Welcome to Hell review | Andy Balloch | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Improv Conspiracy Theatre

In these trying times, with the world seemingly on the brink of World War III, it feels more important than ever to find stable employment to carry us through this period of uncertainty. In Andy Balloch’s Welcome To Hell, Chief Officer of Recruitment, Admissions and Retention Ramone leads an onboarding session for our new role working for Hell. Literal Hell.

As we take our seats and prepare to learn how we, as fresh recruits, can help bring Hell on Earth, we’re briefed on past “success stories”. We don our lanyards and are encouraged to speak in one unified voice. The seminar is, we’re told, sponsored by the Catholic Church, a line that neatly signals Balloch’s willingness to push boundaries.

Maitriarchy review | Maitreyi Karanth | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Ballers Clubhouse

Maitreyi Karanth began her stand-up career in her 40s. Now the 53-year-old Indian comedian has made her Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut with her show Maitriarchy. Being a woman of colour in her 50s, she brought a perspective not usually seen on stage, as she draws humour from lived experience, delivered with a bluntness that is softened by an easy, conversational storytelling style.



Karanth shares stories and anecdotes from her life, with a focus on family and marriage, alongside a fair amount of discussion on sex, because, shock horror, women in their 50s still enjoy sex. An Indian woman speaking so openly and frankly is not a voice often heard in these spaces, offering a point of view that is candid and unapologetically direct. That is very much her strength. She touches on controversial topics too, but with a glint in her eye, she consistently makes them land.



B48Y Crash Lands On Earth! review | Lukas Meintjes | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Motley Bauhaus

An alien spaceship has crashed into the Peel nightclub in Collingwood, with B48Y left to navigate their new human environment. B48Y Crash Lands On Earth! is a physical comedy and clowning piece that throws itself into absurdity and audience interaction, as this alien creature explores who they are, what identity is, and how it is performed and shaped in different contexts.

I have previously seen Lukas Meintjes on stage, but this marks my first time seeing him in a full clown show, and wow, is the skill undeniable. This is a physically demanding role sustained with impressive precision. His work is not only athletic, but highly detailed, with shifts in posture and facial expression doing as much work as the more hectic play.

The Breakup Variety Hour review | Ariana and the Rose | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Trades Hall

Break-ups and heartache are rarely neat, they tend to be chaotic, messy, and experiences that many people spend a lot of time trying to make sense of. Coming all the way from Brooklyn, Ariana and the Rose brings her cabaret The Breakup Variety Hour to Melbourne, attempting to turn that turbulence into something structured and digestible. Using a mix of storytelling and 80s-infused pop songs, Ariana guides audiences through the six healing steps of a breakup, reframing recovery as a kind of staged journey.



The show struggles to establish a solid narrative backbone grounded in personal history. Ariana offers glimpses into her own romantic misadventures, but these instances are fragmented and missing a central thread that would allow audiences to connect more with her. Instead, significant time is spent outlining each step in detail, explaining what it is and how to move beyond it. Rather than seeing these stages lived and embodied, they are largely described, which reduces their impact. Like the tile, everything is laid out, leaving little space for nuance or discovery.



Australia's Worst Journalist review | Sweeney Preston | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Motley Wherehaus

For three years, Sweeney Preston worked at PEDESTRIAN.TV, Australia’s largest youth publisher, as a journalist, breaking stories like “There’s Been Yet Another Explosive Development In Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Family Saga” and “A Well-Known Aussie Gym Chain Has Finally Had It W/ Influencers, Banning Tripods At Its Gyms”. He also wrote dating advice articles, ironically while his own love life was in need of a rewrite. In Australia’s Worst Journalist, Preston blends his time in the newsroom with his mishaps in love for an hour of light-hearted comedy.



Preston’s delivery stays relaxed and aware throughout, which suits the material and keeps the tone grounded rather than overly stylised. His energy is consistently high, giving the set a sense of drive, even if the material doesn’t always match that momentum.



VHS review | Alexei Toliopoulos | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Melbourne Town Hall

Having worked in a video store, a Video Ezy to be specific, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia the second I took my seat for Alexei Toliopoulos’s VHS. On stage sat an old-school VHS player, not a DVD/video combo, just pure VHS. Scattered around it was a pile of tapes, many of them films I had watched endlessly or once owned. On the TV, instantly familiar old classification ads played. I’d seen that family on my screen countless times, gathered at the video store, only to dwindle one by one as the rating crept closer to R. It sent me straight back twenty years, no rewinding required.



But this comedy show isn’t just about a love of movies, it’s about what makes them resonate, like a film’s score or that one piece of music that can completely reshape how a scene is felt. Take “On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter, his stirring 2004 composition that has become synonymous with emotional weight on screen. Here, Toliopoulos delivers an engaging and insightful discussion on film scores, how they are chosen, and the way they are woven in. He balances this with a great dose of wit, particularly when reflecting on its use in Hamnet, drawing out both the impact and the familiarity of such musical choices. I could have sat there and listened to him talk about this for a whole hour, but there's a lot that Toliopoulos has to get through.

Puss Puss review | Natalia Sledz | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Motley Wherehaus

Natalia Sledz unleashes a chaotic, keenly observed feline world in Puss Puss, blending physical comedy, music, and surreal imagery into a largely silent hour of gleeful, unapologetic absurdity. It quickly establishes a distinct setup, inviting the audience to experience this reality through Puss Puss’ warped, instinct-driven lens.



At the centre of it all is Sledz’s skilfully measured performance. She captures feline behaviour with remarkable precision, from her fixation on noisy toys and anything that glints to her perfectly coughed up furballs and when an audience member sprays her with water. Every movement is intuitive, detailed, and finely tuned for maximum comedic impact.