The Barry Awards – 2009 Nominees

Tim Minchin (AUS) – Ready For This?

Rich Hall (USA) – Otis Lee Crenshaw Featuring Special Guest Rich Hall

Wilson Dixon (AUS) – Wilson Dixon Rides Again

Sarah Millican (UK) – Sarah Millican’s Not Nice

Asher Treleaven (AUS) – Open Door (Moosehead Award Recipient)

The Pajama Men (USA) – Versus vs Versus

Henning Wehn & Otto Kuhnle (DEU) – 1000 Years of German Humour

The Golden Gibbo – 2009 Nominees

Heath McIvor – Randy’s Postcards from Purgatory

Rob Hunter – Moosecow

Tale of the Golden Lease – Vigilantelope

The List Operators – The Last Tuesday Society

Tom Ballad – Is What He Is

Wes Snelling – Kiosk

Raw Comedy Winner

The top prize was awarded to Michael Workman of Western Australia. Michael won a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to compete in the prestigious competition ‘So You Think You’re Funny’.  There were two ‘Runners Up’, awarded to bee keeper, jam maker and actor Charles Barrington – also known as Andy Rodger, a 27-year-old baker originally from Mildura, Victoria; and Ash Walmsley, a 28-year-old newspaper editor from Bundaberg, Queensland. The ‘Raw Recruit’ prize for the best first time entrant went to 27-year-old Don Tran of Victoria.

Deadly Funny Winner

After being runner-up the past two years, Shiralee Hood, of Nyoongar Kurnai community (Perth/Gippsland), was crowned champion.  Second place went to Ingo Collard from Western Australia, whilst Aaron Lester from South Australia came third. Phil Saunders from South Australia received an honourable mention.

The Funny Tonne

And the status of the funny tonne?  At last update in their race to beat Funny Tonne Champ Erin Davidson (2006) who sits undefeated on 123 shows, here’s how they were placed:

Joseph Crichton – 100 shows
Kristy Lillyst – 97 shows
Jessica Chi – 80 shows

Hope to see you all at Trades Hall this Sunday night for their awards night, including our two awards from The Pun!

1. Denise Scott – Number 26

Sit back, relax and put your metaphoric comfy nightie on so you can join Scott in her jaunt down memory lane.  Part stand-up, part storytelling with a dash of showbiz thrown in, this show is one you’ll remember long after you’ve rushed off to the next gig.

2. Wilson Dixon Rides Again

If you haven’t seen a Wilson Dixon show before, you’ll want to give this one a crack.  Not just because of the recent Barry Award nomination, which usually signals a good show, but because this uniquely drawn charachter has a way of sneaking up on you.  The music is good, the premise is good, the story is good.  This cowboy philosopher is more than just a charicature, which makes for a great show.

3. The List Operators

Addicted to making lists?  This show is perfect for you.  Fresh from their award winning season (and sold-out) season at Melbourne Fringe Festival, this duo will keep you laughing for a full hour… and what better than to make our Top 5 list than, well, a show about lists.

4. Tale of the Golden Lease

Read our review for a glowing recommendation to see this show, or just take my word for the fact that these lads are performing sketch comedy at its finest.

5. Justin Hamilton – Goodbye Ruby Tuesday

Combine one talented comedian and one talented actor and you get Goodbye Ruby Tuesday.  An hour long story about little-girl-lost, Ruby, and her rather strange friendship with local comic Jason.  There are smatterings of stand-up, a beguiling story and endearing, well drawn charachters.  Well worth a look.

As Dave Hughes discusses in a recent article in The Age, often a less-than-positive review will stick with a performer for a very long time.  This is also apparent when listening to one of Tim Minchin’s new songs from this year’s show, which he dedicates to a bad review he received three years ago.  Yes, three.  On one hand, this is very understandable.  Anyone, no matter how confident, is bound to dislike hearing how under-appreciated their creative work is.  Having somebody cast a critical eye over your performance and pick every flaw, magnify every bumble and sit in judgement of your talents would surely be difficult to accept.  It would lead you to question who this person was, to sit in judgement of your work.  Some say, “If you can’t do, teach”… other say “if you can’t do, review”.  Given the frequency with which some comedy reviewers cross over to performing comedy here in Melbourne it can be easy to see where the saying comes from.

