Adam McKenzie – Laser Light

By Lisa Clark  

Adam McKenzie has been one third of the phenomenal sketch team Watson for many years now and it’s been too long since he has done a solo festival show. Because it’s an Adam McKenzie show, you know it’s going to be somewhat nerdy and Laser Light has a lot of Star Trek references. If you don’t have any knowledge of Star Trek, that’s OK because most people have some connection with its main theme of lasers
.sorry
.cancer.

I first saw Adam do standup about his bowel cancer, not long after it all happened, at Local Laughs StKilda. He was so raw, because the experience was so raw and close. The room was electric and Adam had everyone laughing and crying. I’m not surprised he’s stepped back a little from doing that sort of Festival Show. It would be pretty harrowing seven nights a week during a festival. Unsurprisingly, Adam has decided to go down a slightly more theatrical path with a parallel Trekker plot of being attacked by The Borg. They make a brilliant metaphor. These cyborgs were the Star Trek enemies who terrified the willies out of me when I 1st saw them on late night TV. Next Gen was usually heartwarming pre sleep entertainment, but not that night.

In the standup segments, Adam cheerfully takes us through many of his cancer experiences with few punches pulled. Everyone has a different cancer journey, he doesn’t pretend to have the ultimate experience. There are funny stories that come out of it all and scary ones as well.  Perhaps scariest for Adam is that he discovered that he HAD to change his inadequate diet. So, perhaps as an aid to his new lifestyle, or for the entertainment of us all, he has committed to trying out a new food that he has never tasted before, every night on stage, during the show. He has a choice of three things and the audience has to pick one for him, tonight was cherry tomatoes, kiwi fruit and unpeeled cucumber. All I could think from the sour look on his face as he ate the tomatoes, is that if you are going to try tomatoes for the 1st time, please, get them from a friend’s garden when they are warm from the sun and divinely sweet. And someone peel the cucumber, at least. It helps if you discover food at its best. Being a comedian, though, Adam is no doubt, going for the laughs over his tastebuds.

Adam doesn’t want this to be his ‘Cancer Show’, but let’s face it, it is, and why not? Most people are touched by cancer at some point in their life and because it’s always been such a taboo subject, it can feel pretty isolating. At the time, and afterwards, you tend to be drawn to those things that help you deal with what is a pretty harrowing experience. A cheery, daggy, nerdy comedy show from an experienced talented comedian might be just the trick.

Also there are lasers.

Adam McKenzie is performing Laser Light at The Coopers Malthouse

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2018/shows/adam-mckenzie-laser-light

Watson – Go To Hell!

By Lisa Clark
Go To Hell
Fear is the Mind Killer. Fear can cripple people from living their life with freedom and joy. Two years ago Melbourne Comedy Festival Stalwarts Watson put on a horror comedy show in the historical and genuinely creepy Melbourne Gaol. Anyone who went will never forget all the hilarious and terrifying hijinx that took place in that Gaol. It will no doubt go down in Festival history as one of the best things ever put on at the festival. This year, Watson’ Go To Hell connects through to that show but taking us to the even deeper, darker places in between the two that are the inspiration for this show.

Watson have always loved to play act movies for us and here they get to play out some famous horror film scenes for laughs, but this isn’t the bulk of the show. It’s just part of the whole exploration of fear and links back to a more innocent time for Watson. Things have changed.

Like going to a Horror Movie, from the title and poster of Go To Hell you know you’re in for something scary when you’re seated in the Beckett Theatre but you don’t know what or how. The stage is a big empty black space and the audience doesn’t know when or if anyone will appear behind them or above them or next to them. At least you have the reassurance of being in the safe hands of the endearing and funny Watson crew who will guide you on this rollercoaster ride of a show and bring you through the other side.

The surround sound soundscape is visceral and the original music spine tingling. Director Steven Gates did not create the soundscape, it was created by Gillian Lever but he was obviously a big influence on its existence, he did design the soundscape for Inside with Frank Woodley & Simon Yates and I remember it blew me away.

I can’t tell you about the crux of the show, you’re going to have to find that out for yourself. But you know those sorts of comedy shows that have you crying with laughter then crying with empathy, ‘til it all gets mixed up? You know the sort of show that critics love? This is one of those shows. I loved it.

