The Experiment

By Elyce Phillips

 

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been wondering for years why there is not a comedy show that is also a dog show. It’s such a hassle trying to attend both all the time. Why not bring them together? Well, lucky for us, our prayers have been answered by ‘The Experiment’. Hosted by Asher Treleaven, Geraldine Hickey and the constantly-grinning Oliver Clark, the late-night show is the perfect opportunity for comedians to get weird.

The trio of hosts complement each other perfectly. Hickey was wonderfully deadpan, giving us some animal facts and reading out a very pertinent letter to our new Minister for Women’s Affairs, Tony Abbott. Clark manned the sound effects and ran interference, dressed like an electric-blue nightmare – the lovechild of Tony Barber and Tony Clifton. Treleaven bridges the divide, holding the reins and fostering an enthusiastically supportive atmosphere that ensures the special guests are met with rapturous applause, regardless of the material they try out.

On the evening I attended there were four guests, all of which were fantastic. Anne Edmonds performed some great new material about Nazi fancy dress, Dave Callan busted some serious moves to Britney Spears’ ‘Hit Me One More Time’, Claire Hooper treated us to a suite of Fables from her upcoming Fringe show and Charles Barrington delighted with his tale ‘The Ugly Natalie Portman’. Alas, on this evening there was no dog show. A lady in the audience did bring a small toy dog, which Treleaven received with the disdain it rightfully deserved.

‘The Experiment’ is brilliantly unhinged and a great chance to see some comedy from the stranger end of the spectrum. With new guests every night, it’s certainly a show that I’m going to check out a few more times. A really great way to top-off your night at the Fringe.

A final note- the call-out for small dogs is entirely serious, so bring your small dog if you have one. As of right now, the prize money has jackpotted to $45. Hot dang!

The Experiment in on in The Ballroom at the Lithuanian Club until October 5.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/the-experiment/

Lisa-Skye – Art, Sex and Snacks

By Lisa Clark

Late night interview shows pop up all over the place during festivals, Art, Sex & Snacks is very much your alternative talk show that fits perfectly into the fringe of the Fringe that is The Tuxedo Cat. It really is the kind of frank talk show that will not be finding itself on mainstream TV anytime soon.

In a room suitably draped in red crushed velvet, we enter to discover the brightly clad host and her guests are chatting informally with each other off mike on stage which gives a friendly atmosphere. Lisa-Skye is a relaxed and skilled host, keeping the pace up and the balance of giving each guest their time to shine, while occasionally shining out herself. Her guests are encouraged to open up about their art, their sexuality and their favourite snacks. I’d had no previous knowledge of any of tonight’s guests, but by the end I felt we had all shared a fairly intimate, if at times raucous experience.

Lisa-Skye brought together four artists from widely varying parts of the Fringe Festival who were all very entertaining with fascinating shows on. The night I went we had Rennie McDougall who’s dance performance Yes Dance (Deeply Superficial) works against the idea of dance as storytelling and celebrates the body. Nell Kentish of the theatre company Big One Little One is doing a Live Art piece that is performed for one audience member for one minute – Confetti, the rest is a secret for you to discover. Simon Morrison-Baldwin who was giving Lisa-Skye’s outfit a run for her money in his drag persona as Lady Diamond is doing a cabaret show called Corpse about an 18th century transgender spy who spent half his life as a man and half her life as a woman. Finally there was gay comedian Hunter Smith whose show Apprentice Heterosexual explores feigning heterosexuality.

If the aim was to familiarise audiences with artists and encourage them to see the shows of her guests that was achieved. Starting out with performers completely unknown to me, by the end I wanted to see all their shows. Except for maybe dance, which is not my cup of tea, despite Rennie’s charm and humour, that would take some extraordinary persuasion. I’m sure each evening depends on the guests involved but we had an uproarious time of laughs and confessions. Topics included food during sex, sex toys, the gay hankie code and an excellent legal drug to take while giving birth. None of this is surprising while Lisa-Skye is at the helm.

It’s a short run and I’d recommend you catch it while you can.

Lisa-Skye – Art Sex and Snacks
is on at 10.45 til Sept 24th
Tuxedo Cat
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/art-sex-and-snacks/

There is a Podcast of these shows available here:

http://artsexsnacks.podbean.com/

 

Rennie McDougall – Yes Dance (Deeply Superficial) [Dance]
Fringe Hub Warehouse
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/yes-dance/

 

Nell Kentish of Big One Little One – Confetti [ Live Art]
North Melbourne Town Hall
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/confetti/

 

Simon Morrison-Baldwin (Lady Diamond) – Corpse (Le Chevalier d’Eon and the Mystery of His Sex)
Butterfly Club [Caberet]
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/corps-e/

 

Hunter Smith – Apprentice Heterosexual [Comedy]
Tuxedo Cat

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/hunter-smith-apprentice-heterosexual/

 

We’ll Always Have Paris

By Colin Flaherty

Comedy walking tours have been popping up as alternatives to theatre based shows over the past couple of years. One such tour is Jacqueline Mifsud’s We’ll Always Have Paris. This event requires the participants to suspend their disbelief as Mifsud uses Melbourne landmarks in place of Parisian ones while presenting a very accurate yet amusing commentary about the history of Paris.