On the other hand, reviewing is a key factor in the publicity-factory for festivals.  A good review can make or break a show, can assist in building an audience, can elevate an unheard of name to a show with remarkable buzz around it.  Audiences read reviews to get some idea what a show is like.  The festival program offers few words, written by performers themselves, and perhaps a short quote from a previous review.  It can be hard, from this tiny bit of information, to judge you should spend your hard earned cash on one show or another.  And should you judge a show by its poster?  Should you look at the advertisements on television, in newspapers?  Do they really give you any idea what to expect?  Like it or not, reading someone else’s experience of a given show is likely to offer more of an idea about what will take place after you buy your ticket than anything else.

On one side of the fence, comics who have been burned by a bad review can often be found defensively spouting that reviewers are out to get them, want to give bad reviews, get off on destroying shows, don’t know anything about comedy in the first place, don’t represent ‘real’ audiences or are frustrated performers themselves.  On the other side of the fence, reviewers will point out that they are unwilling to let poor performances go unchecked, save audiences from wasting money on sub-standard shows, comics can’t take criticism, it’s not their job to keep shows happy, they have a duty to be honest about a show’s faults.  They are courted, and then derided if their review finds even the smallest criticism.  There is truth on both sides.  And the relationship between reviewer and reviewed is symbiotic.  Without something to review, the reviewer has no purpose.  Without a review, a performer has difficulty getting the word out about their show.  The only potentially unhappy party in the case of a positive review is the reader/audience member, in the case where a reviewer has ‘gone soft’ and not been honest about a poor performance.  They have trusted a reviewer (or publication) to provide them with a fair assessment about a show, and if the show is weak (but the review didn’t make this apparent) they feel let down by both the show and the publication.  Nobody wins.

Particularly in comedy, where the lines between the performer and the character they inhabit on stage can be blurry, or in some cases knife thin, the criticism of a reviewer can strike very close to home.  It is rare to have a vitriolic email in response to a review from an actor, director, film producer, musician or dancer.  It’s almost as if, when reading a review, they can separate the criticism of the performance from the criticism of themselves.  For comics, this appears harder to do.  Many take criticism of their routine, performance, material or presentation as personal.  Some reviewers find it hard to separate performer and performance, but it seems some comics also suffer the same problem.  Sad to say, but often comics respond to criticism with burning outrage.  In many cases, as with the recent example of Dave Hughes, the review itself is far from acerbic.  A small comment or criticism can be interpreted as much harsher than it was probably intended (or as most audiences read it).  Listening to Tim Minchin’s ode to his negative reviewer, it’s hard to understand how his steady climb to international success can leave him time to fixate on three-year-old reviews.  But it does.  Enough to write a biting song in response.

Reviews and reviewers serve different purposes depending on who the reviewer is, what the media outlet is and who the (perceived) readership is.  For us here at The Pun, we have a clear understanding of our aims.  We don’t offer a star-rating system because we have a large team.  Given that we review so many shows (significantly more than any other media outlet), we have a varied team of writers, all of whom have differing opinions and tastes.  When you read reviews from a mainstream media outlet such as The Age you often know the individual reviewer, and will know your tastes are the same as (or different from) theirs.  You know if they’re tough to impress, or if they don’t like musical comedy.  It’s a relationship arts reviewers build with their audience over a long time.  For us, we operate on the theory that a review should help match the right show with the right audience.  A reader should read the review and get a good idea if they would like to see it.  We do not claim, or seek, to rate shows, compare them against each other or to attempt to claim an expertise in the field of comedy.  As an editor, I encourage my writers to offer balanced criticism, to think about who would like (or dislike) the show and write a review which offers a flavour of the show without giving away punch-lines.

Easier said than done, frankly.  As a publication we’re routinely criticised as being too soft, too hard, too alternative in our tastes, too mainstream in our tastes, being skewed towards story/musical/theatre shows, skewed towards stand-up, having no idea about comedy, being too involved in comedy, not covering enough locals, going too soft on locals…. and on and on and on.  There’s no accounting for taste, so the saying goes, and no matter what a reviewer’s taste, there is always somebody else with a different taste.

