This is Siberian Husky – Boneshaker

By Cathy Culliver

If there’s one thing This is Siberian Husky are definitely not, it’s lacking in energy. Duo Dan Allemann and Simon Godfrey are known for their quirky brand of frenetically-paced sketch comedy, and their latest offering, Boneshaker, is no exception. This show is lively, fervent and above all highly entertaining, though it’s certainly not for anyone looking for a relaxing hour of traditional stand up and ordinary humour.

Absurd but thought-provoking at the same time, Boneshaker takes its audience through highs and lows, from creepy to mundane, from touching to the downright silly. The show covers everything from the Melbourne housing crisis to expired yoghurt to the pros and cons of boiling cats. So to say you never quite know what’s coming next would be a fair understatement.

This is Siberian Husky are a slick, tight unit, never dropping a beat throughout the hour-long show. Switching effortlessly from posh English gents to deranged monsters in a matter of seconds, the duo change characters in the blink of an eye; as an audience member, it’s part of the fun just to see them do it.

The duo’s mime skills also certainly deserve a mention. Armed with the most minimalist of props, Allemann and Godfrey never leave the audience doubting that they are being guided through a dark, twisted world of fascinating characters, even though in reality it’s just a couple of guys on a stage, putting on accents and standing on boxes.

The pace with which the duo perform the show is impressive, and it’s obvious how much hard work has gone into making the skits flow so effortlessly from one to the next. The energy both guys put into the show is intense and passionate, so it’s no wonder than Allemann had to apologise for sweating onto an audience member during one of the skits.

This show is definitely a must-see if you like comedy to be silly, surprising and just that little bit unsettling. But in a good way, of course.

This is Siberian Husky – Boneshaker is showing at the Lunch Room, Melbourne Town Hall.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/boneshaker-this-is-siberian-husky/

DeAnne Smith – Livin’ the Sweet Life

By Lisa Clark

Canadians are so gosh darn adorable, no matter how filthy they are or even when they are insulting the audience and I think we have found the most adorable Canadian of all. Even before DeAnne Smith had officially began her show, she was heckled rudely and her handling of it was breathtaking. Her ability to put him in his place while make the audience laugh and feel at ease suggests years of stage experience and excellent people skills. It also failed to throw her off from performing another ace comedy festival show which confirms why she was nominated for The Barry last year.

The title, Living the Sweet Life is unsurprisingly ironic and to help demonstrate this DeAnne picks an audience member out for special consideration. It may or may not be in your interest to sit in the front row, depending on how shy you are. Her own sweet life includes parent’s who have become too comfortable with her sexuality, her middle class liberal guilt, a date that ends in the emergency department of a major hospital and a disturbing wax incident. Waxing was a bit of a passe subject a few years ago, usually talked about by wide eyed comedians who had not been through it, but DeAnne’s experience is astounding and hilarious. Another highlight for me was her participation in a ten day silent meditation retreat, not unlike the one Judith Lucy went through in her Spiritual Journey.

If you are seriously, easily offended this one might not be for you, DeAnne discusses lesbian oral sex, watching straight porn and she tells some dick jokes, but then maybe you should try a different festival altogether. It’s hard to imagine anyone being offended by DeAnne, she puts on a strong hour of bright, perky comedy which occasionally touches on dark subject matter. The show is bookended by hilarious songs that she plays on the ukulele, surely the cheeriest of instruments. The first is a chirpy tune about death and the last about nerdy pickup lines which really reminds me of Josh Earl, as does her haircut.  A fabulous show for a girls night out at the comedy festival, everyone is bound to have a great time and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch one of her chocolates.

Livin’ the Sweet Life is on at the Meeting Room at Trades Hall

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/livin-the-sweet-life-deanne-smith/

Sarah Quinn – Weird Lonely Strangers

By Annette Slattery

In her festival show, Weird Lonely Strangers, Sarah Quinn performs a composite of unrelated, solo sketches. Interspersed with smoky jazz, Quinn uses voiceovers and simple costume changes to relocate from one scene to the next. Quinn’s array of characters includes a regular, single young woman, a beauty pageant organiser, a private investigator, an English author and a prudish burlesque dancer.

Quinn’s performances are strong, however the writing is weak. There is one piece about a “reformed” lesbian which is very clever and funny, and which has the potential to be developed into something more substantial, but apart from that there is little to recommend here in terms of content. A lot of the ideas are weak, unoriginal or over done and the better jokes within the script are often camouflaged by some confusion in the writing.

