Josh Kinal writes… Reviewers and critics are often regarded as “those who can’t”, a quote usually attributed to Woody Allen but probably not witty enough to be claimed by anyone. News reporters don’t consider them journalists and artists don’t consider them a legitimate part of the art world. The reviewer is a writer with no [...]

Comedian Ben McKenzie writes… Ah, Comedy Festival rituals: getting rained on while flyering; the emotional rollercoaster of reviews; enduring the annual “are women funny” bullshit peddled by the mainstream news sponsor… This year it’s not an “article” that perpetuates the “discussion”, but Tianna Nadalin’s recent review of Jen Brister. There are plenty of problems with [...]

It was with great pleasure that myself and Luke Buckmaster awarded Crikey’s inaugural ‘Best of the Fest’ award for best show in the 2011 Melbourne International Comedy Festival to Lawrence Mooney.

Softly-spoken, resplendent in a velvet smoking jacket and sporting a pipe, Sir Robert has been regaling captive audiences this comedy festival with tales mined from experiences in his many years in the world of show business. In a clipped British accent and a thespian flair, Bob Franklin plays his role perfectly, to the point where [...]

Freelance writer Vince Chadwick writes… Why do the achingly funny Pajama Men wear pajamas? Is it a nod to the dreamy plot, or the pair’s natural playfulness, or could it mean nothing at all? Such is the irreverence of these comedy festival favourites that it doesn’t really matter.  Mark Chavez and Shenoah Allen seem to [...]

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… Cheerful, solid, well-structured. No, I’m not describing my dream Californian bungalow – it’s Russell McGilton’s Accidents Are Prohibited On This Road. McGilton takes the audience on a slightly nutty tour of his travelling years, back when he had hair. The slideshow gives us enough evidence of that. Accidents was inspired [...]

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… Barry Morgan has been having a rollicking love affair with the Australian comedy circuit for a few years now, and the mutual adoration doesn’t look like it’s going to die down anytime soon. The packed Sunday-night performance offered an up-close-and-personal account with the beautifully-coiffed man himself, complete with the outrageous [...]

A snappy dresser with equally snappy jokes, Greg Proops is well known for his nasal voice and improv skills in Whose Line is it Anyway?. Don’t be mislead though, his stand-up is solid as well, and he proved that on stage to a Melbourne audience during his Australian tour. Proops’ jokes hit a bizarre range [...]

Freelance writer Warrick Glynn writes… The title of this comedy show – My Struggle – seems innocuous enough but it takes on an interesting set of connotations when translated into German; and is performed by a German national. This historical ‘baggage’ is pretty much at the core of Henning Wehn’s comedy act. He admits that [...]

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… Slackers everywhere, rejoice! Andrew Doodson (Doody) and Jason English-Rees (Jase) of Anyone For Tennis? prove that if you have enough talent for it, writing songs about menstruation and being angry at dandelions can really pay off. ATF? is Family Guy meets Flight of the Conchords, a musical comedy show that’s [...]

Mark Butler has taken the concept of being a ‘grammar nazi’ to the next level in his new show Grammar Don’t Matter on a First Date. It mightn’t sound like there’s enough comedy involved in the distinction between ‘they’re, their and there’ to string along for fifty minutes, but in this case, it works. By [...]

Charles Barrington would like you to believe he’s an international sensation – a well-travelled thespian and raconteur who’s hobnobbed with the rich and powerful and performed in front of many and varied audiences, from legions of fans to armies of critics and, on one particularly unusual occasion, a crowd of ten billion insects. The truth [...]

Reginald D. Hunter appeared to be a bit drunk. His material was half written and shaky, he dropped jokes mid-sentence in preference for another story. There didn’t seem to be any continuity. It’s a testament to his skill as a comedian that despite all the ingredients being wrong, the cake he delivered on stage wasn’t [...]

“You can tell within the first two minutes whether a show is going to be shit or not, and I’ll tell you now, I’m f-cking worried!” These are the words that a sweaty Michael Chamberlin uttered as he kept his gaze to the floor, fidgeting in a distracted manner in front of an audience of [...]

