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.



Maitriarchy sees Maitreyi Karanth take the throne of laughter | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Ballers Clubhouse

Maitreyi Karanth’s journey to comedy has proven that it’s never too late to chase your passions, make people laugh, and leave a lasting mark one joke at a time. She’s already made history as the first woman in Hong Kong to sell out ten nights of a one-woman headliner show. Now she's on her way to Melbourne with her show Maitriarchy, where she explores midlife, family chaos, and global adventures, with sharp humour, candid reflections, and a playful look at life’s surprising twists.

Karanth’s path to performing has been anything but conventional. It began when she turned 40 and came to terms with having outlived her father, who died when she was nine. It wasn’t until she reached 44 - an age when most people are clinging to stability - that she chose to trade certainty for a microphone. "Growing up in a small town in India, all I ever wanted to be was an actress. I was always in school plays, giving speeches, and performing. But when my father, a passionate public speaker himself, passed away, and with my mum being blind and no money at all, life changed completely. At that time, a fatherless girl going on stage was a big no-no," she explains.

2025 My Melbourne Arts Awards

For twelve years now, I’ve been publishing my favourite theatre of the year. It started as a simple best-of list and slowly became my ritual, part celebration, part love letter to the Melbourne theatre scene. But for 2025, I’m shaking it up! :)

Instead of crowning just one “best show”, this year I’m recognising the people behind the work. The directors, performers, writers, designers, and creative forces who made this year what it was. Fourteen categories, because the performing arts is never just one thing, and neither is excellence. (In retrospect, there's other categories I should have considered - namely Best Clown, Best Cabaret Artist, Best Dancer and Best Experimental - and will consider these for inclusion in the 2026 MMA Awards.)

I say some version of this every year, because it never stops being true. The shows that stay with you longest are not always the big, glossy productions with a marketing budget and recognisable names. Sometimes it’s the little show that ran for four nights and played to ten people that absolutely wrecks you. Support independent theatre makers and venues. Some tickets cost less than $30 and can deliver the most original, daring, and affecting work you’ll see all year.

There’s already plenty to be excited about in 2026. Take a risk. See something you’ve never heard of. Walk into a space you’ve never been to. Melbourne theatre thrives on curiosity, and these awards exist to celebrate exactly that.

And with that, here are the nominees and winners in the 2025 My Melbourne Arts Awards:

Con 2077 review |Melbourne Fringe Festival | Trades Hall

It’s the year 2077 and it’s been fifty years since a meteor wiped out every comedian on earth. Every single one. Except one. Con Coutis. And he is humanities last hope. Woken up from a cryosleep, Con must now try and rediscover the hidden artform known as “the joke” and save the world. Intense stuff. Fortunately, Coutis easily finds the humour in such a dire situation resulting in plenty of laughs with Con 2077.

The show begins with a bit of straightforward stand-up with Coutis discussing his recent move to Brunswick but his quirkiness and the true nature of Con 2077 gradually begins to come through. The further we get into this epic adventure, the more out there the acts become. Despite such high stakes – the world will never laugh again! – Coutis keeps the tone and pace calm and allows time for his jokes to breathe. The way he can simultaneously go big but stay small is quite an achievement.

Putting On A Show review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Malthouse Theatre

How do you describe Alex Hines' new show Putting On A Show? It's about the trauma of being locked in a McDonalds freezer as a child, but it's also not. It's about being a millennial with ADHD, but it's also not. It's about the ethical and moral issues about fast fashion and online stores like Shein, but it's also not. It's everything you'd expect from Alex Hines, but guess what... it's also not. Perhaps the best way to describe it, is part stand-up, part sketch, part confessional but fully twisted and totally fucked up. And it's absolutely brilliant.

Hines has always had a magnetic presence, particularly as alter ego Juniper Wilde, but here, she pulls us further into her world. As Juniper she can lean into the bat-shit crazy and looseness and run with it, but in Putting On A Show, Hines is herself, and while she is still outlandish and over-the-top, there is a vulnerability present that's not been seen before. References to her ADHD diagnosis, childhood experiences and her family, while not exactly of a personal nature, strike a chord with the room and strengthens the connection between her and her audience.

Little Aussie Battler review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Rydges Hotel

Lucky number 13. That's how many festival shows Australian comedian Daniel Connell had to make before I saw one of his shows, and I picked a good one. In Little Aussie Battler, Connell shares stories that the everyday hardworking family and individual can relate to while building them up and having them come across as very unique and eccentric. 

His observations about the world around him float from the expected, such as teenager retail assistant with attitudes and what you do when you're hit with the horrible realisation that you have been burgled, and the somewhat unexpected, such as his recent browser history on animals. A highlight of the show - despite questioning the validity of his claim - lies with the tomfoolery that Connell states he gets up to in bookstores and then seeing how that leads him off into an even more priceless moment surrounding book reporting.

