Robert the Octopus review | Midsumma Festival | Brunswick Mechanics Institute

In Robert the Octopus, Sadie has a crush on a co-worker but thanks to the modern world, their interactions are solely online and via Zoom meetings. In an attempt to gain her co-worker’s attention, Sadie buys a pet octopus named Robert. Eventually, it's enough to lure Georgia over to visit and from there, things begin to get ridiculously complicated as Sadie seeks advice from Robert on what to do next.

Queer emerging writer Alex Duncan has previously shown promise for highlighting the absurdities within the mundane with his work Rakali, but this outing could benefit from further development. What in theory could have been a fascinating narrative, in practice is a script that is light on substance and plot progression. The exchanges between characters are rudimentary and missing a spark, and while there are hints at humour, it rarely builds tension or generates laughs. At one point, it looks like the play is going to go somewhere regarding power and control and who has it, but that concept wraps up shortly after it is introduced.

Kimberley Twiner’s queer world of tentacles and play | Misdumma Festival | Brunswick Mechanics Institute

When Kimberley Twiner takes the stage as a director, audiences know to expect the unexpected. Her latest project for Midsumma Festival, Robert the Octopus, dives into a world where eccentricity and whimsy run wild, where even an octopus can steal the spotlight. We caught up with Twiner where she shares her approach to playful physical theatre, queer storytelling, and bringing this delightfully bizarre production to life.

Robert the Octopus weaves absurdity and romance into a story that promises unexpected twists and whimsical charm. It’s a world that director Kimberley Twiner couldn’t resist exploring on stage. "For starters I love what is possible with a three hander play! I love what becomes possible when we bring animal life onto the stage - one of the characters is an octopus," she tells me. "I also love that the writer, Alex Duncan, has put his faith in a rather irrational sounding plot and handed it to me. For me, this is the beauty of theatre: the suspension of disbelief in real time played in an unsinkable and relentless fashion!"

The Sun and the Hermit review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Motley Bauhaus

From the moment Belinda Anderson-Hunt enters the room, you can tell that The Sun and the Hermit is going to a very unique show. Anderson-Hunt's experience and learnings from French clown school Gaulier are entirely on display here as she creates multiple imaginary worlds that feel authentic and much-loved.

The stage has a number of pieces of furniture and props all draped with white sheets. It's a house full of memories but very much neglected. There is dust everywhere. This sense of melancholy lingers in the space with the idea that as adults we forget how to play. The sheets are gradually removed and the restraint that Anderson-Hunt exhibits with each of her characters is inspired and extremely effective in building up the anticipation as to what will come next.

Creme de la Creme review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

The talent behind Head First Acrobats are back at the Melbourne Fringe Festival with their amazing show GODZ, but this year, they are the gift that keeps on giving as they present Creme de la Creme, a variety night of circus, comedy and acrobatics.

Each of the four Head First Acrobats - Cal Harris, Liam Dummer, Thomas Gorham and Jordan Wartz - have their individual moments in the spotlight, and while Wartz and Dummer impress with their respective solos, Gorham's "Finale Man" doesn't land as well as it should.

For a show that is only 60 minutes long, an intermission feels unnecessary. However, even though we are all encouraged to head to the bar and get more drinks, we do get to see Harris do some side tricks on a ladder and a unique RAT test. As entertaining as these are, it would be great if there were less fillers and more appreciable acts on display. Similarly, for those who have seen GODZ before, there are a few familiar routines, and while creating new acts is not easy, having basically the same acts in two different shows is a bit disappointing.

We Too Us Too Me Too Too Too review

There aren't many companies or performers that could promote a show as a dark satirical physical comedy about rape and murder and actually be able to deliver the goods. Fortunately, after years in the making, The Bouffonery have proven it is more than up for the challenge with We Too Us Too Me Too Too Too and its brutal takedown of the patriarchy through the art of bouffon.

