NOSEBLEEDS review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | The Improv Conspiracy

I have previously seen Holly Bohmer and Taylor Griffiths perform in their solo shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2025. While different in tone and range, both created distinctive worlds populated by a diverse group of characters and delivered some highly memorable performances. So I was quite excited to see them - along with Mario Hannah - present a night of horror sketch comedy. I love to scream, and I love to laugh.

The trio have certainly done their homework. Drawing on horror tropes and conventions, Nosebleeds' collection of sketches pay homage to the genre while finding many opportunities for comic absurdity. Ghosts, werewolves and murders all get a look-in, with references to horror films of the past woven throughout.

Opening with a séance involving a posh husband and wife and a spirit guide, they establish the show's approach early. The couple want to contact the ghost apparently haunting their house, but the guide gives them one simple rule: under no circumstances are they to break the circle. And of course, they do, but the humour lies as much in the anticipation as in the payoff.

The sketches often begin with familiar horror setups, which they then undermine through realism, logic and sheer silliness. A creepy old woman issuing an ominous warning about swimming in a lake, turns out to be genuinely concerned about keeping young people from getting sick. It's this willingness to take an unsettling premise into an unexpectedly mundane direction that gives the comedy much of its appeal.

There is such variety in the material that scenes do not outstay their welcome. A highlight is a Victorian-era ghost story of a young woman who arrives to care for a child following the death of its mother. To say more would ruin the joke but there are - I shouldn't say. No, I mustn't. It should be experienced for yourself. The appearance of Philip in another scenario is something else entirely, too.

The production does a terrific job of setting the mood. Lighting plays an important role, with different sources adding visual interest beyond shifts in colour. Alongside conventional fittings, candles, lanterns and torches give each sketch its own atmosphere. With only a black curtain and a black door as a backdrop, they deftly use lighting and sound to distinguish between settings and signal changes in time and place. These details give the horror elements a theatricality that complements the comedy.

Nosebleeds is clever, silly and frequently surprising. My one criticism is the unnecessary naming of a character Anus, which feels like an attempt to get a cheap laugh. Given how inventive the trio are with their comedy and how well they understand the horror form, this is a misstep in an otherwise imaginative show.

Nosebleeds is an entertaining mix of horror and comedy, with three performers who clearly relish the chance to play with the genre. It's a show that knows its horror, isn't afraid to be ridiculous and offers plenty of reasons to do exactly what I came for: scream and laugh.

SHOW DETAILS

Venue: The Improv Conspiracy, Level 1, 19 Meyers Pl, Melbourne
Season: until 18 October | Thu - Sat 9:30pm, Sun 8:30pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $30 Full | $25 Conc
Bookings: Melbourne Fringe Festival

Image credit: Simon McCulloch & Mario Hannah