Reviews

Review: Reuben Kaye proves that love and acceptance always triumph over fear and hate

July 6, 2023

Enmore Road was buzzing. Not just because it was a crisp Saturday night in mid-winter, but because Reuben Kaye was back and his presence at the glorious Enmore Theatre was highly anticipated by the public and police alike. Many words have been written about Kaye’s appearance on The Project in April, but it was the […]

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A stage is set up like a backyard with a large slide projected on a screen. The slide shows an old man with a young child. On the stage comedians act out a skit.

Review: Slide Night! with Rove McManus at the Sydney Opera House will have you reaching for your projector

June 17, 2023

Cultivating an atmosphere of neighbourly fun, Slide Night! at the Sydney Opera House brings together some of Sydney’s most prolific comedic talent for a night of laughs and nostalgia. Hosted by Rove McManus, the audience is invited to an old-school backyard BBQ complete with music (from the skilful Benny Davis), games and a slide show. […]

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Sydney Comedy Festival Gala Review: International comedy is back and it’s frenetic

April 27, 2023

The Sydney Comedy Festival has finally rolled around and it’s time for four weeks of comedy to take over a multitude of venues in the city, but first, the fabulous Sydney Opera House gets to host one of the opening week galas that showcase a selection of artists to be found on the programme. A […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Michael Shafar is definitely well worth the chemo

March 17, 2023

Michael Shafar is a testicular cancer survivor, hence the chemo joke. It was what his oncologist told him after he had seen the show; “You were well worth the chemo, Michael.” Which is a pretty good recommendation. On a Tuesday night after a long weekend, the house is full. Even if the stage is an […]

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Live Review: The Purple Rabbit – Perth Fringe World (25.01.23)

January 28, 2023

  The Perth Fringe World started last weekend and often as a casual punter it can be hard to know what to go and see, but The Purple Rabbit (showing January 25 to February 5) stands out early as a must for keen audiences. The AU Review was lucky enough to be invited along for […]

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Tim Minchin

Digital Review: Tim Minchin: Back delivers on the old songs, new songs and f**k you songs

December 11, 2022

Chameleon comedian and musician, Tim Minchin has had some busy years working in theatre and on films. After an eight-year break away from live touring, he returned to the live stage with his show, Back, only for Covid-19 to hit. Filmed live at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in the UK, Back is a clever blend […]

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Adelaide Cabaret Fringe Festival review: Fiona O’Loughlin is back and glorious

June 17, 2022

Fiona O’Loughlin was a regular face on television in the 90s. Her self-deprecating humour about her home and family life made her a popular guest on several chat shows. That came to an end after she collapsed on stage and admitted that she was battling alcoholism. Now that she is clean and recovered, O’Loughlin is […]

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Brisbane Comedy Festival Review: Poncho Orange: Keep It Up!; come for the allure, stay for the education

May 26, 2022

Whilst it’s perfectly understandable for audiences to attend a comedy show under the assumption they’ll be humorously entertained, the moments of seriousness and self-reflection are often what stay with you.  Such is the case with Poncho Orange: Keep It Up!, the latest one-man-show from melting pot oddball clown Dani Cabs, a 60-minute journey into his […]

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Cameron James

Sydney Comedy Festival Review: Cameron James – Electric Dreams

May 15, 2022

  Nostalgia. It can happen to anyone, any time. The song that’s playing, that film you saw, the piece of memorabilia you found in your parent’s cupboard. They can spark memories of a time and place that you may have thought you’d forgotten. It’s those feelings of going back, remembering and sometimes cringing that Cameron […]

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Greg Larsen

Sydney Comedy Festival: Greg Larsen – We All Have Bloody Thoughts

May 15, 2022

There could not be a more suitable title for a comedy show. We All Have Bloody Thoughts is exactly what you’d expect from a comedian that is known for quite shouty diatribes, especially from his appearances on the now defunct ‘Tonightly’ show, various other stand-up appearances or his opinion articles which dance on the line between […]

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Brisbane Comedy Festival Review: Garry Starr: Greece Lightning revels in its witty, smutty irreverence

May 11, 2022

Have you ever wanted to hear an explicit rap about the incestual ways of ancient Greek figures set to the tune of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”? Or how about The Little Mermaid‘s “Under the Sea” as a spoken word piece, all the while its performer is donned in a mermaid tail being glistened by […]

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Gabi Bolt performs on stage at the State Theatre Sydney.

