Tag: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Arj Barker The Mind Field

By Nick Bugeja

Australia has well and truly adopted American comic Arj Barker as one of its own. Like Ross Noble, Jimeoin or Stephen K. Amos, he’s been a staple on the Australian comedy circuit for decades and cultivated a solid fanbase which shows up for him across Australia, whether appearing in Melbourne or Mildura. It’s not hard to see why Australian crowds are drawn to Barker’s style of comedy: he has a unique comedic voice, and a suite of quirky jokes which are still accessible to a wide audience.

Barker’s latest show, The Mind Field, opens with a flurry of puns and double entendres which serve as a light entrée dish for what is to come. These jokes are often at Barker’s own expense, and many of them are some of the strongest lines across the entire show. He runs through material, with aplomb, on his own insecurities and the misunderstandings they create, the disappointments of buffets and ‘all you can eat’ establishments, and why we should be sceptical when told that people travel to a town or city to just to visit a specific restaurant.

The core of Barker’s performance—as per the title of his show—revolves around the idea that there is no external, objective reality in and of itself, but rather is constructed by our own consciousness. This requires some exposition which is, rather surprisingly, not littered with jokes. Once Barker makes his way through the exposition, there’s a real payoff: he fires off a litany of jokes which are, in equal measure, philosophical and facile, and it is this combination of seemingly antithetical qualities which makes this part of the show excel.

Barker’s The Mind Field is a wide-ranging show which touches on the personal, the philosophical, and the downright silly. Barker’s range is beyond that of many other comics, who prefer to confine themselves to either a high or low brow brand of comedy. Relying much on his natural talents as a performer, and some strong writing of individual jokes and sequences, The Mind Field will satisfy Barker fans and those few unfamiliar with his comedy. Punters may even take away some newfound insights into the nature of reality, and the role we play in shaping that reality every day.

The Mind Field is on at the Athenaeum Theatre until 21 April.

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/arj-barker-the-mind-field

Anthony Locascio – Pappou

By Nick Bugeja

You can find Anthony Locascio’s Pappou, a show about family and ethnic heritage, personal dreams, and all sorts of other tangential topics, in the quaint basement of an alleyway bar. The labyrinthine trip to the cellar of Bard’s Apothecary, through the hallway-sized bar and down a flight of stairs, is worth it to see Locascio live.

He’s a sympathetic and likeable performer who’s able to keep the central narrative of his show—his relationship with his Greek grandfather, or Pappou—meaningful and engaging while swerving into large chunks of varied material, such as pet dogs, racism and multiculturalism, and why football (that is, soccer) is Australia’s only ‘bona fide’ sport.

Locascio, an Australian of Greek and Italian heritage, draws on his own ethnic and family background to great effect, without succumbing to the banality of ethnic comedy and stereotypes which more well-known comics sometimes are guilty of. He leans on this material without overly relying on it, and he demonstrates a keen appreciation of his background and a reverence for family, rendering his show genuinely enjoyable. Additionally, you might even leave the show with a word or two of Greek.

At its heart, Locascio’s Pappou is about his relationship with his obstinate, hardheaded grandfather. For various reasons—personal, social and cultural—their relationship is distant and at arms-length; strained. Yet, there are many parallels in their lives, none more relevant to the show than that both of them have dreams of greatness. His Pappou aspired to be a professional goalkeeper representing the Socceroos, as Locascio’s ambitions to maintain a comedy career—while being conscious of competing considerations, like building a family—remain in motion.

It’s a sincere and fun show. Despite the best efforts of some audience members to interrupt and frustrate Locascio by thoughtlessly heckling, Locascio invariably maintained his poise and dealt with them patiently and humorously, where many others may have erupted in a fury.

Pappou is on at Bard’s Apothecary until April 10

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/pappou-pappous

Adam McKenzie – Hacked

By Lisa Clark

Having been part of a recent major Information data breech, as many millions have (including some in the audience), has inspired Adam McKenzie to create Hacked which goes beyond his personal experience and to humankind’s whole relationship with the internet, our life online and the fear and conflicted emotions about it.