Wearing beige hooded unitards with grotesquely exaggerated growths, the four bouffons (Kimberly Twiner, Ell Sachs, Lucy Kingsley and Nicholas O’Regan) move their way to the centre of the stage where they simulate a series of births that don't go exactly to plan, that is of course, until Jimmy is born. While exploring issues related to gendered violence and toxic masculinity with numerous sketches and scenes, Jimmy is used to ground the show and keep bringing us back to its main idea.

Shark Heist | Melbourne International Comedy Festival interview

If you've never attended a Cam Venn show, you are definitely in for a wild ride. If you have, you may have an inkling of what's coming, but even then you should proceed with caution. Returning with a new show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Golden Gibbo Winner presents an action-packed tale revolving around a precious jewel, a killer shark and a retired thief back for one final job to beguile his audience with. Welcome to Shark Heist.

“Shark Heist is your archetypal hero’s journey of an ex-thief doing one last heist to try and get his best friend, a great white shark, back," Venn tells me. "An audience member described it to me as “like recreating the movie you just saw in the lounge room with your mates” and I love that. There's plenty to be entertained with, and you can expect lasers, intense montages to music, and the world’s biggest diamond."

Thy Thus ‘Twas | Melbourne Fringe Festival interview

Comedy trio The Travelling Sisters are returning to the Melbourne Fringe Festival as the travelling blokes in their new show  Thy Thus 'Twas . With their unique sense of humour and absurd comedy that is grounded in the banal, their upcoming show focuses on three mates, Darryl, Vinnie and Berrick, who are out to make their thespian dreams come true.

The brains behind the men, Lucy Fox, Laura Trenerry and Ell Sachs, spent a good part of the last 12 months touring their side-splitting hilarious show Toupe but are now looking forward to hitting the stage with their new baby. "It's like when you're shaking a bottle of bubbly, just before you pop the cork...it's the feeling on the underside of the cork," Trenerry tells me. "This show has been brewing in our collective fantasy world for over a year. It's always exciting when you're birthing a new one. How will it be received, what will it become, what is this new beautiful beast?! Who knows!"

Super Amazing Giant Girl review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Melbourne Town Hall

While there are plenty of shows for adults during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, it's worth noting that there are also many geared towards the younger end of the population. In Super Amazing Giant Girl, circus performers Anna Lumb and Jez Davies take their audience on a fantastical journey of a super amazing giant girl who learns to not only accept her difference but embrace it.

Lumb is full of energy on stage and it often feels like she might actually be a child trapped inside the body of an adult. In her portrayal of super amazing giant girl, Lumb quickly establishes a character that we can all relate to and keen to support. Her hula hooping and circus tricks are as nail biting to watch than any circus production with some highly entertaining clowning and exaggerated physical comedy.

Garry Starr Conquers Troy - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Last year, Garry Starr told us all what an amazing actor he is in Garry Starr Performs Everything. This year, he returns to tell us how to be an amazing actor just like him. In Garry Starr Conquers Troy, Garry takes us through his new book, step by step and chapter by chapter with hints and tips on how to break into Hollywood and have every agent and director banging on our door.

Garry (performed by Damien Warren-Smith) has lost some of his arrogance this time round, but not of all it. He is still deluded about his triple threat performance skills but he is earnest in his effort to help his fellow actors out. We are provided with lessons on a range of topics, including how to audition for a director when we are work without them even realising what is happening, and there's also a spot on how to absorb our lines from a script and never have to worry about forgetting them. 

Elixir - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Despite the fact that zombies are no longer limited to the horror genre, you could be surprised to learn of a zombie circus show being performed in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, but that's exactly what Head First Acrobats have created. Elixir sees three scientists who inadvertently bring forth a zombie apocalypse while trying to create an elixir of life.
 
