Category: Reviews

Jon Walpole – One Man Performing A Two-Man Show

By Colin Flaherty

Slapstick bits about performing a double act solo have been seen before in short spots but Jon Walpole has taken the concept to its logical conclusion, an hour length show where one performer is in absentia. What results is a hilarious and clever performance with plenty of pathos thrown in.

He raises the stakes and shows all the obvious pitfalls and pratfalls of performing one man down early. His Aunty Donna styled opening song clubs us over the head that this is a double act. He shows the pregnant pauses for lines that are never returned, the absent physical contact and the risk of injury when the other person is not there to catch you.

The remainder of the show gradually reveals facts about Jon and Tim’s relationship as he nervously waits for the tardy appearance of his partner. To keep things on the road, urged on by words of encouragement from his tech James and an audience happy to play along with the conceit, Jon performs amusing sketches using props and assistance from members of the audience. Crowd work and audience participation play a huge part in this show but none of it is embarrassing or complicated.

With a background in clowning, Jon is a wonderfully physical performer and has constructed a world that shows this off. He manipulates his imaginative props, mimes his way through sketches and interacts with weird and wonderful characters that inhabit this strange theatrical world. The whole room becomes a playground and everyone is a part of the experience.

A shout-out must go to the tech James who holds this show together audibly. Hilarious reactive sound effects play a large part in the performance and Jon reacts to many sound cues and recorded dialogue that largely go off without a hitch. This is an audio visual tour de farce.

One Man Performing A Two-Man Show is on at The Motley Bauhaus until April 23
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/one-man-performing-a-two-man-show

Oliver Hunter – Wheels of Fortune

By Peter Newling

As the audience made itself at home in the unusually comfortable seats of ACMI’s Gandel Lab, the strains of the opening theme to the old Wheel of Fortune TV show kicked in. Memories of Baby John Burgess and Adriana Xenides were flooding back as Oliver Hunter rolled onto the stage.

Hunter’s career has reached a Jekyll and Hyde point – by day he is a disability consultant, by night a comedian. Unlike Stevenson’s creation, I can’t help but believe that there is significant overlap in both of his worlds of work.

At one point, he described his work as a comedian as: “You show up to a microphone and start talking”. And that pretty much describes how the show comes across. There’s no particular structure to the set. It’s more like a chat over a beer than a finely honed and practiced comedy routine. His set started somewhat nervously, with his delivery punctuated with constant umms and errrs, but he warmed into it – as indeed did his audience.

Hunter derives his material from his experiences as a man with disability. He gives his audience an insight into the trials and tribulations of trying to exist in an able-bodied world, with bathrooms, public transport, night clubs and his home town of Albury given particular attention.

He has a real knack for spotting funny moments in difficult situations. And he’s not afraid to go for shock value. He particularly delights when his audience responds with an “Oh Oliver – you can’t say that” type reaction. It’s unsettling, but his larrikin persona helps keep it on the playful side of sinister.

In only his second MICF show, Hunter is one of those important performers making comedy accessible and relatable to a new audience, through offering insights into his life experience. More power to him.

Oliver Hunter – Wheels of Fortune is playing April 11 to 23 at the ACMI Gandel Lab at 6:30pm (Tues to Sat) and 5:30pm (Sundays).  https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/wheels-of-fortune

Adam Rozenbachs – High Functioning Idiot

By Peter Newling

It feels like Adam Rozenbachs has been making us laugh for our entire lives – and for anyone born this century, that may well be true. From being a finalist in the 1999 Raw Comedy awards, and doing his first solo MICF show back in 2007, he has gone on to be a constant and evergreen presence in the Australian and international comedy scenes.

His offering for the 2023 MICF shows that he has lost nothing of his legendary on-stage energy, or his trademark rapid fire delivery. His crowd work has remained genial and assured (“We’re just having a chat here, mate”), made easier by his ability to create instant rapport with the punters. High Functioning Idiot is a terrific hour of old-school stand-up.

It seems appropriate that a guy who’s been around for a while would choose material that mostly touches on modernisation and societal change. He riffs freely about automation, self service check-outs, dating apps and the like. He’s an astute observer of shifts in taste and boundaries. His reflections on his own capacities to function (or not) in this changing environment provide a great basis for a highly relatable and really enjoyable show.

High Functioning Idiot is a mix of old and new material. Those who have followed his work over the past couple of years will find some of the material quite familiar – but there’s enough new stuff in there to satisfy his loyal fan base.

Rozenbachs is the pin-up child of comedy journeymen. He has become a confident TV and radio performer, and an in-demand writer. It’s great to see that his stand-up has not lost any of its edge.

