance to relax with his own personable style of stand up, explaining how the title and content were inspired by an alternative theatre of early 20^th century Paris which was a sort of extreme Punch and Judy with more realistic effects. Thus we are also treated to a gorgeous puppet show framing the stories, using both shadow puppets and hand puppets designed by Henson-trained Lana Schwarcz. These are not the sort of puppets for children, but I think teenagers would love this show.

The Grand Guignol is an impressively planned and cunningly crafted production. The hour flew by with the audience shrieking with laughter and gasping with horror throughout. The narratives, moving from warm and amusing to often surprise horror twists, occasionally reminded me of the style of many modern Dr Who stories. There are so many surprises that I don’t want to spoil. I just recommend that you go along and find out for yourself.

If Dave Bloustien ever has to fight in court again to prove he is funny (see his previous show The Social Contract) – a taste of The Grand Guinol should win his court case effortlessly.

Grand Guignol is on at Trades Hall til April 7

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/grand-guignol-dave-bloustien-s

David Quirk – Shaking Hands with danger

By Colin Flaherty

David Quirk has been the critical darling of the festival for several years now and unfortunately I have repeatedly dismissed the hype. For a long time I have seen him plugging away in rooms where he has stood out like dog’s balls amongst the tight fives of others, but his delivery didn’t quite do it for me. In extended storytelling mode however, he is a force to be reckoned with.

In addition to his uncanny ability to keep an audience glued to his words for an hour there are other elements to this performance that add a completely new dimension to his act. A segment of energetic physicality is a dramatic contrast to his usual rather static and reserved stage persona. A solid yet lightweight routine of old is given a considerable reworking to give it detail and gravitas while adding even more laughs.

With his show Shaking Hands With Danger, David takes us on a journey through a five year relationship (complete with a dangerous indiscretion) adding a secondary and equally important story of his relationship with the band Guns’N’Roses. It is a tale in which many can relate to varying degrees but is given the fascinating and humorous dimension of Quirk’s slightly naïve yet blunt world view. He keeps the audience enthralled through every step, and every aside is entwined firmly into the narrative.

David paints vivid pictures by going into excessive but amusing detail and using colourful turns of phrase. His descriptors are highly inventive and sometimes grotesque and confronting. The deliberate phrasing gives the performance a contemplative atmosphere while adding the theatrics of a man struggling to articulate this emotional tale. Add to this some snippets of his infamous dark material and you have an accessible show that is a little challenging.

This is a beautifully constructed and hilarious piece that is sure to garner much more acclaim. Bravo Mr Quirk, Bravo!

David Quirk is on at the Melbourne Town Hall.
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/shaking-hands-with-danger-david-quirk

Ruby Wax – Out of Her Mind

By Lisa Clark

Ruby Wax was one of the new Wave of lady comedians in Britain in the 1980s. These included women she worked with like Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Tracey Ullman as well as Victoria Wood and Jo Brand. When you hear people today saying things like ‘I don’t like female comedians’ it makes you realise how hard it must have been for these mavericks. She stood out as the loud American in the UK scene with her work mostly being on television in her interview shows such as Don’t Miss Wax and Ruby Wax Meets….

Ruby Wax was probably my least favourite of the pack, she was more of an actress than a stand up performer and her ‘obnoxious American’ persona, was just a bit too obnoxious for me. So I wondered why I was there at The Forum and what I would make of this show. I didn’t come because I expected to hear about what it was like to be a female comedic performer of the 1980s but it is strange that this autobiographical show doesn’t touch on her performing. At all.

The first third of her show was packed with humorous stories of growing up, trying to fit in at school and then in the UK and getting married, having kids and having a nervous breakdown. The second third concentrated on mental illness, her time in mental institutions and was grounded in an education that includes a degree in psychology from Berkley and more recently she graduated with a Master’s Degree in mindfulness based cognitive therapy at Oxford University. So it’s not surprising that some of her show became a bit like a comic uni lecture with butcher-paper diagrams and a model of a brain that she brought out on a trolley while dressed in a white coat. The final third of the show took place after a short interval where she took questions from the crowd. One of them tried to ask if her work in comedy was connected to her mental illness in any way but she brushed it off suggesting that her job was no different to her than a plumber or dentist.

Ruby was very funny, intelligent and a compelling storyteller. She created a beautifully written and structured show that despite getting a bit less funny in the serious bits, never forgot it was a comedy show. She didn’t have all the answers for the Q & A at the end but handled it with the expertise and humour that she’s famous for.

Ruby’s on at the Forum til April 5, except for Monday when she’s at Melbourne Town Hall

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/out-of-her-mind-ruby-wax

Dan Willis – Control, Alt, Delete

By Colin Flaherty

A frequent visitor to these shores (and soon to be resident?), Dan Willis always puts on a solid hour of stand up. If you’ve seen him in previous years you know his modus operandi: choose a topic, mine his personal experiences relating to that topic for laughs and use lots of PowerPoint.

This year with Control Alt Delete he has delved into his previous life as a Computer Programmer. The majority of the show takes a nostalgic view of computers and their place in society. Those of us that have travelled in similar circles to Dan (as well as youngsters who have never seen or heard about this stuff) can chuckle at how primitive things appear in hindsight.

For computer geeks there are plenty of references and jokes aimed squarely at them but Dan takes the time to clarify most of them for the layperson. In the hands of a lesser performer “explaining the jokes” would kill all humour, but he is such a seasoned professional that he can pull it off with ease. This doubling up can also be beneficial as people who get the joke first can chuckle as the penny drops for the rest of the room, giving Dan more bang for his buck.
The scope of the show goes beyond computers by exploring peripheral topics (no, not printers!) and cleverly using this technology as analogies for other situations. These ideas are amusing in their examination of the ridiculousness aspects of life as well as gently poking fun at nerdier types.

Dan is a performer who partakes in a lot of banter with the audience, none of it confrontational. Fellow Computer Programmers are called on to confirm and fill in details about technical information while others are polled about the life decisions described in his stories. Not too much humour is derived from these interactions but they create an atmosphere of inclusion. He does however tend to attract pedantic hecklers which he has some funny stories about.
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Willis presents a dependable hour of stand up for the Techno-savvy, luddites and everyone in between.

Control, Alt, Delete is on at Sahara Bar & Restaurant
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/the-funny-side-of-computers-control-alt-delete