The Late Night Board Game Slumber Party

By Lisa Clark

Mike Brown has created a great little digestif to your comedy evening with The Late Night Board Game Slumber Party. The Board game thing is a bit of a misnomer, there is no actual board, it’s basically comedians playing several party games late at night for your entertainment as well as their own.

Neil Sinclair wearing his pyjamas and comedy Tassie Devil slippers is our genial host and does a great job keeping things ticking and the comedians in check if they start getting out of hand. Guest comedians competing in the games the night we were there were Bart Freebairn, Tommy Dassalo and Callaghan. Although the audience is not broken into teams as such, each one comedian has a corresponding audience member who will win a prize if they win which raises the stakes a little and gives them someone barracking for them. Rules are pretty flexible, Neil gives and takes points, often on a whim, or for laughs and they are displayed on a screen for all to see.

The first game is ‘Crappy Birthday’ it seems a bit complicated in explanation but all becomes quickly clear as it is played. It’s a card game where the objects written on the cards such as ‘A bus trip’, ‘ A pet eagle’ or ‘comedy lessons’ are birthday presents awarded to fellow team members anonymously, who then award points for the best and worst picks. The comments and picks were very funny and had Tommy Dassalo shouting ‘This is the Worst Birthday Ever!’ at one point.

‘Who’z Dat?’ was a live version of ‘Guess Who’. Unbeknownst to the guests an audience member had their photo taken when we arrived and that photo is flashed on the screen behind them so all the audience can see who they are guessing. The audience stands and they take turns asking questions like ‘Is the person female?’ and they get their answer when all the men sit down, ’til everyone is sitting apart from the one in the photo. It was simple audience participation and great fun for everyone.

My favourite game of the night was a live version of ‘Jenga’ called ‘Midnight Stax’ with a great big tower of cardboard box sticks to stack. There were other games and there might even be different games on different nights. There will definitely be different guests each night and of course part of the fun will depend on their late night energy and willingness to put as much fun in as possible. We were lucky and had a team of performers who did just that.

I saw this show at Melbourne Fringe Festival last year but Mike has put a lot of work into making it much better and slicker. The only thing I’d add is more things on the screen such as graphics, pictures of the games being played or showing the cards on the screen (but I might be asking too much technologically) and more music cues. Still the dagginess is part of the fun and fun it was. If you are a gamer, there are prizes of games to be won and the venue is at Games Laboratory which is open for game playing (and buying) before and after the show. There are also snacks for sale and that’s always a good thing.

The Late Night Board Game Slumber Party is on at the Games Laboratory until April 12
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/the-late-night-board-game-slumber-party

5 Good Reasons to see The Late Night Board Game Slumber Party

1. It’s a show about my love of board games and playing board games with friends. I’ve played a heap of them over the years, and have managed to find the most interesting, unique, and fun games and will bring them to the stage for some great gameplay.

2. Cool kids can’t stay away from a Slumber Party. Each edition has four special guests – comedians, musicians, artists and more competing for your love – but more importantly to say they are the Slumber Party Board Game Champion!

3. But those guests aren’t just playing for themselves – they could be playing for YOU! Each of the guests is playing for a member of the audience, with the winning audience member getting a board game of their own to take home.

4. The show is the perfect night-cap for a Friday night at the Fringe. Spend some time at the Imperial seeing Neil Sinclair, Victoria Healy, or Simon Taylor; then finish the night off with a Slumber Party!

5. It’s free. Board games, awesome guests, the chance to win a prize, and it doesn’t cost you a cent. Get your friends together and make a night of it.

The Late Night Board Game Slumber Party with Mike Brown and Friends is on Friday September 27 and Friday September 4, 11pm at the Imperial Hotel.

http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/fringe-festival/show/the-late-night-board-game-slumber-party/

5 good reasons to see Neil Sinclair’s Charmingly Useless

Neil’s 5 good reasons to see Charmingly Useless

1. It’s very funny… let’s cut to the chase here, funny is what we’re after.

2. It has a lot of jokes in it. I mean a lot… jokes like “I was eating a salad earlier and it contained both chicken and egg… I ddn’t know where to start”

3. It’s at this years most exciting venue, The Imperial, and the ticket get’s you cheap booze from the bar.

4. It’s a best of, so if you’ve ever been curious what my shows are like… this is the one to try

5. I cover none of the important issues of the day… none, and that’s a promise.

If you’ve not seen this RAW winning comedian before (and you should), this should be a good introduction for you.

