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By Shane Murphy
The title of this show was enough for me. The tension that a Millennial would feel in not looking at his screen for a whole hour sounded a funny premise around which a show could revolve. The New Zealand comic (latterly located in New York), Guy Montgomery has a gentle manner. This is not super aggressive
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By Shane Murphy
The Comic’s Lounge in North Melbourne feels like the beer barn of comedy venues in this festival. It brings a chunk of Frankston’s infamous Pier Hotel into the inner city, while conjuring up some memories of the long gone Last Laugh in Collingwood. It’s big, and quite full considering it’s a cool Tuesday evening. It’s
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By Shane Murphy
After a blessed run of terrific, thought provoking shows and a lot of laughs, there had to a misfire. Unfortunately Gabe Hogan’s show was it. Hogan’s show is ostensibly about discovering her inner gay self at age 36. She bounces onstage and makes straight for her wine, making a crack about only wanting to get there
Read MoreBy Shane Murphy
Speakeasy HQ is an entirely appropriate venue for the First World White Girls. Speakeasy bills itself as the home of vaudeville and these girls are very showbizzy. In fact, you might even call their show a musical, and a very funny one. The White Girls sing their way through an hour of first world problems accompanied
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By Shane Murphy
Take one part Los Trios Ringbarkus, three parts Pizza/Housos crew, endless amounts of absurdist whimsy, 40,000 volts of stored up energy and a smattering of every starflower, hippie ragger you’ve ever seen and you end up with Julia Rorke and Elysia Hall in Not Another F****d B****h in India. This is an hour of super
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By Helen Razer
Your reporter is stricken with head-cold, or, as I choose to know it: the unofficial viral partner of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Thus, all reason is heated by fever and all passion drowned by phlegm. I had intended to bring you account of several Festival performances, but can now recall nothing, not even the
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By Shane Murphy
By sheer fluke, I’ve seen two late shows that spring from a similar base. If Chase Paradise was a show to bring your blokes to, then Alexandra Hines’ IM.Mortal feels like the show I’d want young women to see for its scathing portrayal of celebrity worship and lifestyles. It’s not quite as brash as Paradise,
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By Daily Review
Billy Elliot the Musical will return to Australia in 2019 for its “10th anniversary tour”. The first time around the UK stage musical only played Sydney and Melbourne, but the new tour will include those cities as well as Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. It will open at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre in October 2019 and then will be followed
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By Daily Review
The annual Green Room awards for performance were announced in Melbourne last night with mulitple awards going to Opera Australia’s production of King Roger and its Julie Andrews directed musical My Fair Lady co-produced with John Frost. The Disney musical Aladdin was also a multi winner. In a strong year for Malthouse, the play Away, co-produced with Sydney Theatre Company, won
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By Shane Murphy
The Comedy Zone is an omnibus show of four stand ups and a young MC billed as “comedy’s newest heroes”. It’s good value. You get to see a few minutes of five different acts, none of whom you’ve likely heard of, in one swift hit. Rowan Thambar is the MC tonight. He’s a little less comfortable with being
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