Comedy

Edinburgh Fringe Review: Terry Alderton – The Musical (Performances to August 27th)

Following his award-winning show All Crazy Now at the 2017 Fringe, English comedian Terry Alderton has returned with his new show Terry Alderton – The Musical, featuring music by Grammy nominee Owen Parker and a talking mannequin that may  lead you to call the show “what would have happened if Craig Ferguson totally lost his mind on an…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Alex Edelman – Just For Us (Performances to August 26th)

“This show only works if you live in New York and are Jewish”, warns New York comic Alex Edelman, as he brings his third fringe show Just For Us to a packed Cabaret Bar in Edinburgh. But being neither, it’s fair to say that these warnings prove unfounded; Just For Us delivering one of the…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Norris & Parker – Burn The Witch (Performances to August 26th)

I ended my Edinburgh Fringe with the Iate night sketch comedy show from English duo Norris & Parker, Burn The Witch. The show, which saw the pair accompanied by a deadpan keyboard player (with his own songwriting, werewolf related dreams), featured a number of skits and songs as the pair jumped through a number of…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Rhys Nicholson – Seminal (Performances to 26th August)

We’re coming to the end of the Edinburgh Fringe, though these are the only days I’m on ground for the event. It’s a bit of a strange time to be seeing and reviewing shows, because you know the performers have already been going at it for some three weeks. There’s fatigue, and as Rhys puts…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Zoe Lyons – Entry Level Human (Performances to August 26th)

Having made a name for herself on Live at the Apollo (BBC Two), Mock the Week (BBC Two), Room 101 (BBC One) and regularly heard on BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz, Just a Minute, The Now Show and plenty more, the popular Brighton based comic Zoe Lyons has returned to the Fringe with her new…

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Aussies in Edinburgh: Rhys Nicholson on his new Fringe show Seminal

Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson is on his way to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, and en route he kindly answered a Q&A for us about the show he’ll be performing there – Seminal. Here’s what he sent back, and everything you need to know about the show… Who are you, and what is your show? It’s me, Rhys…

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Comedy Review: Jude Perl’s Let’s Hang Out is a hilarious and relatable journey into modern womanhood (in Melbourne to 23rd July)

I’ve always felt an affinity with Bridget Jones. I, too, am hopeless in the realms of romance, and struggle daily to balance my desire to look like Margot Robbie with my simultaneous love of all things chocolate coated. But, after viewing Jude Perl’s comedy show Let’s Hang Out, I’ve realised that I am Jude Perl….

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Comedy Review: Fiona O’Loughlin tells deeply bold, but profoundly funny stories (MAP 57 in Melbourne until July 8th)

While waiting for Fiona O’Loughlin to come on stage at the new St Kilda winter garden known as Map 57, we see a guitar and a few mics set up next to the stand up’s own microphone. While thinking that O’Loughlin may have turned her wares to a musical act, it was actually a separate…

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Comedy Review: Bridget Everett and Murray Hill cross the line at their Melbourne live show

I’ve been to A LOT of live theatre and comedy shows, but none like what I experienced last night. Alarmingly, I wasn’t too familiar with Bridget Everett or Murray Hill‘s work, so I was walking in blind, but I enjoyed the fact they had worked alongside the likes of Amy Schumer and Dita Von Teese. Talk…

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Comedy Review: Eric André – The Comedy Store, Sydney (09.12.16)

Eric André may very well be one of the hottest comedians in the world right now. Sure, you’ve got his standout role in FXX’s Man Seeking Woman, but it’s his own The Eric André Show, for which he “plays” an incompetent and slightly deranged talk show host, that has really propelled the comic onto a…

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Comedy Review: Hannibal Buress – The Tivoli, Brisbane (05.12.16)

Hannibal Buress came into Brisbane like a whirlwind. Giving a solid nearly 2 hour set and bringing a great troupe of supports The Tivoli reverberated with laughter last Monday. Even if you’ve missed Buress’s show, keep an eye out for more Al Jackson. The biology teacher turned comedian has a sharp tongue and jokes to…

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Comedy Review: Charlie Pickering Requests the Pleasure of Your Company – Rockwood Music Hall, New York (07.11.16)

Australian comedian Charlie Pickering, former host of The Project, and current host of The Weekly with Charlie Pickering performed at Rockwood Music Hall in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, on a quiet and cold Monday night. Let me preface this review by saying two things: 1. I found out later that Madonna (yes, that…

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Comedy Review: Damien & Ross in Safari Psychosis, Tuxedo Cat (performances until 23rd September)

Damien & Ross are lost in the jungle, how they got there, who the heck know? All that matters in this little production is what hijinks – or problems – will the two get up to? Including parts of the audience, the two try to figure out in the crazy-ness that is Safari Psychosis. Damien Vosk, a…

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Comedy Review: The Best Medicine: Hannah Boland – Factory Theatre (10.09.16)

Promoting herself as a fresh face in ‘clean comedy,’ Hannah Boland presents a refreshing and unique one–woman stand up show as part of Sydney Fringe Comedy. There is something instantly likeable about Boland as she finds her stride on stage. While clearly pre-planned there is a natural flow to the performance as she jumps from anecdotes…

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Comedy Review: Sam Simmons – Not A People Person, The Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne (18.06.16)

The idea of a straight-up solo show is non existent to Sam Simmons. Strewn with all sorts of props on stage, Not A People Person is a show full of random thoughts and solo-sketches that make not laugh at any joke in particular but simply at the absurdity of it all. Simmons gets into a mode…

