Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015 Review - Michael Chamberlin

 

 

Michael Chamberlin first came to my attention 12 or so years ago when he ran a brilliant comedy room with Charlie Pickering in Fitzroy called 'Stagetime'.  He's also been on the telly in various things over the years, but did you know he spent the last few months in South Africa? Well, he did, and he will tell you all about it at the Imperial Hotel in a great hour of old school stand up.  There's no trickery here folks, just great stories about being 37 and going on the gravitron.  He's playing in a small room and that adds to the feeling that you're catching up with a mate.

Michael isn't doing many shows this time around, so snap up your tickets fast!

3/5 stars

You can get tickets here...

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015 Review - Doug Anthony All Stars

 

I have loved DAAS since I first heard them. Which was waaaaaaaaay before I was old enough to actually understand most of what they were on about.  I saw them a few times in the 90's, after begging my parents to drive me down to the big smoke to see them at the Comedy Club.  It'd be fair to say that my love of comedy all started with these guys.  

When they reunited 2 years ago at MICF to launch their DAAS Kapital DVD I was there. I drove to Canberra last year to see them. I saw them in Yarraville in August.  I have tickets to see them in Bendigo in May. Yes, I may have a problem, hush now. It was a given that we would be going to see them as part of MICF.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should point out that the part of Richard is being played by Paul 'Flacco' Livingston.  Don't let this put you off. He plays the part very well. Obviously these men are all older than they were, but they still put on a show that made my face hurt from all the laughter.  Even Chyken who doesn't really like them had a good time and wants to come and see them again in May.

Yes, Tim is in a wheelchair. This obviously has an impact on the show, but not in a negative way.  When they first announced plans to tour, I was worried it might be sad seeing the heroes of my youth trying to re-enact the glory days, but it's not. In my opinion, they have chosen songs from the old days that fit everyone's capabilities. They've seamlessly worked new material into the old and it is a joy to watch.

4/5 stars

They've sold out 4 shows, but have just added a fifth this Thursday, there are still great tickets available here... (And the meal that comes with the seats at the tables is quite delicious)

P.S. There are a few photos and videos of DAAS on my Instagram @chickensbees

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015 Review - Sarah Kendall

I have loved Sarah Kendall's comedy since I first saw her perform at MICF about 15 or so years ago.  She was absent from the festival for a few years, but was here with a fantastic show last year and has again brought the goods with her this year.

The show is called 'A Day In October' and that is exactly what it is about.  It's a tale from her teenage years, and having been a teenager at about the same time as Sarah, I could really relate as she brought characters from the streets of Newcastle in the 90's to life with her words.

This is comedic storytelling at its best.  I adored this show.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

You can get tickets to see Sarah here.  She plays in a small room, so get them before everyone else realises how great she is!

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2015 Review - Jimeoin

We kicked off MICF 2015 with Australia's favourite Irishman, Jimeoin.  I wasn't as impressed this year as I have been with other shows.  It seemed to take a long time for him to find a rhythm on stage.

The flow of the show was not helped at all by the staff at the theatre still allowing to take their seats down the front of the stalls up to FORTY MINUTES into an hour long show.  Seriously, if you're that late, just sit down the back, don't ruin it for everyone else who managed to get there on time.

The show was filled with the usual observations you would expect from Jimeoin.  He's a known quantity, that's why he's here at almost every festival.  Not a bad show, but not great.  I think I've moved on from him.

2/5 stars.

You can buy tickets from the Comedy Festival website...

Thriller Live! - Review

I was given tickets to see this show by the kind people at ACMN. All opinions are my own.

If you love the music of Michael Jackson, you will love Thriller Live.
 

It is full to the brim with his music, and the music is executed brilliantly.  The band were fantastic and if you closed your eyes, you could almost believe you were at an actual MJ concert.  Standouts for me were MiG Ayesa and Prinnie Stevens.

There were some very talented dancers in the cast, but as a group, the dancing was a bit sloppy.  My untrained eye could see where they were supposed to be in sync, but just... weren't.  It was also disappointing that during the number where they were using the screen to make it look like the stage was filled with Michael's that the vision was out of time with the audio.

There's an attempt to convey some of his life story, but for me those parts were weird.  Aside from telling me how many Grammy's he won (Spoiler alert - It's a LOT), they didn't tell me a lot about his life,  And they did so in a very strange mish mash of accents.  Pick one and stick to it, people!  I really would have liked to see them use the huge screens to show us some archival footage too.

I thought the forced audience participation was a bit desperate and it went on for toooo long.   

I did freak my husband out towards the end because I know all the words to the rap in 'Black and White'.

I loved the costumes.  So bright, so shiny!  I'm not sure how they had time to do some of the changes they did. Having said that, I thought the costumes for the actual Thriller song could have been amazing but for me they missed the mark.

I'm not sure what I expected Thriller Live to be, but what I saw wasn't it. I'm not sure if I can recommend you spend your hard-earned money on seeing this, especially when there are so many great things on in Melbourne at the moment that DO deserve your cash.  I'm also guessing that I'm in the minority, given that this show has been on the West End and touring around the world for years.  Maybe I needed to be a bigger MJ fan in the first place? 

All the details for Thriller Live can be found by clicking here. It's currently in Melbourne and will be in Sydney and Auckland soon.  Tickets in Melbourne are $65-$125.