The Roof Is Caving In review | La Mama Theatre

There's nothing quite like the excitement of moving into your own home and the freedom of doing what you want when you want. But there's always a dark cloud looming over you as you are at the beck and call of real estate agents and trying to foster a mutual relationship of respect between these strangers you have chosen to live with. In The Roof is Caving In, two university students move into their first share house and face the internal and external struggle of constantly compromising to hold on to the serenity and exhilaration of being in their first home away from home.

Written by Matilda Gibbs with Belle Hansen and Jack Burmeister, The Roof is Caving In is a highly entertaining absurdist look at the challenges in renting such as rent prices, housemate dramas and the vulnerable position renters are regularly in. The narrative moves at a rapid pace but still takes the time to highlight these issues while building towards its inevitable climax.

Jazz Or A Bucket Of Blood review (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

It seems to be an unwritten rule that the later your Fringe Festival show is scheduled, the more outlandish and wacky the show will be. Jazz or a Bucket of Blood is a great example of this. Performed by Ange Lavoipierre and Jane Watt, the hour of sketch comedy takes us to some weird but extremely amusing places with the two performers (hopefully) playing extremely heightened versions of themselves.

The matching outfits of grey shorts and blue shirts give them a childlike disposition, like they are wearing a school uniform, lending some credibility to them being somewhat naive and innocent with what they say and do. Some. Because a lot of what they say and do is very much on the other side of that spectrum. Try Lavoipierre's instructions on how to make friends and you'll probably realise this is most definitely not the way to make friends - but a great way to endear yourselves to the audience in your comedy show.

The sketch comedy show that's asking life's big question: is it jazz or a bucket of blood? (Melbourne Fringe Festival)

It's the age-old question: is it jazz or a bucket of blood? It has divided people even deeper than what colour that dress actually was. Performers Ange Lavoipierre and Jane Watt at least hope to answer the former with their upcoming Melbourne Fringe Festival season of Jazz Or A Bucket Of Blood. Their hour of absurd humour and quirky perspectives have left audiences around the world - most recently at Edinburgh Fringe Festival - utterly fixated and astounded.

With Lavoipierre's solo show also having an equally eccentric title (Your Mother Chucks Rocks and Shells, and also playing at Melbourne Fringe), she and Watt are certainly displaying a knack for coming up with unique show names, but what comes first, the title or the content? "I don’t think you’re meant to do it like this but I’m only going to write something new after I turn out a title that makes me laugh," Lavoipierre says. "The idea happens quickly and then I say it to a few of the silliest people I know and see if they laugh too, and that’s the entire process."

Poncho: Keep it Up! review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Malthouse Theatre

It's been five years since Dani Cabs' alter ego Poncho graced Melbourne stages and in that time, while he has definitely matured, his humour has fortunately not waned. In Poncho: Keep it Up!, our charming, orange, good-times seeker brings a mix of physical comedy, clowning and storytelling discussing ideas on who we are and what we should strive to be, that are equally entertaining and honest.

Armed with just a rack consisting of a variety of orange clothing on the stage, all eyes are on Poncho, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Poncho feeds off audience interaction and welcomes the occasional impromptu comment or laughter from the audience. Cabs is so comfortable in his Poncho skin that he is never thrown by audience suggestions or responses and remains and responds in character to whatever happens.

Cabs possesses great comedic timing and shares genuine engagement with his audience. During his storytelling/spoken word moments, even behind the facade of this Latin clown, there are interesting observations and statements made about identity and society that are even more potent given the comedic lens they are told through.

Bunny review (Melbourne International Comedy Fetival)

New Zealand performer Barnie Duncan returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with a show that is quite unlike what he has done in the past. His trademark absurdity is still evident in Bunny, but Duncan's dissection of whether dancing at a nightclub at 3am was a way of dealing with his grief or avoiding it after his mother passed away last year, adds a level of intimacy and vulnerability that is often difficult to convey on stage.

While a few jokes don't land that well, or have been tacked on for a cheap laugh (Will Smith's Oscars behaviour is already such a tired punchline), Duncan shows strong control of the audience and meeting the expectations we have upon entering this surreal show about clubbing and death. The unique way in which Duncan sees and understands the world is clearly presented, and with an open heart he shares the complexities of dealing with grief and mourning the death of a loved one, particularly during a pandemic.

The Market is a Wind-Up Toy - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

The world is having its final closing down sale. Everything must go, unless Arvid Flatpack can reclaim the golden bull. Presented by The Bloomshed, The Market Is A Wind-Up Toy is an absurdist comedy that critiques the free market as it explores the state our planet is in and wonders where we go to from here.

The writing and direction by James Jackson is wild and energetic and while it can be difficult to follow at times, it is completely absorbing. At times, it risks overwhelming its audience, particularly when combined with the design, but perhaps that’s the point. The world is very much fucked in so many ways. We should feel overwhelmed. We should be confused and struggle to simply keep up. There are a few awkward scenes that reference other cultures and their practices, including one where a character uses a variation of welcome to country in her proclamation of her love towards the use of plastic. It’s unnecessary to the overall narrative and it creates a discomfort that doesn’t suit the tone of The Market Is A Wind-Up Toy.

Kevin Peterson’s Stand Up Show review

Kevin Peterson is the new kid on the stand-up comedy block with his new show opening at The Butterfly Club. He's young, likeable and has the boy next door charm, but he's barely into his set when he is hit with a severe anxiety attack and becomes lost in his own distressing thoughts. Fortunately, this is not real life but the synopsis for Kevin Peterson’s Stand Up Show.