Review: Sydney learns to laugh again as the Sydney Comedy Festival kicks of at The State Theatre

April 29, 2022

The Sydney Comedy Festival Gala at The State Theatre was a sneak peek of some of the acts which will form the line-up of this year’s festival. With talent from around the world, each act was given 5 minutes to impress the crowd enough to get you to buy tickets to their show and provide […]

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Adelaide Fringe review: Daniel Muggleton is white and wrong (but mostly white)

March 10, 2022

Daniel Muggleton is an Australian stand-up comedian wearing a tracksuit. His trademark comedy is poking holes at bogans, racism, and almost anything else he can think of. He has a regular podcast and is a comedy club regular. On this chilly Tuesday night in the open-air Piglet Theatre at Gluttony, he wasn’t fazed by the […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Liars and Clowns serve up comedy allsorts

March 1, 2022

The Producer’s Hotel has had a chequered life but is currently undergoing renovation and is starting to regain some of her former glory. The main room has larger events but upstairs is where the comedy lives. It is in one of the upstairs former bedrooms that Liars and Clowns, A Late Night Comedy Show is […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Suren Jayemanne describes being an Industry Darling Adjacent

February 27, 2022

The Rhino Room is considered Adelaide’s premier venue for comedy. The 2022 Fringe program is huge and this year they’re hosting over 50 performers with 16 shows per night, five nights a week. With this incredible choice, it can be difficult for some performers to break through the noise and find an audience. It was […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Surviving Matt Hale’s Hypnotic Chaos

February 24, 2022

Matt Hale is a self-confessed comedy hypnotist, with self-help motivational and corporate entertainment packages a major part of his life. It makes sense then that a show called Absolute Chaos would be on the Fringe list. Hale’s introduction to the show is measured, thorough and complete. He explains the process and jokingly warns that even […]

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Sarah Gaul

Adelaide Fringe Review: Sarah Gaul wants to be a WIFE. Or does she?

February 21, 2022

Sarah Gaul is a 31-year-old woman who’s been to more weddings in the last six months than she cares to admit. Always the bridesmaid but never the bride? Sarah takes the audience on a journey into her world, her take on relationships and what makes her tick. First things first, Sarah is an eco-warrior. She […]

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Fringe World Review: Lisa Woodbrook’s comedic twist on Amy Winehouse & Lily Allen

January 24, 2022

Fringe World Festival is back in Perth despite the hardest of hard borders in WA but the local talent is shining, with Lisa Woodbrook‘s It’s Not Me, It’s Definitely You: Songs of Amy Winehouse & Lily Allen a fine example. As a supremely talented vocalist, Woodbrook’s show – as the title suggests – contains plenty of […]

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In Oh, More Mr White Guy, Daniel Muggleton’s easy likeable personality shines through

November 23, 2021

Daniel Muggleton leaps out onto the stage, both noticeable and memorable for his bright red tracksuit. A fine fashion choice? Probably not, but if you Google “tracksuit comedian”, he is on the top of the list. So, it’s perhaps a wise one. The venue (Gluttony‘s Piglet – not Adelaide’s Rhino Room where you’ll see him this Thursday) […]

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Comedy Review: Grey hair is glitter and other lessons from A Flying Photon

April 26, 2021

Arriving off the back of a successful run at the Adelaide Fringe, A Flying Photon at Giant Dwarf in Sydney is science, with a twist. The twist being – it’s actually interesting. We are introduced to Rachel Rayner, Science Explainer, who is a ‘science communicator, poet and performer’. With a background in physics, Rayner begins […]

