Bossy Bottom - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Zoë Coombs Marr may be a well-known name in the comedy world but her face has not been as recognisable as for the last six years, she has been performing as a man: the misogynistic and sexist Barry award winning Dave. With Bossy Bottom, Coombs Marr has chosen to explore what it’s like to be herself, a woman and a comedian. Unlike her previous shows, we are informed that there will be no gimmicks, props, sound cues, guest stars, random set ups or call backs. Bossy Bottom will be strictly jokes. Just jokes. Nothing but jokes. But bloody good jokes.

Having never seen her perform as Dave, Coombs Marr seems more than comfortable taking to the stage as herself. The high level of energy with which she begins the show and maintains throughout, and her welcoming interactions with the audience immediately wins us over and has us completely on board with her hour of sharp observations on the world today.

Fafenefenoiby II: Return of the Ghost Boy - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

Every year, as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival approaches, I vehemently urge people go and see a Neal Portenza show. It's comedy like you've probably seen before, only much much better. Well this year will be the last year I will recommend him because Neal Portenza is hanging up his little red beret and performing his final ever show.

"The rumours are true. This will be my last live Neal Portenza show. I expect there will be a national day of mourning followed by a blood moon at the conclusion of the festival," the brains behind the beauty of Neal, Joshua Ladgrove tells me. For his final send-off, Ladgrove has named his show Fafenefenoiby II: Return of the Ghost Boy, a title that is slightly different to previous shows P.O.R.T.E.N.Z.A and Neal Portenza: Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza. Tracey, but equally as perplexing and random. "Fafenefenoiby is a Shaun Micallef reference. Hopefully he won’t sue me, but what wonderful publicity if he does. Audiences can expect a shell of a man performing his 22 last ever live shows with a mixture of genuine abandon and cavalier intimacy," he says.

Madame Nightshade's Poison Garden review

When Madame Nightshade appears in her garden and welcomes the audience in her own unique style, you quickly realise that all bets are off and anything can happen in this absurdist clowning show, and that no matter where you sit, you are not safe. Performed as part of La Mama's Explorations seasons for work in various stages of development, Madame Nightshade's Poison Garden is a show that will leave you stunned and flabbergasted with plenty of laughs.

Madame Nightshade's Poison Garden is like watching two shows. The first half has a twisted, macabre and imaginative whimsy to it. Vegetables are manipulated into hilarious firearms and grenades and while there is a scene with liquids and test tubes that could cause some anxiety in audience members, there is a sadness and a disturbing sweetness to Madame Nightshade's actions and behaviour. However, upon drinking her "poison" Madame Nightshade transforms into a creature that is difficult to describe, but one that closely resembles a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde situation.

Neal Portenza review

What's in a name? It certainly doesn't matter in Joshua Ladgrove’s Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza. Tracey, but it is a clear indication of the type of show this is. It is 60 minutes of comedy that will have you snorting with laughter, squirming in your seat and wondering what goes on inside Neal Portenza’s – and Ladgrove’s - head, all at the same time.

As with his previous shows, this is a combination of scripted absurdist comedy with many opportunities for improvisation and off-the-cuff humour, with much of this born from Ladgrove's interactions with his audience. A running joke on the night I attended was based around two people working in the medical profession and Ladgrove attempting to explain things in medical terms so that they would understand.

Epic Comedy at The Butterfly Club - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has a staggering 600-odd shows being performed during its season, so the choice of what show to see can be somewhat overwhelming as well as navigating around all the different venues around Melbourne. Fortunately, iconic Melbourne venue, The Butterfly Club has you covered, presenting 19 shows that spans a huge variety of comedy styles.

"I think it's very kind of you to infer we are any good at all, so thank you for the compliment," says The Butterfly Club director, Simone Pulga. "We received some 200 enquiries for this year's festival and reading through them was a reward in itself. The majority turned out to be remarkably well thought-out projects and when that happens, the job at hand is to focus on quality and variety: lots of different shows, all performed by people who know exactly what they're doing."

Lady Sings It Better: Here To Save The World - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

Returning for a second time to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year are four women bravely taking on the world's most famous male musicians. Lady Sings It Better's Here To Save The World is a humourous yet eye-opening look at pop, rock, r&b and hip-hop and revealing the blatant misogynism in the lyrics and the strange themes explored in the songs. Last year, the group covered Baha Men's Who Let The Dogs Out? and Fountain of Wayne's seriously disturbing Stacey's Mom, and I for one, am extremely eager to see what they come up with for this cabaret show.

"I am stupidly excited about the new show!" Maeve Marsden, Artistic Director and member of Lady Sings It Better exclaims. "We’re doing a Prince medley which is great because his music is so good. Libby Wood is singing Last Night by Az Yet and we’ve learnt all the dance moves from their AMAZING 90s music video. We’re exploring the various ways that Kanye West has talked about his dick and we’re covering Sorry by Justin Bieber in a fairly surprising way, which I am excited about because it means I get to watch its amazing video to practice. And the show is superhero themed so we have an epic superhero medley to kick it off!"

Neal Portenza: Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza. Tracey - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

Neal Portenza: Catchy Show Title made it into my top ten shows of last year, and having seen 154 shows, it was quite a list. The show's absurdist comedy and ability to create hysterical situations out of the most mundane left quite an effect on me that had me laughing a whole lot longer than when it ended. Neal Portenza returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year with Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza Neal Portenza. Tracey. The name alone had me laughing out loud, literally, and is a clear indication of the type of show that audiences can expect.

"I’m happy you like the title of the show. I’m certain you’re in the overwhelming minority," explains the alter-ego of Neal Portenza, Joshua Ladgrove. "I sort of stopped giving up caring about things like show titles and posters and the mechanics of doing a festival show, so I thought this title reflects that attitude of ‘it’s all meant to be a joke anyway, so why take it so seriously?"

Butt Kapinksi - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

Butt Kapinski. The name alone drives fear into the hearts of the coldest of criminals. This Private Investigator, means serious business when it comes to solving crime. Their no holds barred approach in this comedy film noir murder mystery puts the audience as active participants in the show but with more emphasis on having an immersive experience rather than the dreaded audience participation that so many fear!

"Audience participation shows usually involve somebody getting dragged up on stage and made a fool of. That never happens in my show," Denna Fleysher, the US-based performer of Butt Kapinski confirms. "Nobody gets out of their seat. It's more like The Rocky Horror Show. It's fun to be a part of, nobody gets embarrassed, and everyone has a lot fun.

Ghost Machine review

There's a ghost that is said to haunt The Butterfly Club. Upstairs, in its theatre, it lingers on stage, flashing lights on and off and - oh hang on a minute, it's just Laura Davis covered in a white bed sheet in her 2015 Melbourne International Comedy Festival award-winning show, Ghost Machine.

Davis travels back to her first existential crisis, at the age of 11, and from there she revisits the moments in her life where things haven't always been that great. It is all done however in a masterful way where despite sharing these personal stories and experiences, she gives the audience permission to laugh at/with her because we can all relate to what she is saying. We have all experienced the despair, the rage and the humiliation of our circumstances in some way, shape or form.