 

Lab Meat review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Tasma Terrace

Bonnie Tangey works in biotech as a scientist developing lab-grown meat, or as she prefers to call it cured meat, because it sounds more posh. Lab Meat is her comedy show on lab-grown meat. But can a research scientist successfully cross the line from researcher to comedian? Tangey can and passes the test with flying colours in this little show that could.

Tangey says she will be talking about lab-grown meat but along the way she goes off on tangents that include how much she despises her boss, why we should never eat human brains and what happens when a toddler learns a new phrase. It's a brilliant structure with great punchlines and jokes, and the few that don't quite land are still funny due to Tangey's acknowledgment and response to them and having to explain it to us. Her sarcastic and dry delivery is a perfect blend of awkwardness and superiority.

Choosing The Wrong Story To Tell review | Lewis Garnham | Melbourne Town Hall | Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Lewis Garnham has been watching the world around him and thinking about the daily interactions he has with others. His show Choosing The Wrong Story To Tell is an hour of philosophical stand-up with Garnham sharing these observations and encouraging himself (and us) to think of our contact with others and go off-script as often as we can to open ourselves up to authentic moments of connections.

Garnham gives us several small encounters in life where he has gone off script, that have surprised him or those around him. He recalls the time he absent-mindedly praised someone at work by saying "fuck yeah!", which isn't normally a huge cause for concern, but when you're a teacher's aide in a school and you're speaking to a student, then it can be a bit of a shock.

Memoirs of a Meth Head...Chapter One review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Elliot McClaren is an indigenous queer man who grew up in an abusive, criminal environment and became addicted to drugs and alcohol by the age of fourteen. It's the perfect fodder for a comedy show. Memoirs of a Meth Head...Chapter One traces McClaren's childhood and early adulthood with some wild events that he has experienced, and lived to tell the tale.

Right off the bat, McClaren tells us he is now 29 and has been sober for six months. That's a remarkable achievement for someone who has spent most of his life using drugs. He appears so calm and collected, and even though he finds the humour of what he has experienced, it sometimes feels almost inappropriate to laugh mainly because of the trauma he must have gone through.

Goof review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Westin

The lights dim and the audience eagerly awaits Oliver Coleman to appear on stage, and he does appear. But at the back of the room. Wearing a landing pad. With an imaginary hawk. And that pretty much sums up the shenanigans of his comedy show Goof.

Coleman seems to be playing a heightened version of himself. A loud voice brimming with confidence and wearing an eye-catching green suit that is extraordinarily dashing. I could write a full review about that green suit. Paired with a red tie and orange socks, it's a colour clash that works for Coleman's style of clash comedy. It may seem like it's off-the-cuff stand-up with drizzles of desperation but it's an extremely considered performance where every beat and step is planned. Speaking of steps, his constant pacing and movement on stage is a cross between Danny Zucko from the T-birds and a TV evangelist, another clash that pairs so perfectly together.

Sunny Side Up review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Melbourne Town Hall

After breaking up with her boyfriend, Diana Nguyen decided to go for a walk to clear her head. Sounds reasonable. Except Diana took it a step further and walked 300kms of the Camino De Santiago in Spain. In her stand-up show Sunny Side Up, Nguyen explores existential questions around what happens after a break-up that results in a number of unexpected surprises, for her and her audience.

Nguyen initially appears playfully timid, but as she quickly tells us, this fairy tale of love ended up being a teary tale and we then see the unabashed, loud, and snorting version of the comedian. We are taken through a variety of episodes in the lead up to her trip to Spain and the other adventures that follow, including a ridiculous story of an Italian man and a yacht that feels like it has been plucked straight out of the second season of The White Lotus, but with a comparatively much better ending for Nguyen.

My Treasures My Beautiful Treasures review | Tom Walker |Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Trades Hall

Tom Walker starts his show with incisive questions. To be more specific, that's what he says the review should open with as he is getting assistance to unlock the laptop he's using for his show, My Treasures, My Beautiful Treasures. While this kicks off in Walker's trademark absurdity, the rest of the show leans in on more traditional storytelling and stand-up, resulting in a very pleasant surprise.

So what are Walker's treasures? It is not what you would think. Firstly, it's not even an object. Instead, it's a list of pathetic men who are not hurting anyone. To elaborate on this would ruin the leadup and suspense, but trust that in true Walker fashion, it's not the type of men you would expect.

Still Dry White review | Nick Schuller | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Trades Hall

It's not often you go to a 50-minute show and have a comedian open up for the main act. But that's what happened in Still Dry White, where the enthusiastic, loud and animated Bron Lewis came out for a few minutes to get us all hyped up for Nick Schuller. Once he's on stage though, you realise it's time to wine it down, as his energy could not be any more opposite to Lewis'. He barely moves, is monotone and very very dry. It's a bit jarring at first, but it's a smart way for Schuller to subvert expectations of what stand-up has to be that makes Still Dry White a ridiculously fun evening.