Paramount for us is not what a comic thinks of their review, though I can think of more than one occasion where I’ve felt horrible publishing what I knew was a fair (but not positive) assessment of a show.  Our job, as a reviewer, is to give audiences an accurate idea of what to expect of a show.  Regardless of how the performer feels.  And while it is true that there are reviewers out there who enjoy nothing more than to sink their teeth into any perceived weakness in a show, or see a show with the attitude that the performer will have to work damn hard to get any positive words from them, for the most part they are rare.  And they certainly don’t work for me.  Most reviewers love live performance, and they write about it because they want to dissect it, discuss it, discover it.  They are looking for the good in a show, not the bad.  Unfortunately, if they don’t acknowledge the bad where it is found, all of the reviewer’s work is useless.  A review only serves its purpose if it is able to enlighten the audience to the good/bad/relevant/salient points of the performance, so they can make their own choice about whether the show is for them.

What a reviewer want and a comic want are actually the same thing.  To get an audience who will enjoy the show to see it.

Where did you grow up, and when did you start performing?

I am a Sydney boy, growing up just south of the inner city. I pretty much have been doing something in the performing arts my whole life, whether it was acting or performing in bands and orchestras. I started to branch out and perform on my own in my late teens, experimenting with different things like stand-up and main roles in shows. Magic had always been a passion in my life so I guess it was just going to be a natural progression towards becoming a magician. I told everyone when I was four that was what I was going to be and I guess I don’t like going back on my word.

Describe your two shows to me.

Manic mayhem, incredible energy and a lot of fun. The shows are more than just funny shows – they involve the audience so much and I do a lot of improv in every show. I love really connecting with the audience and bouncing off them. Every show is a little bit different but always a lot of fun to be at and even better if you decide to become a part of the show. I look after everyone who helps me out in my show and everyone who comes on stage wants to do it again. I am described as out-there, what-am-I-gonna-do-next kind of person with a cheeky sense of humour and that’s what I bring to the shows. I never go too far to upset or offend anyone, especially not the people that come up on stage. I have a lot of respect for them having the guts to come up and face the unknown. I take good care of those people.

Have you met/entertained anyone famous?

At one of the magic seminars I went to, I did meet Michael Jackson back stage for about two seconds. My friend was performing so we were hanging out back stage and it turns out that Michael is a huge magic fan (as well as good friends of Siegfried and Roy who were backstage as well), and had come by to say “Hi” as he was in town. I have also performed at Playboy parties in Vegas so I have met some C and B list adult stars. I performed on two occasions at the APEC summit so that might count as well? That APEC gig was actually really fun and the guys were a hoot to perform for. I kept stealing stuff from this dignitary from Japan, who kept having to come back to me to collect some sort of article that belonged to him like his phone, wallet or even his APEC security pass. At the time I was driving an old beat up Ford station wagon and would drive in wearing only a T-shirt, shorts and thongs. I would then have to get out of the car when I got to the police check point with these cops looking at me like “This guy can’t seriously think he is going to be let through the barrier?” They would call it in and suddenly you would see their faces just drop as they were told to let me pass.

When did you start making money from comedy?

I was 17 and walking home from school, when I somehow convinced the owner of this pub that I was 18 and started working there. On a Friday and Saturday night I would work about seven or eight hours straight, not leaving the place till about five in the morning (at which point I would have a quick nap before my Saturday day job). This was the start of me.

What is your daily life like now?

As much as friends and other people believe I do nothing, this life keeps me pretty busy. I spend about six hours a day just on practice and revision – working on new routines or going over old ones. On top of that, I self manage myself so there is contacting agents, booking in venues for shows, booking in my corporate shows and charity functions and co-ordinating tours both nationally and internationally. This keeps my pretty busy and I am a bit of a night owl, staying up till about four in the morning. Usually I get hit with inspiration around midnight and will keep working till I pass out in the early hours of the morning.

What do you like to do after a show?

I am actually quite boring – I just like to go for a long walk under the night sky. I love looking up at the stars and contemplating the show I have just done. Unfortunately I don’t really have any crazy after-show rituals that would see me backstage performing a hand-stand singing the Muppets’ theme song while sucking the juice out of a lemon thru a straw. Now I think of it, I might try that one after tonight’s show.

