Category: MICF 2021

Geraldine Hickey : What a Surprise

By Erin Hill

It comes as absolutely no surprise that Geraldine Hickey is a very funny comedian. Astute observations delivered in Hickey’s gently wry tone kept the audience chuckling for the hour. But what did come as a very welcome surprise was how genuine and heart-warming What a Surprise was.

Hickey opens the show with the necessary 2020 disclaimer, acknowledging that the show was written B.C. (Before COVID). The show largely centres on Hickey’s experience of turning forty, and navigating the “surprise” birthday party she forced her partner to throw. Hickey’s recollections of previous years of hastily-thrown-together last-minute parties, fielding text message after text message of apologies and well-wishes struck a particular nerve; eliciting a guttural laugh of recognition.
It brought about an odd sense of nostalgia to recall all the social faux pas that come with birthdays you can spend around other people; like how do you mention it without coming across like a five-year-old, and how do you manage your expectations when it comes to the calibre of “surprise” event? Hickey’s observation that even at the age of forty, your idea of the highest level of excellence and prestige can still be ‘the presence of a bouncy castle’ was truly inspiring.

What a Surprise also speaks to what it means to be in a relationship and the things we do to please, delight and surprise the people we care about. Hickey’s tale of her determination to acquire a ring from the elusive “hairy finger man of Instagram’ is worth the price of admission alone. Brief glimpses into inside jokes between Hickey and her now fiancĂ©, snapshots over years of a relationship highlight the trust Hickey places in her audience. In kind, that trust speaks to Hickey’s prowess; a seasoned performer who has faith in her own ability to get the audience on side.

What a Surprise was a joy to behold. Hickey makes sharp observations with finesse and apparent ease. The stories she shared remind us of a time when a thrill-seeking activity meant zip-lining and not drawing blood in Woolies over a packet of Kleenex Cottonelle. But the unexpected feeling walking out of the show is the overwhelming sense of warmth and sweetness Hickey manages to impart in just one hour. What a Surprise is a pleasant surprise in that.

What a Surprise at The Supper Room in Melbourne Town Hall until April 18

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/geraldine-hickey

Lano & Woodley in Lano & Woodley

By Nick Bugeja

It’ll serve as no surprise that the stars of Lano and Woodley are, indeed, Lano and Woodley, one of the most successful Australian comedy duos ever. After formally reuniting after 20 years in 2018 with the show Fly, the coronavirus pandemic interrupted their revived partnership for the best part of a year. But now they’re back (again), this time delivering a show, full of sketch and slapstick skits that will please their fanbase and newcomers alike.

Lano and Woodley isn’t easily describable, but anyone with the faintest familiarity with them would immediately recognise their chaotic, frenzied comedic style. Yet, there is also a meaningful design to the proceedings; it’s amply clear that much planning has gone into the choreography and rhythm of individual scenes and the show as a whole. The songs – of which there are many – demonstrate this quality, especially when Lano and Woodley sing together in unwitting, conflictual duets. Of course, both of them are equally capable improvisors, with Lane playfully berating some front-row latecomers over the entire show, while Woodley humorously riffed off an audience member’s unexpected profession. Even when one of them misspoke stuttered over a line, that sometimes spawned new comedic openings. Lesser performers would have let this temporarily derail their show.

Although both excellent comedians in their own right, Lano and Woodley go up a notch together. The essence of their partnership is the oppositional styles they adopt. Lano is irritable and supercilious, Woodley credulous and blinkered, comedically embodying the ancient Yin and Yang principle. The set-up is often similar, but always rewarding: Woodley persists in his idiocy – like believing ‘Artica’ is a real place – to the point where Lano cannot help but unleash his frustration.

Woodley has the better of the two roles, and more comic freedom to generate the biggest laughs. He is Australia’s best ‘wacky’ comedian by some distance. Though Lano is hardly left the scraps, and makes the most of the spotlight on several occasions over the course of the show. His rendition of the ‘moving’ song, ‘100 green bottles on the wall’, just about matches Woodley’s ludicrousness.

At one stage, Lano remarked to no one in particular ‘I’m not sure if this qualifies as entertainment’ in the aftermath of an especially risible episode. The crowd, cheering, clapping, and laughing throughout, most certainly thought so. Of all the shows veering outside the parameters of traditional stand-up, Lano and Woodley is probably the most memorable of them.

Lano and Woodley is showing at the Arts Centre (Playhouse) until 4 April.

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/lano-woodley

Tom Gleeson : Lighten Up

By Dali Sulejmani-Blackwell

Many would recognise Tom Gleeson as the smart arse on Hard Quiz and to others, including Tracy Grimshaw, he is the man who pilfered the Gold Logie but here he is the brilliant stand up comedian. Gleeson’s show is unbridled with enthusiasm and goes through a range of personas, which at times has him behaving as a lawyer and others a firefighter.

Gleeson, who refers to himself as a drug trafficking scallywag, is a professed true-blue Aussie, with lines like “I chopped up that bit of road kill for me dogs”. Gleeson’s laconic nature has a knack with the audience, which at times makes you question if you are sitting comfortably at home. Gleeson’s Lighten Up is a one hour show but you won’t feel short changed, as his style treats the live audience more like a personal cabal rather than anything else.