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Circus Review: The Dumtectives in Cirque Noir is a dazzling blend of acrobatics, slapstick and adult comedy

April 12, 2021

A perfectly stupendous amount of ‘Dum’! The critically acclaimed and globally touring Australian circus company, Dummies Corp, lights up the stage at The Famous Spiegeltent in Melbourne with their first adult-themed circus comedy – The Dumtectives in Cirque Noir. As part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, this show blasts you into a world of […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Daniel Muggleton is so much more than Mr White Guy

March 15, 2021

Daniel Muggleton leaps out onto the stage at Adelaide Fringe, both noticeable and memorable for his bright red tracksuit. A fine fashion choice? Probably not, but if you Google “tracksuit comedian”, he is on the top of the list. So, it’s perhaps a wise one. The venue (Gluttony‘s Piglet) is probably not the best available […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Confessions of a Fake-Fake Psychic exposes magical secrets

March 15, 2021

As the audience assembles in the foyer of the Mill, yellow envelopes are handed out. The instructions are to write a question for the Fake-Fake Psychic and seal them within the envelope. We place them in a glass bowl near the stage as we enter. A statement is projected up on the screen. Words are […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: 3 Course Comedy serves up the laughs

March 9, 2021

To say that it’s been a difficult time for the arts industry over the last year is an understatement. The Adelaide Fringe was one of the last events held in 2020 before Coronavirus hit and is now back in a far reduced capacity and social distance friendly way. Which doesn’t mean that everything is smooth […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Paul McDermott and his PLUS ONE serve up some hilarious home truths

March 8, 2021

You may remember Paul McDermott from our television screens back in the eighties as one of the Doug Anthony All Stars. He’s not as stunningly attractive these days, but with his new bearded look, one could say that he’s still got a certain appeal – to other men with beards, perhaps. Forty years of entertaining […]

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Adults Only Magic Show

Adelaide Fringe Review: The Showmen’s Adults Only Magic Show entertains and delights

March 4, 2021

Magic duo Sam & Justin (known as The Showmen) present the Adult Only Magic Show at Gluttony. The show is marketed as an incredible array of hilariously raucous comedy, mind-bending illusions and stunningly dangerous stunts. The fast-paced show has plenty of audience participation with free drink cards for those helping on stage. Not that many […]

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Don't Feed The Ducks

Adelaide Fringe Review: Amy Hetherington on why not to feed the ducks

March 1, 2021

Amy Hetherington’s one-person stand-up show Don’t Feed The Ducks is a little of a misnomer. If you are expecting an hour of duck jokes, you’d be disappointed. There are duck jokes. But, there’s also a whole lot more to the show. From the moment that the audience are squeezed into the broom-cupboard sized Hell’s Kitchen at […]

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Fringe World Review: The Kaye Hole nails loose late night debauchery & variety

February 5, 2021

Mix Reuben Kaye with a 10:15pm timeslot and you’re bound to get scandalous late night debauchery, filthy fun and plenty of laughs. The Kaye Hole at the Rechabite, as part of Perth’s Fringe World Festival, didn’t disappoint. The Kaye Hole is Reuben’s variety show (separate to his earlier solo show), supported by his band, featuring […]

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Adelaide Fringe Review: Shark Heist is a wild and crazy trip – Rhino Room (10.03.20)

March 14, 2020

As the audience is shepherded into the tiny downstairs Hell Fire space in the Rhino Room venue, they are greeted by a bearded man wearing nothing but a pair of white briefs. Smiling and friendly, he welcomes everyone with open arms. This is going to be a very intimate performance. Cam Venn explains the show […]

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Eric Andre confirms The Eric Andre Show return in 2020 as he readies his “Black Borat movie”

September 27, 2019

Last night, comedian Eric Andre hit the stage at the Meridian Hall in Toronto as one of the headliners of the annual Just For Laughs comedy festival. Part of his Legalize Everything Tour, the hilarious hour and a half show was something of a tamer affair than what you might have seen on his popular […]

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