Is it a challenge to do a routine on your own?

I do have an assistant at Hypnolarious to help me with props and a few other things, and another assistant in Sydney that does my stand-up magic shows with me. I don’t really see any challenge in performing on my own, I just design my shows around the situation. My show The Funny Side of Prestidigitation is and always will be a one man show. What you see in the show is the foundation of magic, which is just one person using only the skill of their hands to entertain and amaze. As for collaboration, I do work with my best friends (who are also magicians) on ideas for our shows but have nothing planned just yet. I have been asked to sell my ideas to but I want to hold on to them for the time being.

What is the secret to hypnotism?

Depends on who you are. When you are a hypnotist, the secret is confidence and building trust with your audience. For the person being hypnotised the trick is to allow yourself to relax and let go – hypnosis is so normal that you naturally go into it about eight to nine times a day. Everyone who wants to be hypnotised can be hypnotised – the hypnotist can’t make you do anything you wouldn’t want to do. Ultimately, if you do let yourself go, you will come out feeling really relaxed and fantastic.

What is the funniest moment you have had with a hypnotised audience member?

There are so many stories I could tell you that really should never go to print but I will never forget the show I did for a bunch of crew members late one night after the bar had closed on a cruise ship. After going through some routines I noticed that the cleaners had come up to clean the bar, so I hypnotized Alex, the ships’ DJ, informing him that he was now one of the cleaners and that he was in trouble for not doing his job properly.

So he wakes up and frantically starts mopping the floor. When the real cleaners try to stop him he waves the mop at them, screaming “IT’S MY JOB! IT’S MY JOB!” This continues until I ask him where the ‘Caution – Wet Floor’ signs are, at which point he starts running around even more frantic, looking for one. I turn to the other hypnotized person and start to give her a suggestion when someone notices Alex is gone. We all look around, but there is no sign of him anymore and we start to panic.

As we do a final sweep before venturing into passenger areas, we hear someone racing up the stairs screaming “IT’S MY JOB! IT’S MY JOB!” In storms Alex with two signs, which he immediately sets out on the floor, returning to his mopping frantically. As we found out the next day, he had run through most of the ship, found some other cleaners working, stolen the signs from them, all the while screaming “IT’S MY JOB! IT’S MY JOB!”, then run back to us. He was from then on known as DJ “It’s My Job” Alex.

1. Adam Hills

Don’t get us started on Adam Hills.  We’re fans.  Big fans.  While he sometimes cops it for being “too nice”, Hills is a rare comic.  He remains relevant, likable and cheeky in just the right doses.  His many years of performing to live audiences all over the world have helped him become one of the most consistent, crowd-friendly shows you’ll find in the festival.  Never failing to meet expectation, and often exceeding it, this is a comic who you can consider a sure pick.  Spicks & Specks is a great show, but we’d take an hour of one-man comedy from Hills instead any day.

2.    Lehmo

Not just that-guy-who-talks-about-footy-on-the-telly, Lehmo is a talented comic… and apparently, a recovering accountant.  Affable and charming all at the same time (if a ‘bloke’ can be charming), Lehmo returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with another strong show.

3. Lawrence Leung

Lawrence Leung has been on our screens for a little while, but his first series, Lawrence Leung’s Choose Your Own Adventure has only been on air for two weeks thus far.  The ABC series is already proving a hit, and if you like the television experience you’ll love him live.  Leung has been a favourite of the festival scene for quite a few years, and is yet to deliver a show audiences don’t love.  This year sees him re-team with fellow Melbourne comic Andrew McClelland for their show Tim Ninjas as part of the Comedy@Trades season.  These two can both tell a tale, so without even having seen it yet, we’re confident that audiences are going to love it.

4.    Andy Muirhead

Your Nanna is probably crazy about Andy Muirhead, that lovely guy who presents Collectors on the ABC.  Don’t let that fool you.  There’s a lot more to this young comic than a fresh face and a keen smile.  He’s well worth taking a look at this year as he returns to the festival for only two shows at the State Library of Victoria.