Adam’s comedy is always somewhat nerdy but he’s no tech geek and this is very much a lay persons traipse through the internet and its possible pitfalls and traps. Despite some of the dark subject matter, it’s all lighthearted and goofy with Adam providing a fun time for the general Festival audience.

Adam riffs on the horrors of Identity theft, The Mysterious Cloud, creepy algorithms, Deep Web, Dark Web and sophisticated scams. It can be a bit loose at times without a clear through line and Adam rushes his delivery a little, but that will settle down during its run. As well as all the current IT talk, there is a lot of nostalgia in the show, specifically for Gen X as Adam takes us through using a 90s Nokia, internet cafes, early email and how things have become more complex for modern teens via his love of Beverly Hills 91210

Of course there is quite a bit of screen use in this show, illustrating Adam’s points and gags. The highlight of the show, apart from a little magic, is his A.I. side kick who gives Adam someone to riff off and argue exasperatedly with, garnering some huge laughs. It puts Adam in his comfort zone, having a foil and I wish the character had a larger part in the show.

Adam maintains a warm and personal relationship with the audience, checking in with us regularly and getting to know us as he is also revealing his private information with us. There was some gentle audience participation, where Adam asks us to play with him, and I was very appreciative that he made very sure audience members wanted to join in. Consent is King!

I’ve always enjoyed Adam’s work, he’s been working in comedy for a long time, winning various comedy awards. Before going solo he has done a lot of sketch comedy; being part of the exceptional Anarchist Guild gang, The Hounds and is perhaps mostly famous for being part of Watson.  Go check out Hacked, it will make you laugh and gasp at the horrors of our digital life. I for one welcome our A.I overlords.

Adam McKenzie – Hacked is on at The Malthouse until April 21

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/adam-mckenzie-hacked#

Emma Holland: Here Comes Mr. Forehead

By Lisa Clark

As we enter the room, we are welcomed by a chirpy, friendly Emma Holland doing circles on the stage on an electric scooter with a toy monkey attached to her helmet while behind her on the big screen a real monkey rides a large dog, herding goats, from a video titled “Most Disrespectful Moments in Football”. Strap in.

Silly and sardonic, Emma is a gagmeister and this show is choc full to the brim with juicy gags, tomfoolery and wisecracks. She sets ’em up with precision, knocks ’em into the goal and the payoffs aren’t always immediate. Still, in amongst the sight gags, songs about Moby, props, PowerPoint silliness she has some solid domestic standup relating to recently getting married, though she cannot help but put her theatrical style into it. She proves that she is also great at telling stories, though this is not a “storytelling” sort of show per se. She’s not going to make you cry or take you on a long heartbreaking journey but we still learn some really interesting stuff about her life and childhood.

Emma’s comedy does not appear to be political, but she makes it clear where she stands, so in amongst all the silliness when she says something political once or twice it can really make the audience gasp as they laugh. Her feminism is not hitting you over the head, it’s just there, adding strength to some of her funniest bits.

There is a LOT of tech in this show (ACMI is the best spot for this) and it runs beautifully but there is a vibe that if the power were to fail her, Emma could give us a fantastic hour of comedy without it. So polished is the show, that Emma seems relaxed and able to muck around going off on a tangent to chat with a friend in the crowd, keeping it funny and making this a unique night for us.

Emma Holland has been doing comedy, mostly in Brisbane, for a few years now and was runner up in RAW 2018. She writes for TV and sometimes appears on the shows she writes for, such as Have Your Been Paying Attention and more importantly for me, co-hosting The Cheap Seats with Melanie Bracewell proving that two women can host a TV comedy show successfully and the world doesn’t explode.

As I’ve not seen Emma develop gradually in small rooms, she wows me as a confident, fully formed comedian and her show is bloody wonderful. Having been noticed and employed by Working Dog means I shouldn’t be surprised that she is very talented, but Here Comes Mr. Forehead really blew me away. Emma Holland is a new star in the making.

Here Comes Mr. Forehead is on at ACMI until April 21

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/here-comes-mr-forehead#

Julian O’Shea – M is for Melbourne: The World’s Mostly* Liveable City

By Colin Flaherty

M is For Melbourne is a loving look at all things Melbourne. Using an alphabet chart template Julian O’Shea explores topics somewhat related to this city while finding time to bad-mouth Vienna, the city who “stole” our title of World’s Most Livable City.