Neil Sinclair’s Charmingly Useless will be on at The Imperial from Sept 29th at 8pm

Neil’s own website:

5 Good Reasons to see a Melbourne Fringe Festival show at The Imperial

Five Reasons to visit The Imperial during Melbourne Fringe

ONE) The Imperial will be hosting 19 fringe shows this year! All comedy!

3 LITTLE GIGS
OUR LITTLE STORIES
XANDER ALLAN – GLAM
SIMON TAYLOR – FUNNY
LOVE, FACTUALLY WITH TOM LANG
NELLIE WHITE IS THE SHITTY CARER
NEIL SINCLAIR ‘CHARMINGLY USELESS’
VICTORIA HEALY PRESENTS WE ♥ COMEDY
MURPHY MCLACHLAN HAS TWO LAST NAMES
SONIA DI IORIO – DON’T KISS THE WEIRD GIRL
THE LATE NIGHT BOARD GAME SLUMBER PARTY WITH MIKE BROWN AND FRIENDS
SOME NUTTER’S DONE A RUNNER WITH CRAIG MCLEOD AND DOUG GORDON
THE HAPPIEST BOWERBIRD AND OTHER STORIES BY JONATHAN SCHUSTER
SITCOM THEME SONG SINGALONG (AND TRIVIA) WITH BERT GOLDSMITH
PEOPLE CRYING ‘ADAM KNOX’ AS THEY LEAP FROM PLANES
ROLAND HOFFMANN – EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT
BEING A WHEEL FAMILY. MEET THE MCGERES
BEAU STEGMANN: HERE’S LOOKING AT ME…
COME HECKLE JESUS

TWO) We have a lot of shows on every night. You can show up, and know something will be on. In fact, we only have two nights off for the whole festival (the first two Saturdays). We have shows starting on the hour, and we’ll have some discount drinks cards around for anyone who wants to come and hang out in between shows. We’re a comedy hub!

THREE) Whether you want to sing along to sit com themesongs, or shout abuse at Jesus Christ, we have a show for every taste! We also have a lot with zero audience participation, if the singing and heckling isn’t your style. The Imperial is a great place to take a punt on a new show. Our volunteers on the door can tell you all about the shows, and make recommendations based on your tastes. Sketch, poetry, standup, impro, storytelling, and whatever else you can think of.

FOUR) We are very generous. Head to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/impycomedy) where we will be giving away tix and keeping everyone up to date on deals, whether tickets will be available on the door and of course, instagramming the hell out of the whole thing.

FIVE) The Imperial is a great place to observe comics in their natural habitat. Stick around after the show, have a beer with these kids, and you’ll be fast friends. Buy the beer, and you’ll have a friend for life.

The Imperial is one of the main Fringe Festival venues in Melbourne’s CBD at the corner of Bourke and Spring streets right near Parliament Station.

Find out more at The Imperial Website

http://comedyattheimperial.com/

These Kids are Good.

By Lisa Clark

It’s great to see a show where you get a taste of several performers, to give you an idea of what they are like and hopefully encourage you to see their solo shows. This one is six regular comedians, plus a guest, who do around five minutes each. If one doesn’t appeal, it won’t be long before you’re checking out the next one.

The comedians appearing in this show have been handpicked by affable host Tom Ward, most famously best friend of Josh Thomas in real life as well as playing the part in the TV series ‘Please Like Me.’ Tom is getting a fine reputation of his own in comedy circles and has chosen the kind of comedian that he enjoys and is unsurprisingly closest to his own and Josh’s style. So we get a line-up of six youngish gen Y bespectacled and/or bearded, smart, slightly awkward, gentle charmers doing a modern brand of observational humour and getting away with the occasional filth. These are not ‘angry young men’ (or woman) shouting about what boils their blood, they’re more likely to be bemused or annoyed about stuff.

Some of the performers though unknown have been treading the boards for a while and are pretty solid standups including the laid back Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall, cheeky Jonathan Schuster and ever delightful Neil Sinclair. Then there is Nellie White who’s been living away from Melbourne, in the UK and Perth for the past six years. She’s someone I’ve always admired for being very left of centre, if a little nervous in her delivery. She’s doing some filthy gear and it’s nice to have her back on the scene.

