As far as I can tell, The Age hasn't even bothered to review this. Perhaps they think there's no point - people will turn up in droves regardless. Read more »
And so I closed my Comedy Festival with a show that, by chance, neatly encapsulated some of the themes prevalent this year: comedians searching for new political material in the Rudd era, the seeming desire to inject a theme, usually one revolving around a social conscience , into their comedy, and a bit of environmentalism to boot. Happily, Kenneally's was amongst the more successful in this, with an hour of material that a) actually related to the purported topics in the blurb, and was b) genuinely funny. Read more »
Daniel Kitson is a Comedy Festival fixture, and it's easy to understand why he continues to sell out big venues like the Athenaeum. The man's ruminations wander all over the place and yet manage to make a convincing-sounding case for his view of life, with no shortage of laughs along the way, at the expense of both himself and his audience. Read more »
There's been a bit of comedians seeking deeper meaning this year. If that's what you're in to - or you are easily offended - Reginald P. Hunter is not your guy. If it's rank and vile, Hunter has a joke about it. Thankfully, the jokes are more than good enough to justify the use of some pretty risky themes. Most of them are expertly set up, too - he's pretty canny in exploiting the sensitivities of the audience for an apparently serious moment to nail with an outrageous punchline. Read more »
A fair whack of the best works of the popular music pantheon have come from emotional pain of one form or another. And so it is for comedy. Will Anderson brings out his cheeky-grinning smartarse persona for some of his latest standup set. But, like Justin Hamilton, a more reflective and less carefree soul takes center stage for much of this new show. Read more »
This "review" of the Festival Club is largely moot, given that there's different acts every night, and the headliner on Sunday night, Patton Oswalt, has gone back to the US after doing only three solo shows and this gig. That said, there are some things worth taking out of the night: Read more »
It has been a while since I've blogged here, though I've still been busy over at Larvatus Prodeo.
My SO and I are fine. We recently went and saw Opera Australia's production of Carmen, which was decent but a bit less passionate than you'd hope. I've been busy writing papers, and am going to head off to a conference in the Bay Area in early July. Read more »
This is a show that depends very much on its audience for its success or failure on the night. And, while I certainly wouldn't describe the night I saw it as a failure, by any means, with a show filled to the brim with its target demographic this could be the funniest show at the festival.
That target demographic is of course those searching for, well, someone to sleep with, and to this Deborah Frances-White offers a mixture of jokes and self-help. There's gender stereotyping by the bucketload, but, hey, what do you expect in a show about dating? Read more »
The Age's Comedy Festival blog lists the nominations for the festival's annual Barry Awards.
Of the six shows nominated, I've only seen Kristin Schaal and Justin Hamilton's. Both were quite good, but not outstanding. Hamilton's show was undoubtedly clever, but not nearly as clever as he seemed to think it is. Schaal's piece, while it had its great moments, also contained the odd bit that was going to go straight over the head of a local audience. Read more »
According to The Age's reports, this show had been unjustly ignored. Word seems to have gotten out, because the Victoria Hotel's banquet room was considerably fuller - if not packed to the rafters - for our Friday night show. And the crowd seemed to go away happy. Read more »
More comedic theatre, from Frank Woodley, best known as one half of Lano and Woodley. This time, it's at the Comedy Theatre, with an elaborate set, high-quality backing music composed by Paul Mac (Australian electronic music guru and latter-day muse of Daniel Johns). Woodley himself is clearly an enormously skilled performer. And yet... Read more »
Blogotariat is a platform to enhance the role of blog commentary and its growing influence on Mainstream Media and the political process – the great contest of ideas essential to a civil society. If you wish to contribute editorially or add your blog please use the Contact menu to send some info.
