Category: Festivals

Scout Boxall – God’s Favourite

By Peter Hodgson

Have you ever had to white-knuckle a night without your meds? Scout Boxall definitely has. Boxall’s 2025 MICF show sees them face this dreaded dilemma in what’s gotta be one of the worst times and places to have to go through a mental health crisis: the night before a LARP wedding in regional Victoria, far away from precious Seroquel and getting deeper and deeper into the sort of stuff that your mind throws at you when you’re off your meds and getting into your medieval nun outfit.

This is the setting for a theatrical confessional that ponders the LARPy charms of medieval life verses what it really might have meant to be on the spectrum in the oldentimes. It could easily have gotten real dark and stayed that way, but Boxall expertly lifts us back up at the perfect moment, often with emphasis from the most utterly perfect sound and light cues. Sometimes it’s as subtle as a background light effect gently shifting with the story. Sometimes it’s a Scout-on-Scout conversation, or an atmospheric soundscape under a monologue, or a perfectly timed audio sting on a particular word. Boxall certainly doesn’t need all this stuff in order to be funny, but it sure is a treat to see this level of production after previously enjoying shorter standup sets at local shows.

Boxall has crafted a show that is relatable, intimate and sensitive, and which had me cackle-laughing, particularly at some of the specific references (Questacon, a certain type of jellybean, an infamous Scienceworks incident). It’s an ultimately uplifting story, beautifully punctuated with amazing atmospherics.

God’s Favourite is on at The Malthouse until April 20

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/scout-boxall-god-s-favourite/

Abby Howells – Welcome to My Dream

By Peter Newling

Over recent years Australia’s comedy clubs and television shows have been blessed with an influx of incredibly talented thirty-something New Zealand comedians. Abby Howell’s is an important voice in this mix.

She comes well credentialed. She is a past winner of the prestigious Billy T Award whose past winners include Cal Wilson, Rose Matafeo, Guy Montgomery and Melanie Bracewell. Fans of Taskmaster New Zealand will remember her from season 5 where she finished a solid fifth.

Through Welcome To My Dream, Howells offers us the chance to take a sneak peek into her mind. Much of the material is based on the impact of neurodivergence on her childhood, her family, her aspirations and her career. It’s really personal, really insightful, and really funny.

Often dreams don’t come true, but sometimes they do. Through masterful storytelling, Howells takes us from childhood expectations that she should be more like everyone else, to the growing realisation that difference is powerful. Along the way we learn that she is very good at vendettas – impishly seeking comeuppance on businesses, trolls and improv artists who have tried to thwart her dreams.

We also learn that Howells is a master of the punchy non-sequitur. Seemingly completely random thoughts are delivered with hilarious bluntness, and take us off on a completely new direction. It all makes sense eventually.

All this adds up to an hour that’s insightful, disarming and full of laugh-out-loud surprises. Howells’ style is endearing and engaging, underpinned with just the right amount of menace.

In Welcome To My Dream, Abby invites us to be part of her world. It’s well worth a visit.

Abby Howells – Welcome to My Dream is playing until April 20 at the Melbourne Town Hall Lunchroom, at 7:40pm and 6:40pm on Sundays. Tickets through

//www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/welcomed-to-my-dream/

** Footnote – the performance I saw was Auslan interpreted. Big shout out to the festival and to the performer for making this happen.

Sez – Keeps Me Young

By Lisa Clark

Sez is a country girl in the city reflecting on being in the world for a quarter of a century. Being a cabaret performer, she mostly does it in the form of comedy songs.

Sez has a very bright, confident, charming personality. She can hold the stage and warms the audience up with some silly call and response but there really isn’t a lot of singalongs so don’t worry/get your hopes up. Sez is a very good singer and excellent musician, playing her amusing comedy songs on three different instruments.

Most of Sez’s humour is fairly self deprecating and skims lightly over her topics, without any type of through line, the songs are short and end abruptly without a punchline. Sez, unsurprisingly, sings about all the issues of a person in their 20s, living in a share house, relationships and dealing with nasty social media comments. It’s amusing to watch a 25 year old reminiscing about being 20 and how young that is and there seemed to be no irony. It was hard to tell because Sez is pretty chirpy and upbeat throughout. Even when singing a scathing rebuke to a cheating boyfriend.

Keeps Me Young is a bit scrappy and waffly and  it’s sometimes hard to work out the point she is making but it’s certainly entertaining throughout. Sez says that we’re all here for a fun time and that’s what she presents, nothing too deep, no story line just a kooky collection of amusing anecdotes and songs.

Sez performs Keeps Me Young at the Victoria Hotel until April 20.