For someone who hadn’t toured in Australia before, Iglasias had made one hell of an impression. He was known and anticipated. People had bought cake and transformers, had come armed with their favourite stories and catch phrases. When he finally sauntered out on stage following two warm-up acts, slightly out of breathe already, a thousand [...]

Moments before Unfinished Business is scheduled to begin, co-star Kieran Eaton fronts the crowd and politely announces that the show will commence a few minutes late. One of the reviewers, he explains, is yet to arrive. “Who cares about the Herald Sun anyway?” he yelps into the microphone. Trouble is, Eaton got it wrong. His [...]

It’s easy – and forever fashionable – to cast one’s gaze back through the haze of nostalgia and remember the world to be a better place way back when. To believe that the streets were safer, the air was a cleaner and 256 colours on a computer monitor was more than enough, thank you very [...]

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… I’m convinced all comedians must be at least mildly insane. Their job involves an incredible amount of risk, a very thick skin and an inordinate amount of bravado to allow them to get up onstage, generally alone, and try to make a room full of strangers laugh. Throw in a [...]

Catherine Deveny’s show gives atheism a bad name. Atheists aren’t arrogant – they’re just smug, she claims. None more smug than her. Comedy has the power to unite people, to make them laugh at their commonalities and differences. That’s why I can’t even humour Deveny and say this was a ‘comedy festival’ show. It was [...]

Freelance writer Vince Chadwick writes… Cal Wilson has been meaning to apply for Australian citizenship, but she tells us, she just hasn’t got around to it yet. Procrastination is the theme of Wilson’s show this year, though this lively New Zealander has still managed to put in appearances on Nova FM, SkitHOUSE, Rove Live, Thank [...]

Andrew McClelland has in the past acted as an educator during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, in shows such as Time Ninjas (with Lawrence Leung) and last year’s Somewhat Accurate History of the Fall of the Roman Empire. This year he’s taken a right turn, and come up with Truth be Told, a carefully crafted [...]

Charlie Pickering talks to Matt Smith about his show ‘Rodeo, Burqa, Circumcision’, about controversial jokes, what happened to the ‘rodeo’ part of it, and getting back to his comedy roots. Podcast link: A Talk with Charlie Pickering Charlie Pickering’s show ‘Rodeo, Burqa, Circumcision’ is on at the Trades Hall, 9:45pm until April 24th.

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… Simon Keck’s Can’t Get No is everything Generation Y could wish for: an excuse not to get married, have kids, and sink into the everyday travails of the modern-day workaholic. Very few topics are sacred to Keck; I mention it because I’m sure by now his girlfriend must be fuming. [...]

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… Mat Kenneally is the kind of young gent who will make any young, nerdy, skinny white guy feel like much less of a nerdy, skinny white guy. He’s so much a product of modern times that the only thing he is missing are the hip-yet-dorky glasses. There’s various reasons for [...]

There is something quintessentially Australian about the performance style of Lawrence Mooney, but pinpointing precisely what is tricky. Like the qualities we equate with a true blue sense of humour, his brand of jocularity is riddled with contradictions: laidback and harsh, earnest and mean, loquacious and blunt, compassionate and misanthropic. A favourite on the festival [...]

In his early thirties, Thornton is wondering what he’s achieved in life.  He doesn’t own a house, no wife, no children, no job, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (“just the biggest comedy festival in the world, what evs”) playing to a room of seven people. And then there’s Bruce Lee, who by the same [...]

Freelance writer Vince Chadwick writes… No show has ever lacked artifice more than Andrew O’Neill’s Out of Step, a mixed-bag hour which reaches interesting heights to complement some desperate lows. O’Neill comes out swinging before an audience which represents one member for every month of the year (he counted us).  The sixty minutes initially threaten [...]

Justin Hamilton strides out on stage, amuses himself with his phone for a while, and then launches straight into a story. No niceties of ‘hey there, it’s great to see you all’, no banter with the audience. For him it’s all about a tightly scripted show, and some masterfully delivered stories. I’ll be honest and [...]

Freelance writer Meghan Lodwick writes… Re-living childhood memories lends good material to the comedian’s stage —  so much so Lawrence Leung has made a living out of it. In 2009, he recalled his younger years with the ABC show, Choose your own Adventure, at last year’s festival it was with his childhood friend and comedian [...]