Damian Power – Squirrel Comedy

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award Winners for 2016

by Lisa Clark

It has been an amazing year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In a first for the Festival – The Winner of the Barry Award, Zoe Coombs-Marr, is also the Winner of the Golden Gibbo. So it’s a Barry Winner who is brave and independent and we couldn’t be happier for Zoe. Presented via Skype (also a first) by last year’s winner Sam Simmons, the award was for Zoe’s show Trigger Warning starring her gender bending alter ego called Dave. There was Big Buzz around all the Winners this year, with none being a huge surprise and all being lauded and promoted by word of mouth and on social media for weeks. All of the nominees were favourites with everyone and those of us who got out to see them are very happy about them all being held up for celebration. It’s also a rare year where all the winners are Australian, and rightly so. So congratulations to Everyone!!

If Anne Edmonds and Damien Power are a bit sad about missing out on a Barry, they can be cheered by their Directors Awards win as True Australian Patriots and know that their own shows were loved too. True Aussie Patriots – Live was some of the best political and social satire seen on an Australian stage performed by some our best comedians (2 of them having been nominated for Barrys – the other Greg, didn’t do a solo show this year to be nominated, but won the Golden Gibbo as part of Fancy Boys two years ago.) Rhys Nicholson, can take heart in the fact that his new wife Zoe won the Barry and that their big fat gay wedding at the Festival Club last night will go down in Festival history and Legend.

I think I saw co winners of The Directors Award, Zanzoop – Feeble Minds, before a lot of ‘official’ people managed to and have been singing it’s praises to everyone ever since. A truly insane, intelligent, incredible, late night chat show hosted by the wise cracking green alien Zanzoop (Sam Campbell) that surprises you by having sweetness at its heart, performed by some sincerely talented, charismatic people. It also contains Best Newcomer Tom Walker who shines in both Feeble Minds and his own gentle and delightful immersive clowning show Beep Boop.

The Pinder Prize (Named after the late John Pinder who was an original co-founder of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and opened some of the first comedy rooms in Melbourne in the 1970s – The Flying Trapese and The Last Laugh Theatre Restaurant) is a brand new award at the festival which sends recipient – Tom Ballard – to Edinburgh Fringe to perform as part of the Assembly Theatre Program.

Remember that there is still another day of Festival shows tomorrow and some shows cancelled due to illness will hopefully be rescheduled in Melbourne Soon.

Readers from other states: You can look forward to seeing some of these shows or performers in your town soon.

Here are the Award Winners for 2016

BARRY AWARD

Winner: Zoe Coombs-Marr – Trigger Warning

Nominees:
Damien Power – Sell Mum into Slavery
Luisa Omielan (UK) – Am I Right Ladies?!
Tom Ballard – The World Keeps Happening
Anne Edmonds That’s Eddotainment
David O’Doherty (IRE) – We Are All In The Gutter, But Some Of Us Are Looking At David O’Doherty
Rhys Nicholson – Bone Fide

BEST NEWCOMER

Winner: Tom Walker – Beep Boop

Nominees:
Demi Lardner – Life Mechanic
Guy Montgomery (NZ) – Guy Montcomedy
Rose Matafeo (NZ) – Finally Dead

GOLDEN GIBBO AWARD (Independant & Creative show)

Winner: Zoe Coombs-Marr – Trigger Warning

Nominees:
Asher Treleaven & Gypsy Wood – Peter & Bambi Heaven – The Magic Inside
Luis Brown – Lessons With Luis
Tommy Dassallo – Little Golden Dassallo

THE PINDER PRIZE (including a trip to the Edinburgh Festival):

Winner: Tom Ballard – The World Keeps Happening

PIECE OF WOOD (Peer Voted – Comedian’s Choice):

Winner: Chris Wainhouse – The Antichris

DIRECTOR’S CHOICE :

Winners: (Anne Edmonds, Damian Power and Greg Larsen) True Australian Patriots – Live

and

Winners: (Sam Campbell, Cam Campbell, Tom Walker and Aaron Chen) Zanzoop – Feeble Minds

Peoples choice: Carl Barron – Drinking with a Fork

Funny Tonne (Audience Member seeing the most [over 100] shows): Jeremy McPherson

PREVIOUSLY WON MICF AWARDS

Deadly Funny National Champion – Jalen Sutcliffe

Class Clowns National Champion – Lauren Duong from the ACT

RAW Comedy Award (Including a trip to the Edinburgh Festival)- Danielle Walker from Victoria

True Australian Patriots Live

By Elyce Phillips

Les, Gary and Steve (Anne Edmonds, Damian Power and Greg Larsen) are the True Australian Patriots, a fringe group desperate to protect the Australian way of life from all manner of perceived threats. This comedy festival, they are stepping into the lefty heartland to teach us all a lesson about the dangers we face, and perhaps entice us to join them in their fight.