5.    Wil Anderson

Glasshouse may be over, Gruen Transfer may only give him the chance for a quick quip, but Anderson is a staple of Australian television by now.  Many love him, some hate him, but it can’t be denied that Anderson knows how to work a crowd.  Standup is what he does best, with his frantic energy and carefully crafted shows making a whole lot of hard work look deceptively simple.  Anderson takes his craft seriously, and it is apparent any time you see him walk on a stage.

This year Festival Club also has some exclusives to offer.  Each week a new headline act will take the stage for four nights only, traveling all the way from America to make us laugh.  And you won’t see them anywhere else.  Week one kicks off tomorrow, Thursday 2 April, with Mario Joyner.  Here’s the lowdown on what to expect in the first week.

Thursday April 2nd
Mario Joyner
MC Mickey D
Boy with Tape On His Face
Neil Delamere
Felicity Ward
Smart Casual
Arj Barker

Friday April 3
Mario Joyner
MC Dave Williams
Andrew Lawrence
Sarah Millican
Brendon Burns
Josh Thomas
Henning Wehn & Otto Kuhnle (1000 years of German Humour)

Saturday April 4
Mario Joyner
MC’s Jason Byrne & Adam Hills
Claire Hooper
Tim Vine
Russell Kane
Randy the Puppet
Wilson Dixon

Sunday April 5
Mario Joyner
MC’s Die Roten Punkt
Axis Of Awesome
Pajama Men
Geraldine Quinn
Sammy J

There are some damn funny ladies who perform in this country.  In no particular order, we suggest:
1.    Upfront

Previously known as Upfront 8 (owing to the fact that eight performers usually graced the stage), Upfront is testament to the breadth of female talent in comedy.  No longer a show featuring eight comics, it has now expanded to offer more ladies and more laughs.  A great opportunity to see a range of funny women strut their stuff, a great place to happen upon new talent you might not have seen before.

2.    Judith Lucy

The undisputed queen of Australian comedy, this is Lucy’s 20th year of performing comedy.  Those years have honed her talents into a style uniquely her own, and made her an icon in her own right.  As an author and media personality Lucy is outstanding, but as a comic she is pure genius.  Don’t miss the chance to see a full hour of her mind at work.

3.    Hannah Gadsby

Did you see her on the Gala?  If, like us, that brief grab made you want to sit down and listen to what other magic may come from this talented woman, you’ll be pleased to hear Gadsby has three shows in the festival (not including her spot in Upfront, which takes the count to an impressive four).  Her solo show, her show with Monica Dullard and her tour of the NGV.  All are sure to have you laughing… which is kinda the point, yeah?

4.    Josie Long

Long visits us from the UK again this year.  Her 2008 season at the MICF saw her earn a Barry nomination to add to her if.comedy  Newcomer Award Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 2006.  Each year at the festival there are a few internationals that don’t yet have a huge profile here, but prove to be must-see shows.  Long’s performance promises to be a stand out.

5.    Courteney Hocking

Hocking is all about politics and pop-culture.  But mostly politics.  Her previous shows have proven that she is a home-grown local talent to look out for, and one of our personal favourites.  She has written for Good News Week, performs regularly as part of the popular Anarchist Guild Society and has numerous solo shows under her wings.  Hocking is whip smart, with a likeable stage presence that lulls you into a false sense of security.  That is, until she applies that trademark wit in razor sharp fashion, making you realise there’s nothing fluffy about her… or her take on politics.

For those interested in free tickets or special offers, you should be checking us out on twitter, which is where we offer all of our deals first.  Join us at http://twitter.com/micf

Email us and tell us what you’d like to see in order to be in the running for these tickets at lefa (at) anewleaf.com.au.

Danny McGinlay – Food Dude

For too long professional chefs have dominated the food entertainment industry with patronising tales of their own brilliance. But who needs hand picked truffles when the best meals are invented out of creativity at 3am?

A live cooking demonstration for the anti-cook.
Part cooking show – part science experiment.

“Hilarious…Stunning…Just don’t book him for a catering gig.” The Age

Courteney Hocking is Miss Right

Peter Morley Didn’t a Comedy Show (or That Toilet Thing Either)