The scientists - Callan Harris, Harley Timmerman and AJ Saltamacchia (replacing Thomas Gorham just weeks before opening after an injury) - ingest their body enhancing potions and go through various tests that push the capabilities of the human form. Fortunately the three are highly talented circus artists, so the results are quite awe-inspiring. Harris' free-standing ladder routine is a highlight, full of hold-your-breath intensity as he scales the ladder to perform precarious acrobatics and balancing acts. Timmerman's use of the cyr wheel showcases the great control and skill he possesses, using the momentum of the wheel to spin around as he grips it with his hands and feet.

Tap Head - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Barnie Juancan is running late for his open mic comedy night again. He is nervous but once he's done his mic check he's ready to go. Meanwhile, a tap head called Tap Head is also working on its stand-up comedy and sharing its philosophies on life. With his Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Tap Head, comedian and mime artist, Barnie Duncan, presents two stories of two different beings who probably have more in common than they think. 

Watching these two beings come to life by Duncan is an extremely rewarding experience and has the audience become heavily invested in their lives. They may appear to be very separate stories - only linked by their stand-up aspirations - but Duncan slowly, and then unexpectedly links, the two together and suddenly everything that has been said seems to click into place. It's always a delight when a performer has such a deep understanding of storytelling that they can surprise the audience with what transpires who are then able to look back at all that has happened and see how the pieces fit together.

Garry Starr Performs Everything - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Fresh from his Adelaide Fringe Emerging Artist Weekly Award win, Damien Warren-Smith brings his first solo show, Garry Starr Performs Everything, to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Dismissed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the jaded thespian is determined to show them the error of their ways and attempts to perform every single genre of theatre in under 50 minutes. 

The audience is forced to endure watching Starr perform a variety of theatrical and live performance genres, ranging from butoh to slap stick comedy to ballet. His modernisation of Shakespeare during his tragedy genre is a tragedy in itself, but it is perfectly executed by Warren-Smith and hearing the laughter in the audience grow as they recognise what is happening, with Warren-Smith remaining as straight-faced as they come, is pure joy.

Toupé - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Hailing from rural Queensland, The Travelling Sisters and their wacky humour return to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with Toupé. Armed with a clothes rack full of costumes and a suitcase brimming with wigs, Lucy Fox, Laura Trenerry and Ell Sachs present an hour of ridiculous characters, catchy songs and hilarious sketches.

Each sketch is well considered and provides strong backstories to the characters from the second they appear on stage. The three women at the open plan yoga studio change room all have individual identities in their mannerisms and language and the relationships between them are firmly established, and this is a constant throughout the show. The worlds The Travelling Sisters are creating might be odd and quirky, but the characters are so ably conceived, they make that world feel normal.

Volcano - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Tessa Waters must be one of the most endearing performers on the comedy circuit. She always seems genuinely delighted to greet her audience and radiates a warmth and generosity in her shows. She also happens to be one of the most talented performers on the comedy circuit. In her new show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Volcano, she brings together sketch, comedy and storytelling into fifty minutes of hilarious fun and games.

Waters’ approach to physical comedy in Volcano is subtler and more considered than shows of this nature in this year’s festival. It’s refreshing to see it is more grounded on bonding with its audience and not constantly about throwing surprises at them. In the beginning of the show, Waters decides to read the room and determine the hot spots of the stage to know where to elicit maximum laughter from. Ultimately, anywhere she stands results in an lively response due to her amazing physicality and expressive face.

Different Party review - Melbourne International Comedy Festival

This year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival has hosted a variety of shows that has fortunately included a large number being performed where it hurt too much to laugh. Different Party is no exception, being a perfect example of sketch, physical comedy, storytelling and mime all coming together for a hilarious hour of comedy you never want to end.

Dennis Chang and Grareth Krubb are Consultation Specialists at Ruck's Leather Interiors and we are privy to observe a regular day at the office for the two businessmen. However, when these two characters are played by Barnie Duncan (Weekend At Barnie's) and Trygve Wakenshaw (Nautilus), you know that a regular day for them is going to be extremely entertaining one for us.