First to put a preconceived notion to rest: you won’t have to navigate a thick comical French accent, she is not playing a snooty French woman. It was interesting to learn that she spent four years living in Paris and conducted tours for English speaking tourists, demonstrating that she knows her stuff. Including all the humorous lines into this fact heavy script and remembering it all was an impressive feat. She was able to make light of some of the more horrific data about French history with a witty disarming quip.

Numerous pop culture references are thrown into the narrative at every opportunity to add some giggles of recognition. The source materials vary wildly and span many years so it’s unlikely that you will recognise them all, but many will make you smile even when shoehorned into the topic at hand. Also making up the humorous content were plenty of innuendo and self-deprecation which added to her crazy tour guide persona. She generally kept up the fascade of us being in Paris by explaining away many of the Melbourne things staring us in the face which was a nice touch.

Jacqueline had a rather scatty ADHD demeanour to her performance. The constant verbalisation of her inner dialogue and frequent asides gave the show a very loose feel amongst her well executed spiels but also disrupted the flow at times. She was also easily distracted by events around us which gave her opportunities to make amusing off the cuff remarks but more often than not she lost her place in the script.

I was part of the Sunday morning tour (a rather leisurely stroll between the landmarks) and had heard that due to increased foot traffic the evening tours are a little bit chaotic, just like a European city crowded with multiple tour groups and hundreds of lone tourists. If you want to have a more authentic experience the 6pm tour fits the bill. Also note that the route includes a number of staircases so those with mobility issues may experience problems in keeping up with the group.

A wonderful Edu-taining event that appeals to history buffs and comedy fans alike, Jacqueline has created a fun way to kick of your day / evening at Fringe.

We’ll Always Have Paris departs from outside the Melbourne Arts Centre each weekend until October 6.
http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/we-ll-always-have-paris/

Songs for Europe – Two short plays about Eurovision by John Richards & Lee Zachiriah

By Lisa Clark 

It warms the heart to see such fabulous intelligent, funny and moving Australian theatre being debuted at Melbourne Fringe. Songs for Europe – Two short plays about Eurovision, is what the title suggests, but don’t go expecting a glitzy, trashy Eurobeat style parody, ‘cause you will be disappointed. This is a more poignant look at how Eurovision has influenced the world and the people involved.

The first play Nothing by John Richards is an intimate portrait of an encounter between two people in the basement dressing room of a nightclub somewhere in Eastern Europe, while the sounds of bombing can be heard in the distance. Patrick, played with straightforward simplicity by Nicholas Colla is an English hipster freelance journalist writing an article about Eurovision. He’s hunting down certain ex Eurovision performers and is here to meet up with Sonja despite her disinterest and downright refusal in granting him an interview. Sonja is an aging Eastern European diva magnificently and intelligently played by Marta Kaczmarek. Their feisty parley is witty, clever and ultimately powerfully moving.

The second play is about revolution and Eurovision’s association with war and hope for peace in Europe. The Carnation Revolution by Lee Zachiriah is set in Lisbon in 1974, three men are waiting in a cafĂ© waiting for a signal over the radio to start a revolution against a dictatorship. The signal is a song from Eurovision and it is based on a true story. A mysterious, menacing customer enters the cafĂ©. Chris Broadstock as Diego is bland and unassuming on the surface, yet creates unease with word play that becomes tension you can cut with a knife. The performances here are all excellent, though you can’t help but notice Jack Beeby who has a small part in the first play and then is barely recognisable as the young keen, sweet, naive revolutionary Carlos who has the audience completely on side. Petra Elliott is also excellent as the capitalist cafĂ© owner, wary of Diego and his potential for trouble but willing to sell her wares to whomever wants to consume them.

The stage is simply set with a drabness that suggests being back stage at a theatre that perfectly complements both plays’ themes of backstage / behind the scenes to Eurovision; and the reality behind a glamorous front. There are two televisions on each side of the set that play vision from Eurovision before and between the plays and they give the audience members a taste of Eurovision as well as setting up the next play.