Go To Hell! is on at The Malthouse Theatre until April 23
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/go-to-hell

RECOMMENDED AND PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED SHOWS AT MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 2017

By Lisa Clark & Colin Flaherty

The 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival is back bigger than ever and the Squirrels are here to help you chose which shows to spend your money and time on. There are shows that we have already seen and also some intriguing shows that have piqued our interest.

PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED

A number of MICF shows have run prior to the festival and we have already reviewed some of these. We’ll give the usual disclaimer that Festival shows are ever evolving beasts, so the show’s we have covered may have undergone changes (hopefully for the better!) since we saw them.

Alanta Colley Parasites Lost

Alanta Colley
Alanta Colley

Lisa reviewed her at the 2016 Melbourne Fringe: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=10549

You can book at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/parasites-lost

Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night

This is Lisa’s review from last year: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=9937

Book your tickets at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/ali-mcgregor

ApocOlympics

Here’s Colin’s review from the 2016 Melbourne Fringe: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=10580

Booking details are at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/apocolympics

Cindy Salmon’s Empowerment Hour by Hayley Tantau

cindy-salmon-empowerment-hour
Cindy Salmon

Here’s Elyce’s review at the 2016 Meloburne Fringe: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=10575

Booking details are at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/cindy-salmon-s-empowerment-hour

Cull

Read Colin’s review from the 2016 Melbourne Fringe: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=10470

Bookings details can be found at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/cull

Gabe Hogan:  Making Life a Double

Lisa’s review from the 2016 Melbourne Fringe is at https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=10491

Bookings details are at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/making-life-a-double

Isabel Angus Presents Bliss

Here’s Lisa’s review of the 2016 Melbourne Fringe performance: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=10515

Bookings can be made at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/isabel-angus-presents-bliss

Late Night Letters and Numbers

This late night show was reviewed in 2013 by Lisa: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=3846

Booking details can be found at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/late-night-letters-and-numbers

Mighty Little Puppet Show 

Mighty Little Puppet Show
Mighty Little Puppet Show

The 2016 MICF show was reviewed by Lisa is: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=9929

Book your tickets at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/the-might-little-puppet-show

Political Asylum 

A now annual fixture of MICF, Elice’s review is here: https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=3785

Bookings can be made at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/political-asylum-s-late-night-riot

Soothsayers: Completely Improvised Shakespeare

Lisa’s review from the 2015 Melbourne Fringe is here” https://www.squirrelcomedy.com/?p=9433

Booking details are at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/completely-improvised-shakespeare

RECOMMENDED

The Bugle Live

This is the first ever live version of Andy Zaltzman’s podcast. It promises live guests, people on screens, freshly-hewn satire, lies, puns and high-grade bullshit. Sounds like tonnes of fun. (You can see his own standup show too, sold separately)

Bookings: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/the-bugle-live

Daniel Kitson… 

Daniel Kitson

The last time Daniel performed here in 2015 it was with his astonishing, gorgeous, experimental play Polyphony. It involved 20 pre-recorded characters (played by actors and comedians) on MP3players being played by audience members. I was lucky enough to see it towards the end of the run, on a night when it all ran beautifully and it blew my mind. If audience participation was the comedy trend, Daniel fashioned it into couture art. We’ve missed out on a lot of his finished shows in Melbourne over the past ten years but he’s making up for it by giving us Three types of Kitson, including a filmed show we never got to see.

1. Stories For The Starlit Sky with Gavin Osbourne

Actually 3 plays in one (of his 3 shows). It will be long, why not bring a packed lunch? 3 of his delightful heartwarming and funny stories from Daniel with Gavin on the Guitar.

Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne – 2nd to 23rd April
(Various Dates and Times) https://goo.gl/AVrCLX

2. Not Yet But Soon – A Work in Progress Stand up Show.

Well its another work in Progress, but having done it in Sydney before Melbourne it should be fairly well formed. An hour and a half, but knowing Daniel probably longer. Its mostly on late too, 10 pm so have a little nap during the day.

Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne – March 30th to April 16th  (Various dates and times)- https://goo.gl/bry3Tv

3. It’s Always Right Now Until It’s Later –  On Film

A 7 year old show we never got to see in Australia, but here it is preserved forever on film and Daniel will be there to introduce it.