Some of the sections of the show are presented simply as a pre-recorded voice over, with Quinn behind the curtain and the polite, but clearly unamused audience left staring at the empty stage. This only further sapped the remaining energy in the room.

That said, Quinn, as I mentioned, is a strong performer and those skills alone make this show watchable. However Quinn does not have the comedy chops to pull this off as a festival show.

Sarah Quinn – Weird Lonely Strangers is on at Tuxedo Cat, Flinders Lane.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/weird-lonely-strangers-sarah-quinn/

Tom Ballard – Doing Stuff

By Jayden Edwards

In his debut comedy festival show in 2009, Tom Ballard proclaimed he is what he is. After winning the Melbourne Airport Best Newcomer award that year, and continuing to go from strength to strength on Triple J’s breakfast show, I think it’s safe to say that what Tom Ballard is, is bloody funny.

Returning with his new show “Doing Stuff”, Tom has moved on from the introductions and tackles some hard hitting, in ya face political truth bombs… and of course, dick jokes. He explores, with great compassion and intellect, many of the big political issues from the last 12 months, and questions what makes people give a shit, and why we should, and of course lampoons the big wigs making stupid decisions. He also dissects issues directly affecting himself, such as gay marriage (or “Fag-age”) and vegetarianism. He finds the funnies and sprinkles them with wisdom like a comedian twice his age.

But it’s not all politics. Tom channels the crude stylings of Mike Wilmot throughout the show, especially at the end with probably the most disgusting thing you’ll hear at the festival this year, disgusting and absolutely hilarious! The crude ending, made all the better by the contrasting political material,  is not for the prudish.

Yeah, Tom is young and opinionated, but never preachy. His quick wit, stage confidence and self-depreciating delivery is really engaging, and whether you agree with him or not, you’ll be laughing, and listening all the same. Self analysing his comedy throughout the show piles on more laughs after the fact.

Tom is the future of comedy in this country, and tearing the present to shreds. A must see.

Tom Ballard is on at the Swiss House
More info and tickets here http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/doing-stuff-tom-ballard/ 

Giveaway – Dave Bloustien & Shane Matheson

St Ali’s is a fabulous new venue in Sth Melbourne with excellent parking, yummy cakes and late night shows with dancing. We’ve got 3 Double passes to each of two of the excellent shows there.

Dave Bloustien is performing his 2009 Moosehead awarded The Social Contract which was originally directed by Alan Brough. It was a brilliant show and this one is updated with new information.

Shane Matheson and His Fabulous Singing Bucket of Gravel. How could you not want to see a bucket of gravel that sings? I hear it’s Fabulous!

Our double passes are for Wednesday 11th of April at 9.30pm. They are both on at the same time, same venue – in different rooms.

Email us at squirrels@squirrelcomedy.com

Ronny Chieng – The Ron Way

By Colin Flaherty

One of the cardinal rules of stand up is that you never blame the audience for not laughing but Ronny Chieng has come up with method of doing so while keeping the crowd on side. This is the magic of The Ron Effect. In his festival debut, Ronny presents a hour of polished stand up that ensures that energy levels are kept near eleven.

Ronny has devised a fascinating stage persona that is equal parts aggressive, naĂŻve, over confident and possessing few social boundaries. All those elements are presented in a hilariously heightened manner that is a sharp contrast to the mild mannered guy he initially appears to be. Paired with a tight script, this results in a show full of laughs, twists and turns.

The material itself covers many standard observational themes, but when filtered through his character it is something special. The naivety produces some amusing literal interpretations while the aggressiveness produces some surprising left turns. He goes to some taboo areas that cause the audience to be torn between laughing at the ridiculous natural of it and stifling guilty titters after recognising that these extreme ideas have some warped merit. There is some truth embedded in the jokes (for example, his story about Rottnest Island and his real scar) but they reach some dizzying heights of absurdity through the telling.

Audience interactions take on a gladiatorial feel when tackled this way. Most questions posed to the crowd are merely there to confirm his viewpoint and the startled reactions from the punters aid this. When people eventually figure out how to respond to him and feedback starts to flow, it allows Ronny to deviate from the script and venture into unknown territory. Ronny even surprises himself at to where it leads and comes close to breaking character.

It was interesting to see that Ronny has devised some merchandise that is heavily related to material within the show. It makes for an amusing segment during the in-show spiel but ensures that the products will make absolutely no sense to anyone who haven’t seen the show. Perhaps it’s an inside joke only for those in the know, who will hopefully be in the majority by the end of the festival, as this is a brilliant show.

The Ron Way is on at the Evatt Room at Trades Hall

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2012/season/shows/the-ron-way-ronny-chieng/