I left the best ’til last. As my final show of Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I saw Canadian ‘gentleman elf’ Deanne Smith (good friend of 2017 Barry winner Hannah Gadsby) in her latest show, Post-Joke Era. Openly lesbian, Deanne’s onto all…
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Cooking For No One showcases Carlo Ritchie’s lovelorn laments. The man is confident, competent, and his stories of failed romance very funny. Ritchie is suave, urbane and coolly mesmerising. His delivery is calm and measured, and he…
Jennifer Wong kookily stands before us with her cardboard box ‘cassette player’ beside her, in her one-woman standup show How To English Harder. Her quirky little Melbourne International Comedy Festival show pokes fun at the lucrative field of foreigners learning…
I really really love Lady Sings It Better. Story Time is the fourth show of theirs I’ve seen and they keep getting better than you can believe. It especially helps that people just don’t seem to stop writing horribly sexist/creepy/aggressive songs…
Melbourne-based actor, writer, and director Hayley Butcher presents her solo stand up debut Pressure Down at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Best known as half of comedy duo Dash and D’Bree, Butcher is no stranger to the Melbourne scene, having…
Twins, presented by Jess Perkins and Naomi Higgins certainly packs a punch… and a slap. Jess and Naomi are both RAW Comedy National Finalists, from 2015 and 2016 respectively. Quite frankly, it is very hard to believe that these two…
What appears a simple show, presented by a lady in a yellow raincoat who smiles a lot, Debbie Zukerman’s The Gonzo Hour, evolves into a commentary on group behaviour, nationalism, and the dangers of being human. There are lots of laughs…
What happens when two arch rivals, a comic book hero and a super villain, are double-booked for a convention? The answer is explored in Comic Conned, performed by stand-up stalwarts Geoff Setty and Danny Stinson. Each adopt a character and…
He’s a Poser and he knows it. An hour alone with the in-your-face Joel Creasey proves how badly he wants fame. But he’s not just a fabulous mouth, he’s a hard-working act at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. This very funny,…
The best concept of the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival is A Visit With Nan In A Caravan. With technicolour dresses and cardigans, plastic hair rollers and wigs, the three actors from Granny Bingo bring their nylons to town in the shape…