Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015 – Page 13

Frank Hampster’s Fart Lab

By Colin Flaherty

Frank Hampster’s Fart Lab is a show with a bit of an identity crisis. Its subject matter ensures that it’s a hit with kids but it is performed at 8:30pm. It’s almost watershed timeslot suggests that we can expect plenty of ribald toilet humour but being at the Clean Comedy Hub there is only the mere hint at smut. It’s a curious little show indeed!

To appeal to the kids (or kids at heart) there were plentiful sound clips of flatulence, whoopee cushions to play with and lots of treats for those willing to join in the audience participation. For the adult punters, this show is exactly what it says on the tin – monologues about the history of fart jokes, facts about flatulence and many, many jokes about farts – some basic, others quite clever. It certainly attempted to cater for everyone.

There were a few junior night-owls in the audience that I was a part of and it seemed as though Frank was directing the majority of his performance their way in an attempt to hold their interest. Some of the monologues were delivered in a slightly dry manner which not only robbed them of their humorous power but you could see the attention of the little ones waning. They were allowed to run amok, so much so that it threatened to drag Frank away from his scripted material, but he did a good job in maintaining control.

He employed many references of yore and some gentle innuendo in his script that, while tickling the fancy of the mature folk, flew over the kid’s heads. One interesting aspect was that Frank tapped into some school yard nostalgia in the form of juvenile fart jokes and the associated rituals. My inner seven year old chuckled when he recognised these chants of the playground and even learnt some unfamiliar ones used at other schools. The patriotic (possibly seditious) finale was an inspired highlight of silly fun for all.

This performance was an audio / visual extravaganza (thankfully not an odoriferous one) with fart sounds coming thick and fast within a PowerPoint presentation to aid his comedic lecture. A number of clips pulled from the internet provided some chuckles but the random clips from TV and movies were purely excuses for more farts and didn’t particularly aid the jokes.

The advertising pretty much tells you if you’re likely to enjoy this show. If you think that fart jokes are the pinnacle of humour you will have a whale of a time, but if your tastes are more sophisticated you may be left a little cold.

Frank Hampster’s Fart Lab is at The Clean Comedy Hub

For Tickets and information see the MICF website:

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/fart-lab-frank-hampster

5 Good Reasons why you should see The Umbilical Brothers: KiDSHoW (not suitable for children)

1. It has singing, storytelling, smiles, happy dancing, fight scenes and murder.

2. It’ll be even more fun than last year. And there won’t be any kids there.

3. If you’re into deconstructive comedy, this is for you. Not only does it deconstruct theatrical reality and kids’ entertainment, it will deconstruct your sacred inner child and reconstruct it as some kind of messed-up weirdo.

4. You have a secret desire to see something terrible happen to the Brady Bunch.

5. You can read. (See last year’s Squirrel Comedy review of this show. On second thought, maybe don’t look at it – it contains spoilers. Trust us, it’s a cracker though)

6. The Umbilical Brothers are always prepared to go One Better for your pure entertainment.

The Umbilical Brothers: KiDSHoW (not suitable for children) is playing at the Athenaeum Theatre, March 31 to April 5, 6.45 p.m.

See the MICF Website for Bookings and information:

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/kidshow-not-suitable-for-children-the-umbilical-brothers

Matt Okine – The Other Guy

By Noel Kelso

This year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival I have made a conscious decision to see a broader range of comics than in previous years. For me, that means attending performances by some of the more established names rather than limiting my viewing to the smaller shows and venues, and this is proving to be quite an enlightening comedic journey as I discover what makes these other comics so popular.

Yesterday I took myself to Matt Okine’s show ‘The Other Guy’ at The Victoria Hotel after seeing some of his stand-up on a TV show and finding myself wondering why I had never been to see this clearly funny man. This would prove to be a welcome variation in my already eclectic comedy diet with his style falling somewhere between my usual fair of weird and wonderful surrealism and the more straightforward forms of stand-up with feedlines and punchlines.

Okine is known to many people in this country for his work as a host on breakfast radio and this informs the beginning of his show where he talks of people asking him when he needs to be awake; don’t the hours bother him and how crazy it is.

Clearly a confident and polished performer, Okine engages the audience with tales of online trolling, and how social media has made it easier for people to directly let performers know just what they think of them – often in unnecessarily blunt terms. His joy at finally earning a wage which allows him to indulge in luxuries such as eating proper food is wrung for every ounce of humour it is worth.

An important factor in Okine’s appeal is his open and friendly personality which lends an honesty to his performance as he visibly cringes at the thought of some of the things he might say next. This is particularly evident during the central piece which concerns his relationship break-up and reminiscence of early love when at school. The latter in turn leads into some very funny asides on the nature of racism and the apparent differences between how the wealthy and the poor express their racism which had the audience laughing along in thoughtful recognition.

Okine makes excellent use of metaphor throughout his show and has excellent narrative structure, connecting the various parts of the routine smoothly and without the need for awkward segues. His recounting of his attempts to get back into the dating scene using social media are simultaneously hilarious and awful to behold as he details each awkwardly embarrassing misstep and misunderstanding.

The comedic situations mentioned here are not only funny and recognisable, but engender sympathy for the awkwardness and uncertainty of each one. His musings on the nature of body image amused those present whilst also hammering home a few truths.

Overall this is a great piece of comedy from a comic who isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve and let his audience see him at his most vulnerable.