Schuller doesn't reach for anything too dramatic in terms of material and stories he tells. He's not talking about politics or making grand statements about the state of the world, but small everyday things, like golf (presumably), uber deliveries and sex education. With the tone and pace that he sets, it actually makes these jokes quite intriguing and ending them with unexpected punchlines.

Actually, Good review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Melbourne Town Hall

Having missed Gillian Cosgriff’s award-winning show Actually, Good at last year's Comedy Festival, it was with anticipated relief to learn that she was bringing it back to Melbourne this year. This is a wonderful hour of storytelling, original songs, stand-up, and most importantly, it’s a show that leaves you with a big smile on your face and a warmth in your soul.

Cosgriff takes us back to a time when she was having a terrible holiday in the Whitsundays when she spontaneously asked her partner about the ten things he likes. It set the blueprint for this show and for a unique conversation on things we enjoy and we they enjoy it and how it makes us feel. As Cosgriff tells us, it’s better to ask what do you like rather than what do you do. In Actually, Good, the audience helps Cosgriff compile a list of our ten likes – completely voluntary – but once the first one is shouted out, people become eager to share theirs. It’s a wonderful community that Cosgriff fosters within this framework.

Microsoft Orifice review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

The daily grind of the office job. It's not easy. In Microsoft Orifice, John Glover stares down the barrel of a staple gun as he vents and gripes about the current state of the workplace and technology, namely social media. 

Glover has a warm presence and he has a great gift of the gab. Armed with a clicker and a PowerPoint slide show, he is confident with his material and because of that, he can throw to audience members for a brief chit chat or acknowledge something that has been said by an audience member, even when he gets the order of his slides confused, which he handles brilliantly.

Pillows xxxx review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Bronwyn Kuss is ready to get straight to the point. There's no time for niceties or pleasantries with her stand-up show Pillows xxxx as she jumps right in and lets us know about the English teacher she had in high school, as well as other musings and anecdotes from her life.

Kuss has a very dry delivery where rather than getting loud and animated, she finds a great pace to work with and plays with pauses to emphasise points and highlight punchlines. The call-backs to previously mentioned stories and the thread she maintains between them results in a wonderful payoff in the final moments of the show, but completely in line with the tone of Kuss' performance and image.

Write-Off review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Charles Dickens Tavern

Sean Collier is a 26-year-old white, straight man from New Zealand and he has plenty to say. This is mainly about how screwed up his life is and how equally screwed up society is. Equipped with a microphone, a beer and a backwards cap, Write-Off is an opportunity for Collier to get a lot of things of his chest in an irreverent and brazen but highly entertaining stand-up routine.

Collier talks about growing up in New Zealand in a town where there were not many prospects and built on violence and racism. But he manages to bring these things together that remains honest to his experiences and concerns while providing a great deal of laughter. Drug use and addiction, prison, homelessness and even rimming are not exactly ground-breaking topics, but what makes Write-Off refreshing is the structure and punchlines and how dark Collier goes with his material.

Mozart-182 review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Do opposites really attract? That's something that Callum Straford is testing with his experimental stand-up, clown and musical comedy concerto (that's a mouthful!), Mozart-182. Through various sketches and songs, Straford attempts to highlight how quickly life can get messy and there's nothing we can do but embrace it, with arms wide open.

Straford has an affable nature to him and you can't not like him, and if this is what you would judge a comedy show on, then he would get two thumbs up, but the structure doesn’t reach the same level of likability. The conceit of the show is a comparison and contrast of Austrian composer Mozart to American rock band Blink-182, but apart from the obvious of coming from different centuries and musical genres, there's no eye-opening or unexpected link between the two.

Heart Of Darkness review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

With Heart of Darkness, half-Greek half-Italian Anthony Locascio shares the worst things he’s ever done and by comparison, to make us all feel better about ourselves. The comedian recalls past experiences and introduces us to a variety of people from his life including his girlfriend, a high school bully and his two grandmothers through an hour of stand-up that gets close to reaching some very controversial topics.

Locascio talks about various mishaps and adventures, and he shows a great ability to bring up a memory and trail off to another but still return to what he was saying. It’s not off the cuff but he makes it sound natural and that he has thought about how to best tell these stories. So when he begins reminiscing about his Italian grandmother and midway through he gets “side-tracked” with a completely different story about his Greek grandmother he finds his way back to the original anecdote in a highly genuine way.

Net Worth review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

When Nicolette Minster googled herself, she discovered that according to NetWorths Ranks she is a 6ft, 30 year old worth $15 million, something which she is not. Up until this point she had been confident that she was the only Nicolette Minster in the world, so she decided to investigate who this person is and then make a comedy show about it, naturally titled Net Worth.

Using a projector with various slides, Minster presents to us "her" NetWorth Ranks profile and takes us through all the information - personal and family details and marital status. She takes each section of the profile and then dissects it and along with some strong detective work (Facebook and google) attempts to track down this Nicolette Minster's husband or siblings.