Reviews

Adelaide Fringe Review: Liars and Clowns serve up comedy allsorts

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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”

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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Adelaide Fringe Review: Tim Ferguson is Living a Fast Life on Wheels – National Wine Centre until March 17

Tim Ferguson is probably best known as one of the members of the comedy trio Doug Anthony All Stars that were particularly popular on Australian television screens in the late 80’s. In this Adelaide Fringe performance, Ferguson chats to us about his life and times, including his diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis; “Why have just one…

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Comedy Review: Conan O’Brien takes aim at Sydney’s Lock Out Laws as he makes his Australian debut

Last night, US late night talk show host Conan O’Brien hit the stage in Sydney, accompanied by a few of his “Australian Friends”, in what was (incredibly) the comedian’s first ever stage shows outside of North America. His TV show band “The Basic Cable Trio” opened the show, while cameras were held notably in the…

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Comedy Review: The Betoota Advocate Roadshow was some funny local comedy presented by a dry Aussie bitter

Most people wouldn’t know how to take a newspaper out on the road. But Clancy Overell and Errol Parker aren’t like most. These two, true blue Aussie blokes are the brainchild behind Australia’s favourite satirical newspaper, The Betoota Advocate. It’s one that shares a few things in common with The Chaser, The Shovel and The…

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Comedy Review: The Just for Laughs All-Star Gala proved funnier than Smash Mouth & sillier too

Ten comedians walk into the Opera House. They deliver some cracking jokes. Hilarity ensues. Rinse and repeat. This is how you could sum up the 8th Just for Laughs All-Star Gala. Local and international comics came together to deliver some wonderful observational and improvisational comedy. Our nation’s very own Dave Hughes was MC for the…

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Comedy Review: Just For Laughs brings Whose Line? legends to the Sydney Opera House

It’s remarkable to think that a TV series about improv could last for 30 years. But indeed, Whose Line is it Anyway? (or Whose Line? as it’s often known, and will be referred to as henceforth), has always beaten the odds. Starting as a radio programme on the BBC starting Clive Anderson, Stephen Fry and…

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Melbourne Fringe Review: Why Gillian English’s 10 Things I Hate About Taming of the Shrew is the best

Gillian English is my new favourite person. We have never met before but as soon as she stood on the makeshift stage at Belleville and roared her way into my life with her insistently angry comedy, I knew I had met my match. Viewer warning: If you have an undying love for Shakespeare than I…

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Melbourne Fringe Review: Jude Perl is talented, hilarious, genuine and everybody needs to go and see I Have a Face

Jude Perl made me think about a lot of things. Made me notice a lot of things. And she made me laugh more than I thought was actually physically possible. If I could give any person who chances to wander over this article a small snippet of life advice it would be this. Go and…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Adam Rowe delivers the “Funniest Joke of the Fringe” in Undeniable

After winning TV network Dave’s “Funniest Joke of the Fringe 2018”, and seeming to court controversy after the fact due to the age of the joke, Adam Rowe’s stand up show Undeniable has become one of the hottest tickets of the Fringe. And it’s not something that the Liverpool comedian seems entirely comfortable with. Indeed,…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Ivy Paige is engaging and fearless in Seduction

Ivy Paige’s cabaret show Seduction sees the former Voice contestant don a tight golden dress, with her… talents… on full display, as she taught the crowd how to be a successful seductress like her. Accompanied by her trusty keyboardist, the show delivered some fantastic numbers, that were loosely tied together by dialogue and audience participation….

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Larry Dean masters the Aussie accent in his stellar show “Bampot”

Glaswegian comedian Larry Dean’s Fringe show Bampot, was meant to be about the strength of his relationship with his Australian boyfriend Luke. But instead, with the pair breaking up some four weeks before the Fringe, it ended up becoming a show about their breakup, the importance of family, and general observations from the perspective of…

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Edinburgh Fringe Review: Eshaan Akbar schools his audience in Prophet Like It’s Hot

British Comedian Eshaan Akbar’s latest show Prophet Like It’s Hot sees the “Lapsed Muslim” take audiences on a journey through the Holy Qur’an, as he uses humour to take away some of the misconceptions about Islam, taking the opportunity to make fun of the now ancient text and its varied interpretations. Feeling as much as a…

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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: 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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