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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Comedian Rhys Darby kicked off the Australian tour of his new show Rhys Darby Live! on Monday night with the first of two sold-out shows at Perth’s Astor Theatre. Whilst Darby is perhaps best known as the lovably inept band manager Murray Hewitt from Flight of the Conchords, he has had a long and successful…
This week, the surviving members of iconic British Comedy troupe Monty Python bring their run of “reunion” shows in London to an end. Their first performances under the Python banner since 1980’s infamous Hollywood Bowl gig, their return to the stage was met with as much anticipation as it was trepidation – aren’t they too…
You may have already read about some of my adventures earlier last week at the Hype Machine Party. I mentioned I snuck out during the set, and as it turns out, I actually ended up going to a SXSW comedy event for the first time, to catch “surprise” headliner Sinbad, in a showcase hosted by…
It’s not too often you get to say “well now that’s something I never thought I’d see”. I guess the last time was when Neutral Milk Hotel came to town, fulfilling many dreams of my high school years. And tonight was something of a similar feeling. Having never performed shows outside of North America before,…
Stephen K Amos is one of the long running comedians who often swings by Australia for the Melbourne International and Sydney Comedy Festival circuits. He’s been embraced by our audiences thanks to his charming and witty tales and he’s back this time with his show The Spokesman to prove that he’s not worthy of being idolised.
