Reviews: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Sat, 1 Apr 2000, 12:21 pmWalter Plinge8 posts in thread
Reviews: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Sat, 1 Apr 2000, 12:21 pmThe 14th Melbourne International Comedy Festival has begun, and Stage Left has just posted 6 reviews at stageleft (with more to come). Here are some extracts:
ADAM BLOOM (UK): "In between his tumbling conversations and jokes about train etiquette, childhood and religion, his mind loops off on complicated and extreme 'what if' scenarios. You can see the hyperactive child he used to be."
COOL HEAT, URBAN BEAT (USA): "Cool Heat is far from dry. It's a vibrant pastiche of street and club dance spanning most of the twentieth century, and herein lies its greatest wit."
BOOTHBY GRAFFOE (UK): "Unfortunately, all three of my signals were flashing like mad for Boothby Graffoe's act on the second night of the Comedy Festival. Which is a shame, because he's actually pretty funny."
STEWART LEE (UK): "His material addresses some disparate themes. He talks us through the brilliant retorts we should have made but actually think of hours later... in his case it always ends with misunderstandings and the police becoming involved."
DAVE O'NEIL (Australia): "So Dave grew up in the 80s, stashed away the memories of school, the dole and the pub so he can make a living today taking the piss out of it all for the newer generation. He must have travelled a fair bit in that time (on his BMX, at least) because he promises he will trash every suburb in the course of the evening."
TOM RHODES (USA): "For some reason Tom Rhodes reminds me of an old-style revivalist preacher, pacing the stage with powerful American accent and microphone in hand. His lively irreverent delivery borders on the offensive, a kind of South Park approach to stand-up."
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left
ADAM BLOOM (UK): "In between his tumbling conversations and jokes about train etiquette, childhood and religion, his mind loops off on complicated and extreme 'what if' scenarios. You can see the hyperactive child he used to be."
COOL HEAT, URBAN BEAT (USA): "Cool Heat is far from dry. It's a vibrant pastiche of street and club dance spanning most of the twentieth century, and herein lies its greatest wit."
BOOTHBY GRAFFOE (UK): "Unfortunately, all three of my signals were flashing like mad for Boothby Graffoe's act on the second night of the Comedy Festival. Which is a shame, because he's actually pretty funny."
STEWART LEE (UK): "His material addresses some disparate themes. He talks us through the brilliant retorts we should have made but actually think of hours later... in his case it always ends with misunderstandings and the police becoming involved."
DAVE O'NEIL (Australia): "So Dave grew up in the 80s, stashed away the memories of school, the dole and the pub so he can make a living today taking the piss out of it all for the newer generation. He must have travelled a fair bit in that time (on his BMX, at least) because he promises he will trash every suburb in the course of the evening."
TOM RHODES (USA): "For some reason Tom Rhodes reminds me of an old-style revivalist preacher, pacing the stage with powerful American accent and microphone in hand. His lively irreverent delivery borders on the offensive, a kind of South Park approach to stand-up."
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left
Reviews Batch #6: Comedy Festival
Wed, 12 Apr 2000, 03:47 pmWalter Plinge
Eight more Melbourne International Comedy Festival reviews have been added to Stage Left at . Here are some extracts:
BLACK AND TRAN: "The first lines they exchange are a dig at common stereotypes about Vietnamese-Australians and Aborigines. They send each other up, but also talk about their personal and cultural histories. A marvellous amount of humour is drawn from this approach, but also moments of great poignancy."
ANH DO: "Although he doesn't talk much about his Vietnamese background, the contrast of this with his Datsun 180B, flanny shirt and broad Aussie accent works in his favour. It's an exotic mix which, blended with his natural charisma, keeps the audience focused."
DOOM RIDERS: "I've seen some work like this done in theatre restaurants, but not nearly as well. These guys have worked very hard at their routines to maximise the mirth. And just to show it's not all rehearsed, there's the odd bit of improvisation and audience interaction to spice up proceedings. "
KATZENVETTZ: "The show's scenes are constantly interrupted by their own nervous whispers to each other, as they pull apart the conceits of theatre. But this false nervousness merely highlights their confidence and strength as performers."
BEV KILLICK: "After twenty minutes something happens and her self-satire becomes overtly vulgar. Here it starts to get really good. Her singing aside, itÂ’s when sheÂ’s most vulgar and self-effacing that her show reaches its heights."
MATT KING: "Like all good stand-ups, King is able to slip in some real-life experiences and make them funnier than they really are. Surprisingly, he's the first comedian I have seen in this festival making good mileage out of the Olympics. "
NEXT BIG THING: "As the two halves of the scheme, Mickey and Caspar make a very energetic duo. As the writer, it's not surprising Sleigh slips neatly into his character. McNair produces a suitably edgier performance for a character that breaks some expectations of stereotypes."
COLLIN SALTER: "There's some mild repartee to fill the other gaps, but it's the music that makes this show happen. His piano style is energetic and skilful as his fingers slip along the keys. And yet, despite all the upbeat numbers, it's the bracket of mellow songs in the middle of the set that really holds the listeners. "
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left
BLACK AND TRAN: "The first lines they exchange are a dig at common stereotypes about Vietnamese-Australians and Aborigines. They send each other up, but also talk about their personal and cultural histories. A marvellous amount of humour is drawn from this approach, but also moments of great poignancy."
ANH DO: "Although he doesn't talk much about his Vietnamese background, the contrast of this with his Datsun 180B, flanny shirt and broad Aussie accent works in his favour. It's an exotic mix which, blended with his natural charisma, keeps the audience focused."
DOOM RIDERS: "I've seen some work like this done in theatre restaurants, but not nearly as well. These guys have worked very hard at their routines to maximise the mirth. And just to show it's not all rehearsed, there's the odd bit of improvisation and audience interaction to spice up proceedings. "
KATZENVETTZ: "The show's scenes are constantly interrupted by their own nervous whispers to each other, as they pull apart the conceits of theatre. But this false nervousness merely highlights their confidence and strength as performers."
BEV KILLICK: "After twenty minutes something happens and her self-satire becomes overtly vulgar. Here it starts to get really good. Her singing aside, itÂ’s when sheÂ’s most vulgar and self-effacing that her show reaches its heights."
MATT KING: "Like all good stand-ups, King is able to slip in some real-life experiences and make them funnier than they really are. Surprisingly, he's the first comedian I have seen in this festival making good mileage out of the Olympics. "
NEXT BIG THING: "As the two halves of the scheme, Mickey and Caspar make a very energetic duo. As the writer, it's not surprising Sleigh slips neatly into his character. McNair produces a suitably edgier performance for a character that breaks some expectations of stereotypes."
COLLIN SALTER: "There's some mild repartee to fill the other gaps, but it's the music that makes this show happen. His piano style is energetic and skilful as his fingers slip along the keys. And yet, despite all the upbeat numbers, it's the bracket of mellow songs in the middle of the set that really holds the listeners. "
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left