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Comedy Review: Simon Cumming & Perri Cassie – Simon & Perri Go Large

Both Simon Cumming and Perri Cassie greeted the audience, all very much ready on stage, with some light chatter about the etiquette of introducing their show as they walked into the room at Grand Mecure, and then well… introduced us to their show through a unique little sketch-stylised bit. The sketch stuff was tossed aside from…

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Comedy Review: Joel Creasey – The Crown Prince at Max Watt’s

After appearing in last year’s season of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Joel Creasey has fast become one of Australia’s favourite celebrities. Creasey’s show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival is appropriately titled The Crown Prince because, well, why not? This latest work from Creasey details all the highlights from his…

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Comedy Review: Jan Van De Stool – I Get The Music In You

The quite pleasurable Jan van de Stool (the character from the mind of theatre performer Queenie van de Sandt) is a woman who really enjoys he singing, dancing and therapy. It sure was a therapy mesh, but an awesome one. Jan questioning why her ‘workshop’ was supposed to be included in a comedy fest. But…

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Comedy Review: Hannah Gadsby – Dogmatic

Hannah Gadsby current comedy show Dogmatic won’t leave the audience feeling warm and fuzzy inside. While a far step away from her manic-depressive character she has become synonymous for playing in break-out success Please Like Me, Gadsby is organically inclined to draw distinction to the somber over the sunny. A self-aware comedian, reflecting on shows…

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Comedy Review: Matt Okine – Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall

Boy, was it nice to put a 3D human being to the voice that is Matt Okine. Over the years we have become so fond of his vocal prowess and Instagram snaps, but seeing the boy wonder himself in the flesh, staring us right in the face, was an absolute delight. Having spoken to Okine…

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Comedy Review: David O’Doherty – We Are All In The Gutter, But Some of Us Are Looking at David O’Doherty

A seasoned comedian, David O’Doherty is the force de jour in musical comedy. Returning to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival after two years back in his homeland of Ireland, O’Doherty settles back in seamlessly, in an hilarious night of observational comedy- with a healthy sprinkle of melodic ramblings. Still sporting his keyboard from 1986, wearing…

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Comedy Review: Strong Female Character – Brisbane Powerhouse (performances to 20th March)

As a card carrying feminist, my secret desire to be (and, let’s face it, be with) Indiana Jones always felt like something I had to suppress. Not because I didn’t want to get chased by giant boulders or offer up some great one-liners or have someone write “LOVE YOU” on their eyelids (I’ll win the…

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Comedy Review: David Strassman – iTedE

If you’re old enough to recognise Hey, Hey It’s Saturday’s Plucka Duck in the current KFC ads than chances are you’ll also remember David Strassman. The ventriloquist and comedian was often a guest on the show with his two much-loved characters, the naive but sweet Ted E Bare and the foul-mouthed, Chuck Wood. Strassman now…

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Comedy Review: Dawn French in Thirty Million Minutes – State Theatre, Sydney (Touring Australia through 7th April 2016)

Dawn French has been alive for approximately thirty million minutes (that’s 58 years) and over the course of her two hour performance she is determined to let the audience in on what she’s learnt – as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother and a woman. Incorporating an ever changing screen backdrop and a…

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Comedy duo Tim and Eric (USA) announce upcoming Australian and New Zealand tour

Finally, the long wait is over! Absurdist comedy-cult duo Tim and Eric will be returning to our shores this December, proudly calling their show “Tim and Eric – ’Stralia – Zealand Experience”. Live Nation is excited to announce the return of the cult pair who will bring their unique brand of humour for a whirlwind…

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MICF Review: 3 States of Comedy – The Downstairs Lounge at The Grand Mercure Hotel (Performances through April 19th)

If you’re looking for a good variety of Australian comedy during this year’s MICF look no further than 3 States of Comedy/i>, a triple headliner of very promising comics representing Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia. Opening the show on this particular evening was Geoff Setty, whose punchy one-liners got the crowd going early…

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MICF Review: Chimp Cop – The Imperial Hotel (Until April 18th)

Chimp Cop – the love child of Melbourne comedians Timothy Clark, Ben Vernel, Adam Knox and Rosie Vernel, is a hard-hitting and hilarious tale of corruption, friendship, and bananas. A well-constructed hour of silliness that parodies just about every cop drama truism in the book, Chimp Cop moves through its influences, picking them apart and…

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MICF Review: Ronny Chieng "You Don't Know What You're Talking About" – Melbourne Town Hall (Performances through 19th April)

There’s something about the way Ronny Chieng yells at you that’s so endearing. The multi-award winning comedian has a knack for picking on the flaws of a generation who don’t know what they’re talking about, in a way that makes you feel both guilty and amused. His stage persona of a faux egotistical comic is…

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the AU interview: Comedians Jacob Lingard, Ciaran Lyons and Matt Stewart talk about "The Comedy Zone" at MICF

The Comedy Zone is made up of five of Australia most promising comedians each coming from different parts of the country to deliver a varied palette of humour. Matt Ford (QLD), Jacob Lingard (QLD), Ciaran Lyons (WA), Nina Oyama (NSW) and Matt Stewart (VIC) are a collective of young comedians who has already started to…

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MICF Review: Corey White: The Cane Toad Effect (Performances Through April 19th)

“Don’t worry, you’ll get home in one piece” Corey White assures, as he delves into things he could have possibly said to put a woman’s mind at ease after he realized he had accidentally been following her for several kilometers late one night. Ultimately he knows there’s nothing he could have said, he knows even…

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