It’s lovely to discover new faces too like tonight’s guest comedian John Campbell (he had a MICF show last year, but is new to me) reading his annoyed letter about public transport and the confident Andy Matthews who is currently doing a double act in the festival with Tony Besselink

I’ve seen several of these comedians performing elsewhere and they’ve been refreshing in the line up and often even killed the room, but all together, I felt they needed some sort of contrast to add more balance to the hour. Still, if this style of comedy is what really rocks your boat, it’s a great way to see some appealing up and comers who are pretty good at it.

These Kids are Good is on at The Imperial Hotel
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2013/season/shows/these-kids-are-good

Interview with the team from ‘NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT’ – a new comedy panel show on Channel 31

by Lisa Clark

Not a Lot of People Know That is a new comedy panel show coming to Channel 31 on Thursday night at 10pm and will be on for six weeks. This takes the show through the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but smartly they have pre- recorded it, because just about everyone involved will be performing in a show. We realise that everyone has their minds on the Festival at the moment, but it’s nice to rewind at home occasionally in front of the TV, so this show could be a relaxing way to keep you in the Festival mood.

Three of the performers were lovely enough to give us an idea of what to expect.

N: Neil Sinclair
V: Victoria Healy
A: Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall

Tell me about the people involved, was it someone’s project or a collaborative effort?
N: Luke McGregor played all the parts.
A: And it turns out in the final episode Luke was played by 75 different people.
(All laugh)
N: It was very much a collaborative effort.
A: Neil Sinclair, Emma Sharp and Andy Matthews got this project up and running.
V: Alasdair became interested in this show when he realised he could just turn up and fail.
N: And I got Vic on board by accident because I just cruised around the St Kilda streets for hours asking anyone on the footpath but they all asked for money, but Vic said she’d give it away for free.

How long have you been working on it?
V: Yonkers
A: The idea germinated about 8 months ago
N: Yeah, The drunken conversation I had with Emma happened about 8 months ago.
V: We started writing in August 2012

How do you get a show up at Channel 31 anyway?
N: With practice, or is that Carnegie Hall?
V: Or ask Lessons with Luis. They are a great example of Channel 31 success.
N: Bully Emma Sharp into doing it. She’s a great producer.
A: Go through the Channel 31 protocol as found on their website
V: That’s very practical, Al. Are you a Virgo?
A: No I’m a Logician – a person who studies logic

Are you frustrated that commercial TV doesn’t want to give these types of shows more space?
N: Don’t they? This would be a really cheap show for them to make. I wouldn’t cost much at all.
A: I think they do, we just need to show them how good community produced shows can be.

How does this differ from other trivia panel shows?
V: I think it’s different because we are showcasing local comedy talent. We’ve had Michelle Nussey, Sam Petersen, Xander Allen, Rob Hunter, Hayman Kent and Luke McGregor on the show, just to name a few.
A: And we’ve also introduced people to other amazing talent in Melbourne – stunt women, a local politician, and writers.
N: And it’s funny.

How many episodes are there?
N: Six in this first season
V: But there will be more. A second season is in talks. High level talks. The UN might be involved.

Are you relieved the episodes are all pre-recorded before the series goes to air so you can relax and concentrate on your own live MICF shows?
N: Yeah, my show Neil Sinclair: Phoney is a lot of work.
V: He’s lying! I can tell! He taught me how to lie in his show about how to like. He’s saying this while he’s touching his anatomy. I know this because I am well aware in what an anatomy looks like cos I’m doing a show about the anatomy called Victoria Healy’s Anatomy.
A: And I’m going to try hard to work my show into this question. My show is called Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall in Trying Hard

I hear you had to re-record some of the episodes, tell me how that came about?
N: Some git stole our hard-drive

How was the re-recording experience?
V: Great, it made the show better
A: Once I knew the answers to the questions, it made it even more difficult to get them wrong the second time round.

Is this show just an elaborate promo clip for your Festival shows?
A: This show is completely unrelated to Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall Trying Hard and has nothing to do with promoting his comedy fest show at the Forum 9:45pm (everyday except Monday).
N: No, it’s a calling card for our writing skills and our ability to make a professional panel show on a small budget.
V: It’s not a promo because we can’t mention our shows on the program, that’s community TV for ya! Everything has to be non-commercial. I should’ve just told them that no one makes a profit from an MICF show.

NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT, PREMIERES 10PM THURSDAY 28TH OF MARCH ON CHANNEL 31.