Written and directed by Max Paton, the show is a comedic and surreal look at what happens inside the mind of a man when he is struck with anxiety. Paton finds clever and intriguing ways in exploring Kevin's emotional and mental state and illustrates this brilliantly on stage. A constant highlight is seeing how the material from Kevin's stand-up routine, including "jokes" about Chris Hemsworth and platypus, is then referenced and used during his existential nightmare.

Poopie Tum Tums - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Poopie Tum Tums is the show that Honor Wolff and Patrick Durnan Silva have been aching to finally flex their acting muscles with. Despite their previous shows, they are more than just "hilarious comedians"; they are actors. In this hour of avant-garde theatre the two stars dazzle with some powerfully gut wrenching scenes that -nah, screw that. Whatever Wolff and Silva may claim they are achieving in Poopie Tum Tums, that's not what you experience with The Very Good Looking Initiative. If you think you'd seen it all with CULL and Let's Get Practical! Live then strap yourself in, because these wacky oddballs are on fire again and ready to unleash their twisted and shameless sense of humour on their audience.

The 2007 Wonthaggi Blue Light Disco - Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

A blue light disco is the highlight of any teenager's life. It's an opportunity to cut loose, enjoy some dancing, banter with friends and partake in the odd bit of fingering. Or maybe not, as one of the rules of the dance within The 2007 Wonthaggi Blue Light Disco is no fingering. And also no drinking. But most importantly, no fingering.

Through a number of sketches, The Dizzy Biz (Alex Cooper, Kayla Hamill and Jordan Barr) bring the residents of this small town to life and shine a spotlight on what it's like to be a teenager in 2007. The show opens with the strict no-nonsense organisers setting up for the disco and it sets the scene for what to expect from these odd characters. The focus of the show is on a romance between two students, Frenchie and Jason, who each come with their own set of dramas.

Poopie Tum Tums - Melbourne International Comedy Festival preview

First The Very Good Looking Initiative taught us how to lead a better life through social media with CULL. Then they explored how crippling failure can be with Let's Get Practical! Live. Now they return to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with their brand new show, Poopie Tum Tums. Performed by Honor Wolff and Patrick Durning Silva, the show will give audience members another look into the weirdly hilarious musings of the two and their desire to create something stupid, sexy and funny.

"Poopie Tum Tums is a show that we want to perform every night that makes us laugh and makes our parents uncomfortable and disappointed. A lot of people don’t know this about us but we both have massive egos, self destructive behaviours and a dream to become famous, so hopefully this does that," they tell me. "Basically it’ll be the two of us on stage making fools of ourselves, and making you laugh, cry and be uncomfortably aroused."

Cactus and the Mime review | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Lithuanian Club

A Cactus and a Mime walk into a room and begin to re-enact their tumultuous relationship in the style of a children's television show. You would be hard pressed to get any more fringe than that. Written and performed by Roby Favretto and Caitlin Spears and presented as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, Cactus and the Mime is a hilariously fast-paced satirical look at the relationship between two people and the circumstances that have led them to present their story to us.

The show begins as Hi-5 as you can possibly get with Trevor and Mandy donning big smiling faces, adorable costumes and the staged decorated with brightly coloured props. However, as the story progresses, there are glimpses of something darker at play here. Yes, they're all smiles and cheeky banter but there's something brewing underneath it all that Trevor and Mandy will ultimately need to face. As the jokes become more vicious and personal, the elephant in the room is revealed and it is absolutely devastating. Suddenly, we don't care about how cheated Trevor feels about only receiving an honourable mention at his school talent show or about Mandy's career aspirations to becoming a famous mime. What we care about are these people, their relationship and what they are facing.

TRAPS: a romantic comedy for the modern sociopath - Melbourne Fringe Festival review

Polly is a 400kg salt-water crocodile who loves to feed on cats and other small animals, and at the local veterinary clinic she has an abundance of small creatures at her disposal. But this isn't Polly's story. It's Joe's, the owner of the clinic but his assistant Stephanie will have you thinking it's hers. But then, maybe it's Julia's, the woman with a strong dislike for rats? One thing is for certain, it isn't the narrator's story. And so begins Amelia Evan's surreal TRAPS: A Romantic Comedy for the Modern Sociopath. 

The ensemble do exceptionally well with their characters and the material, where even though this is an absurdist play, they make it feel like this is the real deal. Marissa O'Reilly displays equal sensitivity and determination as the agitated veterinarian assistant Stephanie, and Charles Purcell is just as captivating as Julia, who becomes the unexpected owner of a chihuahua that won't stop arfing. Tom Dent as the narrator with no backstory or name is charismatic throughout with his futile attempts at becoming part of the story and Rachel Perks is simply marvellous as Joe, the vegetarian veterinarian psychopath who is in dire need of checking his male privilege.

Evans has written and directed a light-heartedly dark love story that raises a number of questions around oppression, domestic violence and feminism. While the plot is obviously far-fetched with fantastical characters, there is grounding in the work where Evans never loses sight of the issues she is bringing attention to. The gender-swapping roles of the actors playing Julie and Joe further add to this and it will be interesting to see how this changes - if at all - when Paul Blenheim steps into the role of Joe from Tuesday 26 September.