Adam Rozenbachs – High Functioning Idiot is playing April 11 to 23 at Coopers Inn 1, at 8:10pm https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/adam-rozenbachs

Christina Schmidt & Miso Bell – Fear Us (Please)

By Colin Flaherty

After being Victorian State Finalists in last year’s RAW Comedy, Christina Schmidt and Miso Bell teamed up for their debut Festival two hander. This show of short sets of “edgy” stand up was an ambitious venture but their combined inexperience loomed large.

First the positives – there were plenty of interesting ideas in here. There were wacky twists given to seemingly straightforward topics to produce fun surreal results. The conceit of the pair desperately trying to come across as Bad Arses but failing in every metric was a solid one that they were able to sell.

The major problem was in the rambling, rushed and often mumbled delivery of each performer. Schmidt was somewhat timid in her stage persona which only weighed her down further. Bell had some scripted items read from pages that were well written but suffered from the same messy presentation. She briefly showed that she was capable of a clear, measured performance during a rare contemplative section of the script but immediately went back to blurting out the rest of the tale. When they shared the stage for some banter, their interactions were stilted, awkward and showed very little on stage chemistry.

The gimmick of polluting an ocean diorama when the punters didn’t respond appropriately was a promising idea but ultimately didn’t really go anywhere. They had a clever postscript video to end the show but not many people will see it. The duo had already announced that the show was over and most punters had already left the room or begun loudly chatting to each other.

The audience clearly enjoyed the wackiness of this duo but their execution cause them to miss most of the clever lines buried within. Here’s hoping that they can build up their experience and develop their stagecraft without losing too much of their interesting voices.

Fear Us (Please) is on at Bard’s Apothecary until April 22
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/fear-us-please

Josie Long – Re-Enchantment

By Bren Carruthers

A lot has changed in the six years since Josie Long appeared at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Aside from the obvious, Long has had two kids and recently moved from her native London to Glasgow. Yet the break from the fest has not diminished her abilities – or her withering world view.

Long started out as part of the Whimsical Comedy movement of homemade badges and so forth. She certainly continues her signature, of a warm and endearing stage persona, that’s always been wrapped around a passionate and fierce advocate for her left-wing ideology. It’s a perfect fit for the current world climate, as Long leaps from Brexit and immigration law to the Royals, landlords, and the trials of parenting, somehow maintaining optimism despite everything, especially in her home country.

In many ways, Long cuts the figure of the elder millennial, somewhat stuck between two worlds, moving into middle age and parenthood but still unwilling to relinquish deeply-held political ideals and a youthful joy for life. For audience members of that age in particular, Long offers a much-needed salve for the struggles of daily life… for sixty minutes, at least.

Josie Long is performing in Melbourne Town Hall’s Cloak Room until April 23.

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/josie-long

Larry Dean – FUDNUT

By Jess Welch

Have you ever been on a rollercoaster, or just a particularly bumpy bit of road, and it feels like your stomach has dropped out? That’s the feeling that FUDNUT, Larry Dean’s latest show, left me with. But that’s the end. To understand how we got there, we need to go back to the beginning.

The show starts off with some intense moments of getting to know Dean. If you’ve never seen him before, this might be slightly confronting. But it does a wonderful job of setting us up for what he does best – telling wild, crazy and hilarious stories from his life. If you have seen him before, you’ll know these tales can really run the gamut from everyday observations to the incredibly personal. Vulnerable even. FUDNUT tend heavily towards the latter, to an almost uncomfortable degree at times.

Be warned, this show touches on some sexual themes. At a few particular moments, the older members of the audience were shifting uncomfortably. I would say this is probably not a show to see with a parent, unless you have an extremely honest relationship, or you don’t mind some awkward silences on the way home. But those moments aren’t gratuitous and they fit in well with the overall tone of vulnerability. They don’t dominate the show by any means.

The stories weave around and through each other, seemingly at random. There are asides off the asides. Don’t worry though, Dean knows what he’s doing. This is far from his first rodeo. Having seen him before, I was willing to sit back, relax and trust we were in good hands. And we were. There is a reveal in the last few minutes of the show that will leave you reeling, rethinking everything you have thought for the last hour. Of course, I won’t spoil it here, nor do I think you should try to find any answers online before you go. Because the moment of realisation and reflection is breathtaking.

I wish I could see the show again, but knowing casts everything into a different light. All his stories, the strange titbits, the vulnerability, suddenly all perfect sense and slot together to form a truly incredible puzzle you didn’t even know he was building. It’s beautiful. It’s mind-blowingly well written and leaves you thinking, long after the show is finished. The more you think, the more you’ll realise and it’ll impress you all over again.

This isn’t a show for everyone. But if you’re intrigued or on the fence, I highly recommend you give it a chance. I highly doubt you’ll regret it.

LARRY DEAN – FUDNUT is on at THE SWISS CLUB and THE MELBOURNE TOWN HALL. 

 https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2023/shows/larry-dean