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/keeps-me-young/

 

Douglas Rintoul & Max Paton – Doug & Max Do 50 Minutes of Their Worst Ideas

By Colin Flaherty

Upon entering we are teased with a list of various sketch titles on the wall titled “Doug & Max’s Best Ideas.” but this is soon torn down by the duo… That is not what we have paid to see! We are here for Doug & Max Do 50 Minutes of Their Worst Ideas.

This is sold as a “lower your expectations as we throw things at the wall to see what sticks” type of performance but despite this workshop presentation it is brilliantly written sketch comedy. Sure it’s a little rough around the edges and not all of it lands but therein lies the charm: the scrappy little sketch show that could. It’s a deliberately messy affair with the pair often breaking character to discuss the success (or lack) of the current scene and get a little meta. This self doubt adds some comedic fun but is largely unnecessary as the audience is already rolling in the aisles.

You know you’re in for a high octane performance from the outset as Max dances around the room to some bangin’ dance music as the audience files in. The random sketch conceits wedged against one another results in a rollercoaster ride of scenarios that keeps you on your toes and chortling with barely a pause. We get silly song parodies that hilariously fail to scan, strange game show segments, surreal scenes that ridiculously escalate, and some disturbing physical acts that have you simultaneously repulsed and bent over with laughter. Add some airborne foodstuff and you have fifty minutes of wonderful anarchy.

Douglas Rintoul & Max Paton work brilliantly together with both throwing themselves bodily into the wacky scenarios, unafraid to look the fool. It works particulary well when Max plays clown to Doug’s straight man though both have delightfully crazy stage personas. They have their tech person Jacinta working overtime with an extensive foley and wacky effects to soundtrack the boys’ mimed sketches. It is through this soundboard that she becomes the third member of the cast, insulting the guys with a cartoonish cuss or deliberately messing with their cues.

With such a limited run, you should ensure you spend a Monday evening with this hilarious duo. You will not be disappointed.

Doug & Max Do 50 Minutes of Their Worst Ideas is on every Monday at The Motley Bauhaus until April 14

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/doug-max-do-50-minutes-of-their-worst-ideas/

Lawrence Mooney – Dead Set Country 

By Nick Bugeja

Lawrence Mooney’s relocation to a remote rural town is the driving source of his material for his new show, Dead Set Country. This change of scenery has brought with it a fundamental change to everyday life for Mooney, from acquainting himself with the quixotic social mores of small town Australia, to caring and tending to (a little bit too much) for his horses. 

The show was engaging and humorous from beginning to end. It was clear that over the decades Mooney had cultivated a loyal and committed fanbase, who unfailingly succumbed to laughter upon every joke, story, and act out Mooney delivered. The brand of Mooney’s comedy certainly has particular appeal to those in and around his age bracket, with its inherently Australian quality, attacks on aspects of political correctness, and cultural touchstones (such as the television show Skippy). That is not to say however the show cannot be enjoyed by younger audiences — far from it. 

In Dead Set Country, Mooney plays to his strengths as a comedian, combining his personal experiences, social commentary and truly bizarre events to proper effect. His passion for his work has clearly not waned and he has served up a strong hour of stand-up comedy.

Lawrence Mooney Performs Dead Set Country at The Athenaeum until April 20

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/lawrence-mooney/

Something Good

By Bella Jones

As a teenager one of the big thrills in life was picking your favourite band member, or actor from a tv show cast. The one that would forever be your ride or die, the most talented (or whoever had the best haircut.) But this is impossible to do with Something Good because every single one of them is just obscenely talented! (and they all have great hair!)

Something Good is an improv group that normally does Wednesday night improv shows at the iconic Comedy Republic venue, but during the comedy festival they have a weekly Saturday performance instead. And don’t let the 4:30pm start time fool you, absolutely anything can happen onstage. The only guarantee is that it will be hilarious.

All the performers are highly experienced improvisers who bring their own unique style and it’s genuinely nothing short of a joy to watch. As well as the ensemble cast, (many of which you might recognise from Thank God You’re Here, as this is partly how they prepare for the show) a well known comedian guest also joins in the fun, this week it’s  UK veteran comedian Mark Watson and Watson did an excellent job at slotting right in. Some of the funniest lines of the night could be attributed to him and the whole audience clearly delighted in his addition.

From hospitals to retail jobs just about every situation you can imagine is expored in the hour, with the kind of skill that can only be achieved by truly talented and passionate performers. Something Good is always must see for me, never failing to leave the audience breathless from laughing and raving as they leave.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival run of Something Good is on at Comedy Republic on Saturday afternoons at 4.30pm until April 19.

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/something-good/