fish review | Melba Spiegeltent

A fish is a cold-blooded animal with gills and fins that lives in water. Thanks to Rollercoaster Theatre Company a second definition can be added to this word: a fantastical soap opera about fear and anxiety. Rollercoaster Theatre is an ensemble of trained actors with intellectual disabilities from diverse backgrounds that work with a different director every 6 - 12 months. For fish, the company has teamed up with Maude Davey, so naturally the show ends up being a visually engaging piece of performance art with its various songs and dances throughout.

fish explores the varying degrees of fear and anxiety that people can have and it's not just about the people that live just down the road from you. These issues are looked at through a variety of people, including powerful political figures like Donald Grump, who despite his public bravado hides a vulnerability that is only exposed behind closed doors. The ensemble cast - David Baker, Michael Buxton, Shea MacDonough, Ryan New, Erin Pocervina, Melissa Slaviero, Cameron Stanley, and Andrew Tresidder - remain committed to their roles with a confidence that comes when an actor is sure of who their character is.

Creepy Dummy review - Melbourne International Comedy Festival

It’s a weird show for weird people, or that’s what Sarah Jones tells the audience during Creepy Dummy, which is presented as part of this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Jones is a ventriloquist and through the course of the evening she is joined by a number of special “guests”, and together we try to determine why ventriloquist dummies / dolls have received such a bad rap, and for people who have seen Annabelle or Magic, it’s not hard to tell why.

Jones explains how people often declare how creepy puppets are or expressing their automatonophobia (fear of ventriloquist’s dummies) whenever she reveals her profession to them. In order to dispel this fear, Jones shares some interesting stories and facts regarding ventriloquism and dolls through stand-up, shadow play and of course puppets.

Go To Hell! review - Melbourne International Comedy Festival

No one goes to a comedy show expecting to shit themselves, but in Go To Hell!, the team from Watson intend to make us do just that. Adam McKenzie, Liam Ryan and Tegan Higginbotham are hosting a seminar on how to kill your fears and live a happy and peaceful life through an ingenious two-step program.

The first step is to make everyone shit themselves from being scared, and so begins a fear buffet from short and terrifying sketches, one involving McKenzie and Ryan is particularly horrific (you'll know it when you see it), and speaking directly to the audience as they share seemingly personal stories and encounters they've had. The extent as to how factual these supernatural anecdotes are is questionable, however if you choose to allow yourself to be swept away by the show, they are incredibly eerie and spooky, especially Higginbotham's recollection of an incident that happened during a Watson show at the Old Melbourne Gaol a few years ago.

Go To Hell! - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

In the 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Watson asked us Who's Afraid of The Dark? This festival, well frankly they don't really care, as they premiere their brand new show Go To Hell! While this is another blend of horror and comedy, what sets this show apart and creates further interest is that Watson will be delving deep into fear itself and have audiences facing their own nightmares in an evening of scary storytelling and laughs. The trio that make up Watson, Adam McKenzie, Tegan Higginbotham and Liam Ryan, are also the recipients of the prestigious Moosehead Award this year, which provides grants for Australian comedians wishing to perform new and unique works, and by its description, Go To Hell! will definitely be leaving its mark on audiences.

"There are two things you can expect, when you come to see Go To Hell!" McKenzie tells me. "The first one is comedy and the second one is that you will literally shit yourself with horror. We wanted the show to be funny and terrifying. This time round we are at the Malthouse Theatre and there's going to be a good balance of lots of scares and lots of laughs."

and now we wait. review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Northcote Uniting Church

Playing at the 2015 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Stephanie Clark's and now we wait. plays out like a grim re-imagining of The Breakfast Club for, in this case, there is a shooter loose in the school and the five teenagers find shelter in an unused theatre. While they nervously remain hidden not knowing where the shooter is and waiting for the nightmare to end, the group gradually faces some truths about themselves and what is ultimately important to them.

Based in Warragul, Impact Theatre is an enterprising company that focuses on young people writing and creating original theatre productions. The cast ranges from 18-21 years of age, is a combination of first-time and regular performers with the company. While the difference in skill levels and ability to play more nuanced characters between them is evident, the entire cast (Emily Legg, Sarah Hartnell, Kyle Wright, Daniel Warenycia and Clark herself) remains dedicated to their characters and the situation they find themselves in. However, Hartnell as uptight smart girl Emily, and Wright as the jokester Nick, provide the most convincing performances of the night.

Do You Fear The Dark? review

We're all afraid of something, no use in denying that. Sometimes it can be irrational and other times it can be rational and justified. In Do You Fear The Dark? we are presented with two short stories by theatre company Dramatic Pause that looks at both of these fears. Written by Hayley Lawson-Smith, both stories focus on a mother's relationship with her children in two very different ways.

In the first and stronger story of the pair, Perhaps, a mother (Victoria Haslam) worries about what's become of her two runaway daughters. Her minds races through various scenarios, some of which are humorous, like joining the circus, while others are direr, like being taken by a man under the ruse that he had lost his dog. Her thoughts are acted out on stage Ariel Simone and Shae O’Reilly as her daughters and Zak Zavod as quite literally everyone else.