 Palace Westgarth Northcote – April 18th, 19th  – 7pm – https://goo.gl/jVA2N3

Infectious

A comedy night for charity produced by our own Erin Davidson and we can promise you she has organised a cracker of a lineup. Names she cannot name, but some of the top names in Australian comedy and this may be the only place during the festival you get to see some of them. Also you get to laugh for a good cause.

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/a-night-of-infectious-laughter-2

Josh Earl's Festival
Josh Earl’s Festival

Josh Earl & Daniel Tobias: Josh Earl’s Festival   

Josh has hooked up with Daniel from Die Roten Punkte and they promise famous guest stars in this mini comedy music festival. I’ve had a bit of a taste of this one and it has got my mouth watering for more.

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/josh-earl-s-festival-1

Michael Williams: Escape from a 90s Educational CD-ROM!

One of the recipients of this year’s Moosehead Grants, you can always be rely upon Williams to present an inventive and hilarious show. Last year he was one of our favourites, with the added Moosehead creative seal of approval, this is sure to be a doozy!

Bookings: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/escape-from-a-90s-educational-cd-rom

Sammy J: Hero Complex 

Sammy J Hero Complex
Sammy J Hero Complex

Hero Complex was the Talk of Melbourne Fringe and the talk was: “Have you Seen it? You HAVE TO SEE IT!!!” We were so glad we did. It won Best Comedy Show at Melbourne Fringe 2016 and has just won the first Weekly Award for comedy at Adelaide Fringe 2017. It is side achingly hilarious, and face hurtingly joyous. It’s better to go in knowing as little as possible; yes it is about Sammy J’s love for The Phantom but also about much, much more.

Bookings: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/hero-complex

A Visit With Nan In A Caravan

Five audience members ­– in one caravan ­– with three spiteful old grannies ­– for 15 minutes. These terrifying characters by Thomas Jaspers, Kyle Minall and Scott Brennan will be more so in such close quarters and sure to be hilarious.

Bookings: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/caravan

Watson: Go To Hell!

After scaring the stuffing out of laughing audiences at the Old Melbourne Gaol during the 2015 Melbourne Fringe, Watson (Adam McKenzie, Liam Ryan and Tegan Higginbotham) return with a show of frights and laughs. Another Moosehead recipent so expectations are high.

Bookings: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017/shows/go-to-hell

View the entire Comedy Festival program at https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2017, so get out and start booking tickets!

 

WATSON – The Life Education Van for Adults!

By Elyce Phillips Watson Life education Van

When you’re a kid, everything’s easy. A big van comes round to your school and a puppet tells you how to live your life. You’re sorted. But as an adult, puppet-based life advice is sorely lacking, and that’s where WATSON (Tegan Higginbotham, Adam McKenzie and Liam Ryan) come in. In The Life Education Van for Adults, WATSON tackle the big issues we face as grown-ups – relationships, sex, employment – and give questionable tips on how to get by, via the magic of sketch comedy.

The trio had a difficult task this year, following on from the success of Who’s Afraid of the Dark?, their very successful Melbourne Gaol show. The Life Education Van for Adults is simpler in its staging and scope, but just as hilarious. We see snippets of the show they do for schools, tips for the adults in the room and some flashbacks that show how they became the people they are today. Linking everything together is a story about the group being stuck in the desert that provides great opportunity to showcase their superb comedic relationship. Higginbotham, McKenzie and Ryan are equally strong performers, each taking a turn at being the most ridiculous person on stage.

WATSON are a group of performers that look like they’re having an enormous amount of fun, and that energy is infectious. Their sketches are witty and sharply-written, but performed in a slightly shambolic way that makes them feel off-the-cuff. Higginbotham, McKenzie and Ryan deliver the laughs the whole way through, with particular highlights being a section on life hacks and a sketch about dating in the modern era, told with Jane Austen-style sensibilities.

The Life Education van for Adults is highly entertaining, wonderfully silly, and if you do a little googling at home, possibly very educational. Get in fast if you’re keen to check it out, as shows have been selling out.

WATSON – The Life Education Van for Adults! is on at Melbourne Town Hall’s Backstage Room until April 16

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2016/season/shows/the-life-education-van-for-adults-watson

Watson: Who’s Afraid of the Dark?

