Tag: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Christopher Doesn’t Live Here More

By Colin Flaherty
Christopher doesnt live here

With 60 houses in 33 years, Christopher Welldon has certainly led a colourful life that was constantly on the move. Using a large map of Australia to plot out the course of his constant migration, he presented fascinating stories stretching from early childhood to the present that regularly had the audience rolling with laughter.

His recollections as a naïve child heightened the strangeness of his slightly unorthodox family life and had the audience chuckling and shaking their heads in disbelief at how these things could actually happen. Some of his tales were extremely heartbreaking and terrifying, providing a sharp contrast to the wacky hijinx, but he was confidently able to reassure us that he survived these ordeals intact and could see the funny side of them.

Adapted from his blog of the same name, the text had been edited into a lean muscular script with humorous lines crammed into every nook and cranny. With so much ground to cover in a limited time, his colourful turn of phrase and economy of language was brilliant.

Welldon was a master storyteller and had everyone transfixed. His background in breakfast radio shone through as he demonstrated how to effortlessly engage with an audience and keep the comedic momentum rolling. He regularly bounced off members of the crowd and got in their faces, not in a threatening way but as humorous punctuation. A highly animated delivery provided plenty of colour and movement and his slightly snarky attitude really brought out the ridiculousness of the stories.

Rush out to see this show immediately – it is a brilliantly riotous rollercoaster of a show. If you happen to miss out on this week long run at Fringe or are out of town, the next best thing is to pour over his blog (http://christopherdoesntlivehereanymore.com/) that goes into immense detail of all the stories covered in this show assisted by plenty of audio/visual illustrations.

Christopher Doesn’t Live Here More is on at the North Melbourne Town Hall until September 25th

https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/bd30397b-0ef4-4faf-86fb-1b8a21a6cb7fa6cb7fb7f

Geraldine Hickey – Winner!

By Lisa Clark Geraldine-Hickey WINNER

Lotto even more than other forms of gambling is about dreams, plans and anticipation. Geraldine Hickey is in a happy place having won at love but there is a catch and she’s discovered that sometimes when you realise your dreams they are not always the completely perfect thing you imagined, but that’s OK.

During Fringe, in a sea of nervous newbies it’s lovely to relax in the presence of a seasoned pro like Geraldine Hickey. She’s an expert at putting the audience at ease, with relaxed funny banter and pertinent questions that engage, add to the concept of the show and help fill that time when people are settling in. When some audience members arrive really late she manages with ease, asking them what they would do if they won lotto and gradually brings things back to where she’d left off in her tale.

Geraldine is a famously engaging storyteller with some very funny stories to share with us. I’ve heard the one about horse riding done in short form at a pub gig, but here in full and in context it’s even better. Importantly the stories don’t feel like they’ve been shovelled awkwardly into the theme. Everything in Winner! flows seamlessly. Throughout she cleverly dots her tales with sizzle about the big finale and her special guest Pat presenting ‘Pat’s Lotto’.

The finale which invites the audience to play ‘Pat’s Lotto’ is a crowd pleaser and may win you cash or, more likely, some alcoholic shots. It was great to see the cliché of barrel girl turned on it’s head somewhat and the glamorous woman taking control with hosting duties, as well as the barrel. The cash prize jackpots every night. If there are no winners of the shots Pat must drink them instead, so if you don’t get a drink there’s sure to be joy in seeing her becoming quite squiffy and trying to finish the show. Pat ended the show sober on our night and did a fine job, but there seemed to be something unfinished about our mate Geraldine not returning to tie things up a little and see us off, but maybe that’s just me.

This is a fair bet for a good time at the fringe, even if you don’t walk out with the cash, by picking Geraldine’s show you’ll be winning.

Winner! is on at The Imperial Hotel

For tickets and Information: https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/37e48c5e-35e0-43c7-bad8-561bf63beb96

5 Good Reasons to SHOOT FROM THE HIP

1. It’s just like a 1940s black-and-white movie but in colour! With live actors! And it’s 2015!

 

2. According to our narrator, “‘Shoot from the Hip’ takes us into the seedy backwaters of a city filled with lust and crime, a city of dark motives and lust, a city of low cut dresses of booze and lustful thoughts, crooked cops, lust and corruption and gorgeous temptresses, guns and lust.”

 

3. The script was generated by a roomful of monkeys randomly hitting typewriters… OK, that’s not true, but the scriptwriter did work for peanuts.

 

4. The jokes in the show are better than the joke in number 3.

 

5. Did we mention lust?

16-25 Sept @ The Courthouse Hotel, North Melbourne

https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/cc7da4f8-5f36-4860-860a-e08b59508851

 

5 Good reasons to see Line by Line

1. Rohan Ganju and Geoff Setty present a unique funny show offering one liner after one liner. Alternating at times and really trying to make each other laugh.

2. The fun happens when the wheels fall off and the audience don’t laugh as much as we’d like. That’s when the duo go ‘to town’ on each other.

3. The one liners offer a mixture of popular culture references, black comedy and ridiculous puns.

4. Bouncing off each other like squash-balls in a small oven, Ganju and Setty offer an exclusive show each time its performed – with different one liners, different reactions and different audiences.

5. Ganju was the Runner-up in Raw Comedy 2015 and Setty has been described as ‘definitely on the up and up’ – Squirrel Comedy MICF review,  so they aren’t going to be entirely crap.

Line by Line is on at at the Courthouse Hotel on Saturday 19 Sept, 26 Sept and 3rd Oct

https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/16d60dc8-2843-41f2-a3a3-3240655422a2

 

Lisa-Skye: Work Hard, Live Weird – A werk in progress

1. It’s the most sex-, queer-, kink-, gender-fluidity-, body-positive show of the fest. It celebrates all us glorious freaky-deaks, hedonists and weirdos.

2. It’s Lisa-Skye’s first solo show in over a year!

3. It’s FREE. It’s a work-in-progress trial show, so you’re pretty much getting in before her world domination tour of 2016.

4. It’s a god damn safe space for all of us to have some mother flipping fun. No picking on the audience, no interaction you don’t (literally) ask for.

5. Glitter and face.

Lisa-Skye: Work Hard, Live Weird  is on at the Tuxedo Cat 25-27 Sept 9.45

5 Good Reasons To See Be A Man

Reason 1
In 2015 how can anyone really define what a man is anymore? Whatever the modern day Oxford Dictionary definition of Manhood is, James Rankin and Mark McConnell are clearly failing at it. If you have ever thought of yourself as a rubbish adult, then this show will make you feel slightly better about your shortcomings!

Reason 2
Mark McConnell and James Rankin are among the most exiting comedians to emerge from the Melbourne comedy scene. Be a Man is their debut show and the fruition of all the hard and hilarious work they have put into the serious business of making people laugh.

Reason 3
Mark who is from Ireland and James from Melbourne each have a unique approach to the art of stand up. Be a Man is full of great anecdotal story telling and truly ludicrous internal monologues. If you want to experience some stand up that stands out from the rest, come see Be A Man.

Reason 4
Be a Man is silly, dark, true, insightful, aggressive and downright weird all in one show. Who honestly doesn’t love a silly, dark, true, insightful, aggressive and downright weird show?

Reason 5
Why else would you come to a stand up comedy show other than to laugh your jocks off! This show is crammed full of the hilarious attitudes and bizarre beliefs that Mark and James have as they try to determine where they stand amongst modern man. This is a debut Fringe Festival show that is not to be missed!

For Information & Tickets: https://www.melbournefringe.com.au/program/event/view/75b84a2a-4573-492b-acb2-e4c8fb54744c