From the moment the audience entered the venue and saw the PowerPoint presentation displayed on stage – a truly magnificent collection of patriotic memes and yellow Monaro photos – the laughter was constant. Everything about this show is painfully funny. There are educational segments filled with crackpottery, baffling displays of Australian culture, and more weightlifting than you would expect. Bubbling underneath it all is the complicated relationship between the trio – a constant struggle for power and love.

Edmonds, Power and Larsen throw everything they’ve got into their characters, creating personas that are truly horrible and yet kind of endearing. Over the course of the show, you get some insight into how these people came together as a result of deeper issues in their lives. Les, Gary and Steve are perfectly unprofessional, regularly stuffing up lines, positioning themselves awkwardly on the stage, and getting upset when the audience laughs at them.

This is not a show for the faint-hearted. Edmonds, Power and Larsen stay true to their characters throughout and do not shy away from the content they’re satirising. The bulk of what comes out of their collective faces is deeply offensive, and a part of you does cringe at the thought that there are people out there who are genuinely that prejudiced. But through being bold and out-and-out stupid with this material, True Australian Patriots show these “patriotic” groups for what they are – collections of very sad people with completely ridiculous opinions that should not be taken seriously in any way, shape or form.

True Australian Patriots Live is a show unlike any other. It’s a total assault on all the senses, and an absolute masterclass in commitment to character. This big lefty was certainly shown what’s what and left the venue in tears.

True Australian Patriots Live is on at the Melbourne Town Hall Supper Room until April 16.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2016/season/shows/live-true-australian-patriots

St Kilda Comedy at Felix Bar

by Luke Simmons

To mark the first official day of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, a near full-house
witnessed a great night of sample comedy at the Felix Bar in St Kilda. And unlike the measly samples
you get at supermarkets, everyone left this night feeling full to the brim. MC’d skillfully by Matt
Okine, the night provided punters with a taster of the other 7 comics’ shows which are happening
throughout the festival.

The balmy night got off to a great start when it became clear that the crowd didn’t need any extra
gee’ing up. Okine then slammed into his routine and had everyone in his hands throughout the
night as he brought us into his world of money (see: envy), food and… his square-looking nuts.
Great job Matt and do check out Broken Diamond House!

Greg Fleet hit the stage and killed it as per usual. As a taster for his upcoming show, Greg mostly
spoke of drugs in both the sporting and “relaxational” sense. If you ever have a beer with him, ask
him whether he’s ever been recognised for his role as the killer in Neighbours… For more of Fleet,
see: The Boy Who Cried Sober.

Dayne Rathbone (It’s Me Dayne) then came on and kind of took everyone by surprise with his
unique brand of humour. Part of his appeal and funniness comes from his (deliberate) awkward
style of storytelling. However, he closed with a rape joke which seemed to divide the room
somewhat.

Dilruk Jayasinha then hit the stage at a million miles an hour and took everyone through the trials
and tribulations of his love life. Not surprising, he has a show coming up with Adam Francis called
RomCom. No one likes to get dumped and Jayasinha took the crowd through some of the worst
case scenarios of being on the receiving end. He rocked the mic.

The super stylish Rhys Nicholson waltzed onto the stage and gave the audience a lesson in hard
partying, Sydney culture and to use social media to lift yourself out of the dumps. Nicholson thrives
on pushing the sexual envelope and has the slickness to pull it off – then some. Check out: Dawn of
a New Error.

Imagine that Shane Hunter is that Aussie mate of yours who loves telling stories of everything that’s
wrong with humans and/or Australians. Multiple his wit/delivery/timing by 100 and then you have
Shane. I think he’s worked out how the pyramids were made. Hunter is a piss-funny man you’d love
to have at your BBQ. His Festival show is called Help Me Hunter.

Juliet Myers then slammed onto the stage and made use of every second she had. Her high energy
set covered highbrow Brit culture and proves that some people do become über jerks as soon as
they leave their shores. She’s got a massive reputation and proved it’s warranted based on her set.
See: Middle Lane Swimmer.

Damian Power skilfully closed off the night with a power set including an intellectually challenged
sportsman who finds clarity. This guy is a clever man. He then outlines why racist people have
mental deficiencies while pointing out how drugs can have positive effects on motivation levels. If you
like Bill Hicks, you’ll love this guy’s way of thinking. See: Monkeys In Space

Based on audience reaction alone, this night made everyone laugh, was very reasonably priced and
gave an ideal insight into what to expect at the comic’s full length shows. Felix Bar Comedy regularly
attracts funny men and women of the highest order for their Wednesday nights – and they did it
once again.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/st-kilda-comedy-at-felix-bar