By Noel Kelso

Do you like scary stories, dear reader? (This review really should be read in a low whisper of a voice with an upper-class English accent for best effect)

You do? Oh – in that case – you are in luck.

This year at Melbourne Fringe Watson have a story filled with scares to tell and I braved the darkness of the Melbourne Gaol to bring you this review.

Previous efforts from this performance troupe has seen them recreate some of Shakespeare’s greatest fight scenes and embark on an interplanetary mission to battle terrifying alien creatures sporting celebrity names. Both of which have been quite light-hearted affairs. Their latest effort ‘Who’s Afraid of the Dark?’ is an altogether different kettle of fish.

As I arrived at Melbourne Gaol the usher welcomed me  and said that should the show prove too scary there is a safety word which I could call-out and I would be escorted from the venue to safety.

Safety word? O-kay


Tegan Higginbotham then loomed out from the dark of a corridor and pointed me in the correct direction for the room in which the evening begins and I took my seat with the rest of the audience. She then proceeded to tell us all in the room a little bit of the grisly history of the venue and re-iterated the usher’s warning of how scary this evening will be and emphasised the safety word once more. Tegan was then joined by Adam McKenzie who made his entrance in typically jocular manner before events began to take a turn for the ghostly and he had to be rescued through the timely arrival of Liam Ryan brandishing a bible. To say any more would surely spoil the show.

So – what can I say about this show without ruining the surprises?

Like previous efforts from this group this is a very funny show with plenty of laughs and silly humour, but this is contrasted with a rich seam of scares throughout. The atmosphere of terror in the show is accentuated by the thorough use of the venue itself – Melbourne Gaol and really showcases the acting range of the three lead performers.Particular praise must also be given to those involved in support who help transform the gaol from mundane aging bricks and mortar to a creepy portal to Hell through great use of sound, lighting and careful prop placement.

This show certainly provides laughs and scares in equal measure and I would recommend it in a heartbeat – if my heart were still beating. Alas, I too fell victim to the ghosts of the gaol and have now joined their ranks, but unlike that poor attempt at scares I just typed this show is pitch-perfect.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Watson is on at the City Watch House, Old Melbourne Gaol until October 2nd.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/watson-who-s-afraid-of-the-dark/

The Butterfly Club, Brackets and The Greatest Show on Earth*

The Butterfly Club has built a reputation over the past decade as one of Melbourne’s finest performing spaces, particularly for cabaret and comedy. It has famously nurtured talented artists such as Tim Minchin and Eddie Perfect. You might have heard that after crowd-sourcing help last year The Butterfly Club has moved premises from South Melbourne to a laneway in the heart of the city. This proved particularly convenient during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, as the venue is now a short stroll from The Town Hall and other festival venues.

Owner, Simone Pugla is proud of showcasing world class cabaret  and comedy at The Butterfly Club. He has recently launched a new comedy room called Brackets late on Friday nights run by fellow ex West Australian Clayton Steele. Also coming up is a short season of comedy nights called The Greatest Show on Earth run by Tegan Higginbotham. I interviewed both Clayton and Tegan about their new nights.

 

There has always been a tradition of intelligent comedians. From Shakespeare’s King Lear, where the Fool is clearly the smart one in the play, through members of Monty Python and The Goodies who were university students often giving up careers in law and medicine much to their parents’ horror no doubt. Here in Australia we have many working comedians who gave up lucrative lives as Surgeons (Rob Sitch), Lawyers (Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Julian Morrow, Craig Reucassel, Libby Gore), accountants (Lehmo) or architects (Rod Quantock, Barry Humphries). Brackets is a room that wants to give comedians a space to showcase their brains to an appreciative audience. We were there on opening night and discovered that you don’t have to have a PHD to have a great time in the audience.

Clayton Steele

Tell us a bit about your background in comedy and how you found yourself working in comedy?
I lived in Melbourne for a short period in the early 90s and, having known Matt Parkinson (Empty Pockets) and Judith Lucy from working together in Perth, I naturally found myself frequenting the Espy and the Cheese Shop. I was hooked.
I moved back to Perth and after searching for like-minded souls, managed to find the local scene which, at that stage, was still in its infancy.
We established The Laugh Resort (a comedy co-op) and eventually I found myself running it for many years. During this time we saw the emergence of talent such as Rove, Dave Callan, Brendan Burns, Dave Hughes, the list goes on.
After that I was still always involved, judging, coaching, writing, whatever it took to get my fix.
Now living permanently in Melbourne, I fill my time directing, producing, coaching, writing and secret stuff I can’t talk about.

