Bex Lee
The Pun 2006 Reviews »
As a well-established Australian comic, Dave Grant owns his stage with an authority that comes from knowing his craft implicitly and his crowd intimately. The bulk of the punters who buy tickets to Dave Grant know what they’re in for: an old-fashioned serve of ‘male’ Aussie humour. This is not to say his line-up is full of dick jokes – far from it – but the material strikes a chord with every bloke who has ever had a VB showdown with his mates.
MAN the MYTH is all about initiation into …
The Pun 2006 Reviews »
Whilst Jimeoin’s high-profile demands a large venue, there’s always a risk in the Main Town Hall that the dress circle and balcony members will feel like they’re watching from the moon. Comedy always seems to work better in semi intimate venues, especially if there are facial expressions underpinning the jokes. Despite Jimeoin’s charisma, the sheer distance between the stage and the Town Hall’s upper decks leaves an audience member feeling a little uninvolved. It’s a pity because so much of Jimeoin’s material depends on our ability to feel a certain …
The Pun 2006 Reviews »
The concept behind 160 Characters is highly inventive and fundamentally simple: the audience forwards unusual text messages to a phone number on stage, and the improvisers create funny skits from the incoming texts – sketch SMS, if you will. It’s a great strategy for involving the audience and ensuring the content of the show is diverse and entertaining.
Text messages range from gushy sentimentality (‘I am the coral to your ocean, darling.’) to pointless everyday observations (‘I’m having a sore boob day.’). It’s an excellent formula for improv, which requires random …
The Pun 2006 Reviews »
Get a kick out of illogical humour? Come to Sam Simmons’ show. It’s a one-man tribute to all things absurd, from dramatic cans of tuna to stuffed, talking seagulls. There’s no point trying to connect the dots – it’s a bizarre, non-sequential joyride through the mind of a man who talks to a ficus’a what? Exactly! It’s not supposed to make sense, and the more you try to apply logic, the further you will find yourself from the laughter frontier.
Sam Simmons is all about quirky. He comes to a Pavarotti-style …
The Pun 2006 Reviews »
Inadvertently funny and deliberately offensive, this Melbourne based trio is the alternative punter’s Tripod. Don’t be fooled by their clean-cut appearance’Man Bite God are filthy musicians masquerading as melodious nice boys. They put the ‘blue’ in the Blues and triple-handedly turn delightful music into delinquent muck. But it works. It’s giggle-worthy for loyal and virgin punters alike. As a first time viewer, I was quietly impressed by their vocal talent and musical versatility.
Each member of Man Bites God takes a solo turn, and the instrument of choice ranges from a …
The Pun 2006 Reviews »
The Comedy Zone consists of a quartet of ‘stand-up and coming’ comics who have proved themselves worthy of a Festival platform. Andrea Gibbs, Mat Kenneally, Josh Thomas and Nellie Wight are four fresh new faces of comedy. Each with a distinctly different style, these young performers are a joy to watch, not just because they’re gutsy, but because they’re genuinely funny.
Mat Kenneally plays the role of MC, warming-up the crowd with his affable manner and conversational style of comedy. Josh Thomas follows with endearing anecdotes of parental misguidance. Nellie Wight …
The Pun 2006 Reviews »
At last: a course that caters to the comedy nerd! Run by self-confessed comedy junkie and former stand-up comedian Dom Romeo, this five week course is presented by CAE and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It’s for anyone who’s ever wanted to explore the method behind the mirth’how is comedy created and why do we laugh?
Each week Dom screens a variety of new and old comedy takes from his vast collection. This provides the basis for a lively and entertaining discussion on the nature of comedy and all things affiliated: …
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