Category: Reviews

Sam Simmons- About the Weather

By Jayden Edwards

Ok, if you been even the least bit interested in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival over the past 7 or 8 years, you know Sam Simmons is always touted as one of the highlights. With 5 star reviews, a Piece of Wood award and an Edinburgh Best Comedy Show nomination under his belt, there’s no questioning Sam is a powerful comedy force, with a killer moustache to boot.

Sam’s latest theatrical masterpiece About the Weather tells the tale of a man trying to find the courage to talk to his “bus crush”, a task made harder by his fear of small talk. Sam uses this simple premise to drag the audience into his own world of personal struggle, anger, self-loathing, those lucky Chinese waving cat things and impossible IKEA flat pack tables.

Sam’s world is also one in which he is always exploring and questioning his surroundings, like the hidden subtexts in small talk, the stupid information the human brain retains, and the eternal struggle for happiness and purpose.

Powered along by his narrator and audio swiss army knife of tricks and bad 90s music, the audience is bombarded with the experience that is Sam Simmons, full-pelt.

Sam delivers his broad comedy with such whimsy, surrealist energy and expert timing;  his commitment to his art is glorious. Some great prop use and clever lighting also adds depth.

More laughs are extracted from a supporting cast of willing and unwilling audience members, audience members such as myself, who were subjected to a game of “Spin-ception”, which I’m sure would have been hilarious if it wasn’t me! Ok, it was still hilarious and serves me right for sitting in the front row, I guess.

The show is incredibly technical and structured, and it’s a pleasure to watch it all unfold, knowing the amount of commitment and effort that must go into making such a show look so seamless. Sure, there’s a few little tech hiccups, but with so much going on, it’s a minor blip on the radar.

Yes, we can analyse the comedy of Sam Simmons all we want, but to just sit back and take it all in is one of the best experiences you’ll have at the festival. You’ll be back for more year after year.

Sam Simmons- About the Weather in on at Melbourne Town Hall.
For Tickets and more Info, go here http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/about-the-weather-sam-simmons/

DeAnne Smith – Livin’ the Sweet Life

By Lisa Clark

Canadians are so gosh darn adorable, no matter how filthy they are or even when they are insulting the audience and I think we have found the most adorable Canadian of all. Even before DeAnne Smith had officially began her show, she was heckled rudely and her handling of it was breathtaking. Her ability to put him in his place while make the audience laugh and feel at ease suggests years of stage experience and excellent people skills. It also failed to throw her off from performing another ace comedy festival show which confirms why she was nominated for The Barry last year.

The title, Living the Sweet Life is unsurprisingly ironic and to help demonstrate this DeAnne picks an audience member out for special consideration. It may or may not be in your interest to sit in the front row, depending on how shy you are. Her own sweet life includes parent’s who have become too comfortable with her sexuality, her middle class liberal guilt, a date that ends in the emergency department of a major hospital and a disturbing wax incident. Waxing was a bit of a passe subject a few years ago, usually talked about by wide eyed comedians who had not been through it, but DeAnne’s experience is astounding and hilarious. Another highlight for me was her participation in a ten day silent meditation retreat, not unlike the one Judith Lucy went through in her Spiritual Journey.

If you are seriously, easily offended this one might not be for you, DeAnne discusses lesbian oral sex, watching straight porn and she tells some dick jokes, but then maybe you should try a different festival altogether. It’s hard to imagine anyone being offended by DeAnne, she puts on a strong hour of bright, perky comedy which occasionally touches on dark subject matter. The show is bookended by hilarious songs that she plays on the ukulele, surely the cheeriest of instruments. The first is a chirpy tune about death and the last about nerdy pickup lines which really reminds me of Josh Earl, as does her haircut.  A fabulous show for a girls night out at the comedy festival, everyone is bound to have a great time and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch one of her chocolates.

Livin’ the Sweet Life is on at the Meeting Room at Trades Hall

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/livin-the-sweet-life-deanne-smith/

Sarah Quinn – Weird Lonely Strangers

By Annette Slattery

In her festival show, Weird Lonely Strangers, Sarah Quinn performs a composite of unrelated, solo sketches. Interspersed with smoky jazz, Quinn uses voiceovers and simple costume changes to relocate from one scene to the next. Quinn’s array of characters includes a regular, single young woman, a beauty pageant organiser, a private investigator, an English author and a prudish burlesque dancer.

Quinn’s performances are strong, however the writing is weak. There is one piece about a “reformed” lesbian which is very clever and funny, and which has the potential to be developed into something more substantial, but apart from that there is little to recommend here in terms of content. A lot of the ideas are weak, unoriginal or over done and the better jokes within the script are often camouflaged by some confusion in the writing.

Some of the sections of the show are presented simply as a pre-recorded voice over, with Quinn behind the curtain and the polite, but clearly unamused audience left staring at the empty stage. This only further sapped the remaining energy in the room.

That said, Quinn, as I mentioned, is a strong performer and those skills alone make this show watchable. However Quinn does not have the comedy chops to pull this off as a festival show.

Sarah Quinn – Weird Lonely Strangers is on at Tuxedo Cat, Flinders Lane.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/weird-lonely-strangers-sarah-quinn/

Tom Ballard – Doing Stuff

By Jayden Edwards

In his debut comedy festival show in 2009, Tom Ballard proclaimed he is what he is. After winning the Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer award that year, and continuing to go from strength to strength on Triple J’s breakfast show, I think it’s safe to say that what Tom Ballard is, is bloody funny.