How long have you been in Melbourne?
About 5 years. Long enough to know that those horse and buggies in the city can do hook-turns better than most drivers.

How do you see the current state of comedy in Melbourne (or generally)?
I see the Melbourne scene in particular as problematic and I’ll focus on this scene because that’s where I am.
It would be easy to focus on the positives. The potential and the talent is there but I don’t believe the industry is as healthy as it could be.
I think there are too many people in this industry who want to use it only as a springboard to something else. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with comics going on to do TV or Radio. It’s the prevalence of comics, who got into the industry solely as a way to become famous, I find disrespectful and damaging to the art form.
I think that Melbourne comics (and perhaps others) have become too festival-centric. It seems that what you see in rooms nowadays is a trial for an upcoming festival show. The way that it is supposed to work is that a festival show is meant to showcase your highlights from the year. It would appear sometimes, to be a case of putting the cart before the horse.
I think that we have lost our way with how rooms are run. If you charge nothing to see comedy, do you want punters to think that that comedy is worth nothing? People are prepared to pay $19 to see a projected recording of a Michael Bay movie, surely a live performance is worth something. Why does it cost $19 to see a movie? Because movie stars get paid so much. Why do movie stars get paid so much? Because people are prepared to pay $19 to see a movie.
Having said that, open-mic nights are an exception. The problem is that open-mic nights in Melbourne are advertising big names to compete for the audience. A choice has to be made. Are you running an open-mic or are you running a professional room? If the latter, you need to respect the performers. Rather than competing for the same slice of pie, we need to focus on making the pie bigger.
And, if I’m going to be on my soap box, I think we have moved way too far into the realm of audience participation. At last year’s Comedy Festival I was dragged on stage on 6 separate occasions. Audience participation is great for the extroverts in the audience but I personally know a lot of introverts who will not go to comedy because of this. If you really have to involve an audience member, learn how to read their body language. An unwilling “stooge” can quite easily become a comedy ex-punter.

How did Brackets come about?
I spend a lot of time outside venues. It’s what I refer to as exit-polling. If punters are leaving a room and rather than talking about something they just experienced, they are talking about what they are doing tomorrow, maybe they haven’t been engaged.
I see this a lot more now than I ever used to.
Back in the day, comics were very proud of their material and competitive about how clever their gags were. Now I see a tendency towards shock tactics and, quite frankly, I’m not shocked by a rape gag, I just think it’s become rather hack and you have to ask the question: Do those jokes make the world a better place?
Another thing that has bothered me is that the norm is for rooms to have short sets. I feel like the comic never has enough time to get to the “meat”. Short sets are like take-away food, they satisfy the hunger but sometimes you just want to sit down to a nice meal.
So, I knew what I wanted, I just had to find the right room.
The answer came in the form of Simone from The Butterfly Club. As a fellow Mensan he shared my yearning for intelligent comedy.
Very rarely do you find the perfect fit with a venue but Simone, Xander and, for that matter, everyone at The Butterfly Club have made it feel more like joining a family than I could have ever dreamed.

Did it occur to you that it might be hard to find sufficient smart comedy to fill Friday nights? – Or are you confident in our local comedians’.brainpower.
I have a list of comics who could justifiably play the room and, if they all did, I would have a 6 month turn around. Comics, by their very nature, are generally highly intelligent and they all seem to relish the opportunity to show their capabilities.
I think that some comics have been guilty of occasionally playing to the lowest common denominator but who can blame them? It’s easier and the audience isn’t invested anyway.
The harder part is getting the message out to the audience who “get it” and are prepared to do a bit of thinking themselves. I know they’re out there.

Have you had positive feedback from the Mensa people so far?
As far as I can tell they are loving it… Or they are just really polite.