Songs for Europe is a production of contrasts, inverse expectations, conflict and peace. Where the first play is intimate and personal the second is about the world stage and they complement each other well. The dialogue is clever, and all the performances in this production are excellent but Marta gently soars above the rest, her experience and conviction in the role evident. Her riveting nuanced, portrayal of Sonja will stay with you long after the play is over. Whether you are a fan of Eurovision or not, this is definitely worth hunting through the back streets of Brunswick for.

Songs for Europe is on at Broken Mirror til Sept 29th.

Note: Broken Mirror off Sydney Rd is actually a more comfortable performance space than many Fringe spaces. Not hot and stuffy at all.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/songs-for-europe/

The Improv Conspiracy – A Night in Chicago

By Elyce Phillips 

I’ve been a fan of The Improv Conspiracy for a while now. Their weekly shows over at the Dan O’Connell in Carlton are one of the highlights of the comedy off-season. And so, I headed over to the Croft Institute expecting a top-notch night of improv and I was not let down.

For this year’s Fringe, the group is trying out a new improv format – the Armando (named after improv legend Armando Diaz). Developed in Chicago, the format is perhaps best known for being used by the likes of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey at Assscat.

The evening begins with a storyteller responding to a personal question asked by a member of the audience. From there, the group takes the story apart and plays with the elements, creating scenes until the storyteller steps in with a new tale.

On the evening I attended, Creative Director Adam Kangas was the storyteller, letting loose with some brutally honest stories after being asked “When did you lose your virginity?” Over the course of the night, we heard some great stories about his time at nerd college and his family.

It’s wonderful watching the improvisers at work, playing with some of the tiniest aspects of a story and pulling them out into something altogether absurd. A passing comment of Kangas’ about his siblings being not so ‘genetically gifted’ became a rousing round of Genetic Lotto. A story about his stepdad building cabinets for a strip club led to some rather uncomfortable times for a couple of strippers. A simple list of his siblings’ names led to Luke Ryan organizing an almighty family reunion, involving Kangas’ lesser-known relatives Spaceman and War Machine Kangas.

If you’ve been to some improv in Melbourne before, there might be a few familiar faces – the likes of Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd and Charlie Sturgeon also perform at HOO-HAA! and Theatresports and just about every other improv night in town, so you’re in experienced hands. The crew work together intuitively and are consistently funny.

There is a new storyteller each night, so there’s no telling what will happen from one show to the next. But with such a strong group of performers, you’re not going to be disappointed.

The Improv Conspiracy – A Night in Chicago is on at the Croft Institute until October 5.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/the-improv-conspiracy/

3 Little Gigs

By Colin Flaherty

What is becoming a fixture of Imperial Comedy programs, 3 Little Gigs showcases the talents of up and coming performers in the safety of a group show. The Melbourne Fringe line up comprises of Arielle Conversi, Cameron Tyeson and Rose Callaghan.

Hailing from the States, Arielle hit the stage with boisterous enthusiasm. When she launched into material about the differences between her birthplace and Australia, a feeling of dread swept over me as this kind of gear is generally hack material by someone just off the plane. This lifted a little as it did actually fit with the way the show was advertised (worldwide comedy from Florida, Tasmania and Port Melbourne!) and she had a few unique observations that were amusing. The remainder of her set comprised of funny stories of working at a strip club where the humour came from her workmates lack of intellect and class. It was quite an enjoyable set.

Tasmanian born Cam was next and also opened with an outsiders view of Melbourne that was little generic but had a few interesting ideas amongst it. His set really hit its straps in the second half with a routine about his tips for dating success complete with hand drawn visual aids. Some of the cards were a little wordy and contained the exact text he was reciting to us but there were plenty of cute cartoons to entertain. His wordplay was sometimes a little forced but some nice surreal concepts kept us laughing.

Local girl Rose rounded out the night and had a strange, varied tone to her delivery. Beginning with embarassment when referring to an un-named feminine hygiene product, she later described various amusing sexual misadventures using plenty of detail and innuendo. She had a lot of interesting ideas beneath it all but often failed to capitalise on them, many of her jokes drifted off into the ether without pay-off. It was as if she was relying too much on the audience to connect the dots to understand the angle from which she was approaching a punchline rather than actually giving us one.

All three performers displayed confidence on stage to effectively sell their material but their inexperience tended to show through. When lines fell flat they highlighted them with some comments to their fellow performers which came dangerously close to blaming the audience for not laughing. It was nice to see their camaraderie and these interactions gave the show a fun, informal feel, but to some it may not be professional enough for a paying audience. The cold hard fact is: if a line fails repeatedly, it probably needs re-evaluation rather than stubbornly persisting with it.

Overall it was a fun show. They were all still rough around the edges and it’s worth keeping an eye open for their future endeavours. Those willing to take the risk on these relative unknowns will have a good time if they take their greenness into account.

3 Little Gigs is on at The Imperial Hotel until September 27

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/3-little-gigs/