Returning with his new show “Doing Stuff”, Tom has moved on from the introductions and tackles some hard hitting, in ya face political truth bombs… and of course, dick jokes. He explores, with great compassion and intellect, many of the big political issues from the last 12 months, and questions what makes people give a shit, and why we should, and of course lampoons the big wigs making stupid decisions. He also dissects issues directly affecting himself, such as gay marriage (or “Fag-age”) and vegetarianism. He finds the funnies and sprinkles them with wisdom like a comedian twice his age.

But it’s not all politics. Tom channels the crude stylings of Mike Wilmot throughout the show, especially at the end with probably the most disgusting thing you’ll hear at the festival this year, disgusting and absolutely hilarious! The crude ending, made all the better by the contrasting political material,  is not for the prudish.

Yeah, Tom is young and opinionated, but never preachy. His quick wit, stage confidence and self-depreciating delivery is really engaging, and whether you agree with him or not, you’ll be laughing, and listening all the same. Self analysing his comedy throughout the show piles on more laughs after the fact.

Tom is the future of comedy in this country, and tearing the present to shreds. A must see.

Tom Ballard is on at the Swiss House
More info and tickets here http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/doing-stuff-tom-ballard/ 

Ronny Chieng – The Ron Way

By Colin Flaherty

One of the cardinal rules of stand up is that you never blame the audience for not laughing but Ronny Chieng has come up with method of doing so while keeping the crowd on side. This is the magic of The Ron Effect. In his festival debut, Ronny presents a hour of polished stand up that ensures that energy levels are kept near eleven.

Ronny has devised a fascinating stage persona that is equal parts aggressive, naïve, over confident and possessing few social boundaries. All those elements are presented in a hilariously heightened manner that is a sharp contrast to the mild mannered guy he initially appears to be. Paired with a tight script, this results in a show full of laughs, twists and turns.

The material itself covers many standard observational themes, but when filtered through his character it is something special. The naivety produces some amusing literal interpretations while the aggressiveness produces some surprising left turns. He goes to some taboo areas that cause the audience to be torn between laughing at the ridiculous natural of it and stifling guilty titters after recognising that these extreme ideas have some warped merit. There is some truth embedded in the jokes (for example, his story about Rottnest Island and his real scar) but they reach some dizzying heights of absurdity through the telling.

Audience interactions take on a gladiatorial feel when tackled this way. Most questions posed to the crowd are merely there to confirm his viewpoint and the startled reactions from the punters aid this. When people eventually figure out how to respond to him and feedback starts to flow, it allows Ronny to deviate from the script and venture into unknown territory. Ronny even surprises himself at to where it leads and comes close to breaking character.

It was interesting to see that Ronny has devised some merchandise that is heavily related to material within the show. It makes for an amusing segment during the in-show spiel but ensures that the products will make absolutely no sense to anyone who haven’t seen the show. Perhaps it’s an inside joke only for those in the know, who will hopefully be in the majority by the end of the festival, as this is a brilliant show.

The Ron Way is on at the Evatt Room at Trades Hall

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/the-ron-way-ronny-chieng/

Bob Franklin & Steven Gates – Stubborn Monkey Disorder

By Lisa Clark

When word got out that the urbane Sir Bob Franklin and Steven Gatesy Gates from Tripod were teaming up for a festival show this year, you could virtually hear minds boggling all over town. If you enjoy having your mind boggled, this one is definitely for you.

The delightful and surprising thing was discovering what a great team Franklin and Gates make; with Bob unsurprisingly as the straight man and Gates as the comic side kick. Gatesy has taken his dumb and cute character from Tripod and augmented it to the point where he occasionally reminds me of Ardal O’Hanlon in Father Ted in being able to elicit laughs from looking confused. Their banter is the highlight of the show and their ability to deal with the odd technical fault gets such huge laughs that maybe they should leave those bits in.

Stubborn Monkey Disorder is a very tech heavy theatrical piece that sets up a spooky, gothic vibe by beginning in the dark with torchlight and sound effects. The opening creates the expectation of a horror story, especially with the brief flash of one of the performers in a wolf mask that suggests a werewolf story, which sadly never eventuates. There are definitely Hammer elements throughout though, with references to sinister doctors, dungeons and the tale of grave robbers Burke and Hare. The surprisingly satirical elements, especially when having digs at reality TV and the TV industry as a whole, are particularly gleeful.

The problem with the show is that are were so many plots over lapping and interweaving that it can be hard to keep up. There is a dream sequence within a story in particular that feels superfluous as I expected it to be somehow tied in at the end, but it is not. The Meta story involves Gates, having recently performed a failed reality show with Franklin, breaking into the studio where it was filmed. He discovers that Franklin has taken on the persona of a Scottish psychiatrist Dr Hugh Knox; with Gates and the audience suddenly finding ourselves taking part in a group therapy session. I think. I suspect this is a sort of re-enactment of their failed reality show, but it’s not quite clear.

Importantly, Bob Franklin and Steven Gates are so damn funny and adorable and the stories so intriguing and amusing that if you are fans you should not miss this and anyone else will probably have a fun time even if they’re not sure why. I don’t know if it’s a concious influence on them but I think Inception has a lot to answer for. 

Bob Franklin & Steven Gates – Stubborn Monkey Disorder is on at The Melbourne Town Hall in the Regent Room

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/stubborn-monkey-disorder-bob-franklin-steven-gates/