Do you think smart people in general are attracted to comedy?
I think human beings in general are attracted to comedy.
I’m not saying that “smart” comedy is superior. I have a lot of respect for your Kevin Bloody Wilsons etc. Benny Hill was a genius who found a niche and hit it hard. I just don’t happen to fall into that niche and I need to have a bit of a puzzle to solve for me to feel comedically satisfied.
For some, the audience participation, the physical involvement in a performance is necessary, for some it’s titillation, for me and, I’m sure, others it’s all cerebral.

Is there anything you would like to add?
I do want to explain the basic idea of what we are doing.
By saying “intelligent” comedy I am not saying that it is necessarily intellectual. It isn’t jokes about Maths or Tunisian politics. What the room is about is attracting an intelligent audience which in turn will give the comics the freedom to explore areas they may not otherwise feel comfortable in.
To me, shock comedy is nothing more than verbal slapstick. Stand-up comedy can be, and should be, much more than that. We have a responsibility as an industry. We get on stage and ask a group of strangers to listen to us. We better damn well have something to say

Future line ups at Brackets include:

June 7th:
Matt Elsbury
Adam McKenzie
Dave Thornton

June 14th
Harley Breen
Geraldine Hickey
Ryan Coffey

Information and tickets for Brackets can be found here

Tegan was asked to put these nights together in a bit of a rush and managed to get a top line up to perform over the four nights. The performers include herself and Adam Mckenzie as Watson, Justin Hamilton, Girls Un-Interrupted, Randy, Lessons With Luis, Adam Richard, Rama Nicholas and Adam Rozenbach. I spoke to her about what putting the show together was like.

Tegan Higginbotham.

Do you consider yourself the ‘curator’ of this show?
I suppose that technically I am the curator. Adam will be helping with things, of course, as that production is “Watson presents…”. But I think I’ll be doing a bit more of the heavy lifting given the late notice of the whole event. So “Ruling Overlord” is probably name I’m more comfortable with.

Did you have help?
So far Simone, Adam and Hammo have all been very helpful, yes.

Have you put a show together before?
Several. This show is an exciting little show out of a Festival setting, and I think it will be perfectly timed for everyone who’s beginning to feel the SADs a little. But as far as shows go, in the past two years I’ve put together a Melbourne Fringe show, 2 solo Comedy Festival shows and 2 Comedy Festival shows as a part of Watson.

Have you had a big idea like this bubbling away in the back of your mind for a while or did it all come together quickly?
The show itself has come together very quickly, but Adam and I have been talking about doing mini-shows throughout the year for a while. We also have plans for a big old Christmas show too.

How is it going to work, will all of those acts be performing on the same evening or will it be a different line up each evening?
The line-up will change each night. Some acts will do more than one night, like Hammo. Some guest will only join us once or twice. The idea is that all of the artists will be using this event as an opportunity to try something new and different.

Was it hard to get the line up you wanted?
I was pleasantly surprised how of my wish-list acts jumped on board. With Roadshow happening at the moment, I was expecting many comics to be too busy. But I also feel that there is a lot of good energy toward the Butterfly Club and comics are keen to jump behind the venue.

This feels a bit like a mini-The Shelf
.? (Or is it just that they were the logical go–to people because you know and work with them?)
It is definitely logical because I know them and work with them, but it’s also because I know all these people will put on a good show. And in the case of Girls Un-Interrupted, Rama Nicholas and Randy, these are 3 acts that havn’t hit The Shelf stage yet (but I’m kind of hoping will)

Is this Justin Hamilton’s first outing of his mini festival-type show? Does he plan to expand on it or perform it in the future or is this a way of getting it out of his system.
I’m not sure what Hammo plans to do with the show in the future, but it will be it’s first outing.

Anything you would like to add? (about performing at The Butterfly Club?)
I visited the new Butterfly Club only 3 weeks ago and was really excited by how amazing the space is. Upon further conversation with Simone, I got to hear how much effort the venue puts into supporting its artists and creating an artist community. This is the sort of thing we need in Melbourne. So if by doing this show we can create positive buzz not only for a load of great comedians (some of whom will be heading into a Fringe season soon) but also a great comedy venue, then I’ll be incredibly happy.

The Greatest Show on Earth is on from Thursday June 13th until Sunday June 16th Thur – Sat at 8.30 and Sun at 7.30. Bookings can be made here

For more information about upcoming shows go to The Butterfly Club website
*No Guarantees.