Gleeson’s show is highly emotive at times with his use of tone and character changes. The only sour point of Lighten Up is that you are sure to think twice about having a lolly, but not for the reasons you may suspect. However Gleeson demonstrates why he is one of Australia’s comedic stars as his wit and ironic style shines through. Gleeson is sure to make you feel like a contestant on Hard Quiz with his impromptu questions and soothsaying demeanour. Ultimately, Gleeson will strive to make you comfortable throughout his own self deprecating ordeal. It is sure to be traumatic for Gleeson and entertainment for the viewer.

This is a performance that would be sorely missed at this year’s comedy festival, as the hiatus caused by Covid has certainly had no impact on Gleeson’s ability to be one of comedy’s finest.

Lighten Up is on at The Comedy Theatre until April 18

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/tom-gleeson

Scary Goats Tour

By Lisa Clark

The first surprise about Scary Goats Tour is that it’s not a bunch of sketches written by an Impro troupe, but an original funny play written by Chloe Towan and Nathan Fernandez.’

Performed by Dax Carnay as Ree, Jess Ciancio as Mel and Dominik Shields as Tess they are able to create a world on the oil of a smelly rag, without using sets or costume changes and only a handful of props. Jess’s Mel plays straight woman to deliciously sardonic Dax and delightfully wacky Tess as comedy side-kicks and they create a great team.

Mel is a vain Vodcaster whose online show is about exposing fake purveyors of the supernatural. Ree is her weary, much put upon sidekick who does all the tech to get Mel’s show online. Finally we meet the effervescent Tess, who mixes a bubbly but bonkers personality with occasional terror, as their Tour Guide. There is not a lot of depth to the characters, just enough to get the audience on side which suits the nature of the farcical play. The actors took a little while to warm up and were a bit stilted at first but as the play took them over and the audience were laughing, they relaxed into their parts and things took off.

The play builds the tension of the horror element well with subtle hints of something being Not Quite Right and it paid off beautifully. The timing of the comedy wasn’t always spot on and it was most notable in the chase scene montage that was clearly a tribute to silent cinema. Farce is hard, it requires razor sharp timing, whereas this was somewhat loose, but it contained some cute jokes and audience winning enthusiasm from the performers.

You can take older kids and teens to this, though it does get a little genuinely scary at one point, but the jokes & stupid puns help keep it from going over the edge. I recommend it as something a little bit different at the Festival, for fans of theatre, horror, comedy or goats.

Scary Goats Tour is on at The Butterfly Club until April 4

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/scary-goats-tour

Stuart Daulman – The Stuart Daulman Farewell Reunion Show

By Will Erskine 

The Stuart Daulman Farewell Reunion Show is like watching your mad uncle pontificate at a family function – that’s meant as a compliment.

Stuart Daulman is clearly a master of his craft. The show is largely straight standup, with seemingly no firm structure and flexible content selection.  He seems deeply relaxed throughout the performance and it feels at times like you’re watching an eccentric uncle hold court at a family BBQ, anecdotes many of which don’t fully materialise and migrate to tangents that deliver more tangents and occasionally bringing it all back together with a musical interlude.

Daulman achieves that wonderfully enigmatic stand-up trick of holding the room’s attention and making everyone laugh without (on the surface) having to do very much. If one were to look at the script for the show, there isn’t masses of content and certainly not hundreds of jokes, but with his delivery style Daulman manages to squeeze every bit of funny out of even the most banal detail. Getting a coffee, catching the tram, all of which become hilarious stories in Daulman’s hands. The written jokes almost becoming secondary to the style and delivery.

 Words like “rambling delivery” and “not much content” might seem like this is a negative review, that’s not the intent at all and couldn’t be further from the truth. Daulman holds the audience in the palm of his hand and has everyone hanging of his every word. His set pieces of lip-synching help to keep the pace of the show and mix things up.

I’d only seen one of Stuart Daulman’s previous shows, and from memory it was a high concept performance involving staging his own funeral and he alludes in tonight’s show to it being unusual for him to be doing stand-up without lots of props and masks. It’s refreshing to see such an established indie performer to take a step back and strip back the performance to the basics.

I’d highly recommend this show for people who like relaxed easy going, quirky stand-up. A good mix of jokes, eccentric delivery and set piece lip synching.

 Stuart Daulman performs The Stuart Daulman Farewell Reunion Show at Trades Hall for the duration of the festival (no shows on Wednesday)

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/stuart-daulman

5 good reasons to see our show for Blake Everett and Oliver Coleman: Dig Their Own Graves

1. Blake Everett and Oliver Coleman are two established comedians in their own right, but have decided to join forces to become the best comedic duo since Neil and Tim Finn.

2. They just received a 5 star review for the Adelaide Fringe run of their show. Blake has been getting 4 star reviews as a solo act for years, turns out all he needed to do was team up with a 1 star comedian.

3. It’s the only show about shovels at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, this year or any other year. Except for Wil Anderson’s 2017 show Wil it Shovel?

4. It’s not stand-up. Sure, go see some conventional stand-up comedy, but don’t forget about the weirdos! It’s late-night “absurdity that manages to keep its audience in stitches from start to finish” (The Advertiser).

5. If you come to the show Blake and/or Oliver will give you a snack (please pass on any dietary requirements to blake@shovelbrothers.com)

Blake Everett and Oliver Coleman Dig Their Own Graves at Storyville and Trades Hall April 6 – 18

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/blake-everett-and-oliver-coleman-dig-their-own-graves