Matt Okine – The Other Guy is playing at the Victoria Hotel, Little Collins Street until 19^th April.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/the-other-guy-matt-okine

Neil Hamburger – Discounted Entertainer

By Elyce Phillips

As he shuffles onto the stage at the Portland, Neil Hamburger (Gregg Turkington) cuts a tragic figure. His oily comb-over is slicked firmly to his skull, the four drinks he cradles in the crook of his arm slosh over his tuxedo with every movement he makes. The expression on his face is pained, his spirit already as deflated as the balloons that are scattered across the floor. This is America’s Funnyman – a monstrous congealment of every hack comic that’s played a dive venue for booze money in the last 50 years.

Hamburger is a magnificent creation, simultaneously hideous and hilarious. His jokes are filled with pop culture references at least a decade old, taking shots at the likes of Gene Simmons, Paris Hilton and Blind Melon. Vile, convoluted set-ups lead to baffling, filth-ridden punchlines, all punctuated by Hamburger hawking up a seemingly endless supply of phlegm and whimpering pitifully. What may have once been signs of showmanship in Hamburger are now pathological ticks of delivery, his catchphrases nothing more than whining drawls directed at the floor. As you watch, you can feel the soul-crushing history of his career.

This is a show for comedy masochists. It’s a chance to wallow in the stinking morass of comedy at its most repugnant. The audience was almost disappointed on the odd occasions a well-crafted joke came along. One audience member actually exclaimed, “Hey, that was actually a good one!” after a particularly funny joke about hummus. However, rest assured, these moments are few and far between. Hamburger harbours nothing but contempt for his audience and himself. When the jokes don’t work, the blame lies squarely with the punters, and abuse is doled out accordingly.

Both painfully funny and just straight-up painful, ‘Discounted Entertainer’ is a very unique comedic experience. Take a chance, brace yourself and you will be rewarded with one of the most brilliant acts going around this festival.

Neil Hamburger – Discounted Entertainer is in the Portland Room at the Portland Hotel until April 19.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/discounted-entertainer-neil-hamburger

Penny Greenhalgh : Pop Pop

By Lisa Clark

Pop Pop is a show that needs an audience… well, requires an audience….Well, without one there is not much show. Despite Penny’s obviously well-honed stage skills, this show was a bit of a disappointment for me because it was not my cup of tea as I’m not a big fan of excessive audience participation.

I feel sorry for the couple who come in on that quiet mid-Festival Wednesday when they are the only audience members and discover they have to play all the parts the rest of the audience would normally perform. Hope they are in the mood for a bit of audience participation. Well a LOT of audience participation.

Penny is very assured on stage… well, extremely confident… well, bordering on looney megalomaniac. She starts out badgering the sound guy, which is always a bit of fun schtick in a show and he barely bats an eye as he hits every cue perfectly, though at one point he added an extra one to catch her out and make her laugh. Or to get revenge.

Penny is giving us her ridiculously grand idea of what her show would be if it were performed at Rod Laver Arena with huge props and elaborate costumes she cannot yet afford. Meanwhile her skits deconstruct different styles of comedy. Unfortunately for me it actually played like a precocious 12 year old performing a series of stunts for visitors who are trapped in a living room while she shows off her skills, talents and knowledge about ‘how comedy works’. To entertain an audience while you deconstruct comedy requires you to be bloody brilliant at it, but unfortunately Penny doesn’t quite have the comedy chops to pull it off.

The same can be said about her stunt audience participation which she took too far without the comedy skills to back it up. She bullied audience members to do some pretty outrageous stuff at one point refusing to take a polite ‘no’ for an answer which is where she lost me. He should not have had to explain his disability to the audience before she finally gave up. Forcing passive or unwilling audience members into physical interaction is a no-no as far as I’m concerned. (I don’t like it when famous comedians do it either).

The opening had a bit of Paul Foot about it. She intricately explained what she was doing and roles for every audience member and dragged it out to extremes, repeating it as latecomers arrived. By the third time it was actually very funny but only if she can arrange exactly 3 groups of late comers, more or less and it wouldn’t be so funny. The closing however was inspired, joyful and worked really well. As long as she has a big audience to help her carry it off.

Penny is an engaging performer, with a lot of potential, she elicited laughs from the audience and there were others in the room clearly having a great time. If you love audience participation and watching others being bullied by an overbearing performer, and many do, then you should go along and give this show the audience it needs.

Pop Pop is on at The forum Theatre until April 19
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/pop-pop-penny-greenhalgh

5 Good Reasons to see Jekyll x James – Cactus Blastus

1. We were nominated for Best Comedy at Perth Fringe World this year. Look, let’s not beat around the bush, I mean, we’re about to take over the world. Every second you spend reading this article is a second we’re getting more famous and jaded. Come bask in the final blinding rays of our anonymity; which is in short supply.

2. If you like beatboxing, guitars, mime shoot outs, cowboys, cowgirls, reverse cowgirls (sex sells) & want a legal way to experience a peyote trip – we’re your dudes.

3. Just quickly; back to the first reason for a moment. We didn’t mean to sound conceited, or nothing. We just really believe we have a great show & that you will enjoy it. Sorry if that came off as arrogant!

4. Our 2014 show, Paradise, was compared favourably to The Mighty Boosh & Flight Of The Conchords. Which is pretty flattering. To them.

5. Sorry, I just realised that sounded cocky. Man, it’s hard not to sound like a dickhead in these things. Especially when you know your act is flawless. Just trust us, the show is really funny.

Jekyll x James – Cactus Blastus is on at at the Forum Theatre, 26 March to 19 April
For Informations and bookings go to the MICF Website
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/cactus-blastus-jekyll-x-james