O’Shea presents all manner of weird and wonderful facts, some of which were news to some Melbourne residents in the crowd. Most tidbits sparked uproarious laughs of recognition from either lived experience, being featured on his YouTube channel or from the Melbourne zeitgeist. The amount of research that has gone into this show is amazing and he is clearly passionate about sharing this information with us. There are plenty jokes using local references making it a somewhat exclusive club.

Julian has a touch of Dave Gorman about him in the way that he creates physical items or content in the real world about most of the topics covered here. Just like Gorman, everything is documented for our delight (such as his flight in the Birdman Rally a few years ago that’s shown in all of its doomed glory).

As you would expect from someone who creates video content online, this a very visual show. Sure he conveys brilliantly engaging detail through his scripted words, but the video element plays a vital part in his storytelling and does a lot of the heavy lifting. His slides and clips not only show proof of his escapades but provide clarity for some of the lesser know facts as well as inserting plenty of cheeky visual jokes.

Then there are many props he has created – either especially for this performance or other projects. Each ridiculously inventive item has a logical purpose in his tales. It is a delight to see them go from being amusingly outlandish concepts on screen to astonishingly silly creations when unveiled in the flesh.

Honing his stagecraft on various screens over a number of years, Julian is a confident performer who makes it look effortless. He bounds through the material at a decent clip with plenty of colour and movement to keep us engaged. His enthusiasm is infectious and keeps everyone laughing throughout, even during some of the dry educational bits.

On the back of his online popularity, this MICF run sold out quickly. Here’s hoping this charmingly amusing performer graces us again with his physical presence soon.

M is for Melbourne is on at Doubletree by Hilton until April 7

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/m-is-for-melbourne-the-world-s-mostly-liveable-city

Alanta Colley – Trick or Treatment

By Peter Hodgson

Look, life is hard and we all just want to feel better. It’s only natural, and nature is comforting. So it makes sense to turn to nature itself to feel better, right? Right?!? That’s the question at the heart of Trick Or Treatment, a science-centred comedy show that tracks Alanta Colley’s investigation of various alternative treatments for the chronic fatigue that can rob her of energy, time, creativity and joy.

Public health practitioner, comedian, storyteller and big brain Colley wants us to look at the parallels between big pharma and big chakra. The ways we’re guided towards specific treatments that may or may not be in our best interests but which are certainly interesting to someone else’s bottom line. So we’re taken through four treatments from the perspective of data collection and evaluation (we’re informed there’s another audience watching an empty stage elsewhere as a control group).

 These treatments – homeopathy, acupuncture, some e-meter kinda thing that measures your skin conductivity to apparently determine how much money you should spend on expensive treatments, and psychedelics – are laid out in terms of ‘What are they said to treat? How are they said to treat it? What do the experts say? And what are Alanta’s findings?’

You may expect a certain cynicism going into this show, but there’s a lot of heart to this story. There may be some alternative-medicine shysters trying to bilk scared people out of their money, but the critical eye is directed at those shysters, not the ordinary folks just looking for something, anything, to help them feel better. We look at the mechanics and dichotomies of homeopathy, the history and applications of conductivity meters, the consumer demand for acupuncture, and the claimed benefits of psychedelics in resetting the worldview. We also look at the placebo effect and how it can be employed to achieve real benefit. And we’re given a first hand rundown of an ayahuasca ceremony from soup to nuts (or rather, from tea to psychedelic mindf**k). But not once do we feel Colley is punching down at those who seek these treatments. Some of the practitioners sure take some hits though.

The show is tied together with a Powerpoint presentation and audio-visual cues executed with perfect timing and wit, from a hilarious chart about the research and evaluation phases of the scientific method to the uncomfortable juxtaposition of elevator music and …well I won’t say any more but if you’re frightened of needles you’ll want to bring along a stress ball.

 Trick Or Treatment is a hugely entertaining, educating show, and Colley is such a warm, confessional storyteller that you feel drawn into her world within minutes of the show starting, and thinking about it long after it’s over. You may never want to drink arsenic again!

Trick or Treatment is on at The butterfly Club until March 31

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2024/shows/trick-or-treatment