Arterial review

Good circus will always find ways to entertain its audience through the impressive abilities of its performers as they display their strength, flexibility and agility. Amazing circus will have this, but will also be able to make you feel something deeper through its storytelling and performances, and Arterial is one of the best examples of this in a very long time. Presented by Na Djinang Circus, the production explores the notion of what community is and the importance in keeping community alive.

Harley Mann - founder of Na Djinang and director of Arterial - is extremely specific and clear in creating his vision and showing this connection to story, to people and to country. While there is a lot to of ground to cover, everything that we see and hear - and even feel - in Arterial has purpose. The scattered eucalyptus leaves and branches around the stage and the way the lighting design by Gina Gascoigne includes red light illuminating the space are subtle yet constant reminders of the relationship to land being depicted and by extension our relationship with the land we live on.

Happy at Times review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

Musical comedian Sarah Gaul is on a mission to improve her happiness levels. But what does it take to actually be happy? With Happy at Times, Gaul performs a number of delightful songs and shares her unique perspectives with her audience on how we can all increase our happiness ratio.

Gaul radiates warmth on stage and her personality shines through as she makes sure she greets everyone as we enter and take our seats. She is personable and friendly and when she recreates her passport and drivers license photo IDs she becomes someone we could sit there and listen to all night and still be entertained.

Outer Child review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Improv Conspiracy Theatre

As adults we often forget what life was like when we were children and the freedom that came with being a child and not being jaded, worried, cynical or anxious about life. In Outer Child, Ashley Apap takes her audiences on a self-help journey of discovery about repair, understanding and self-compassion.

Apap plays a no-nonsense life coach, whom we have paid a lot of money for this six step program to learn from. She's so focused on this journey that she won't even accept any form of applause when she appears on stage. Everything seems to be going well(ish) until she has an IBS attack which results in Apap's inner child becoming free with the older Apap now trapped inside a hydroflask.

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.

Your Mother Chucks Rocks And Shells review (Melbourne International Comedy Festival)

With less than a week left of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I think the most bizarre yet most fascinating show I have seen is Ange Lavoipierre's Your Mother Chucks Rocks And Shells. I mean the title alone... As we take our seats Lavoipierre is on stage in a nightgown holding a pillow, trying to sleep but insomnia is a bitch and keeping her up. With a few tricks up her sleeve, Lavoipierre attempts to tackle her lack of sleep head on with incredibly hilarious results.

It's 2am when Lavoipierre’s brain, with a charming French accent, begins speaking to her and preventing her from falling asleep. She deduces that watching a movie will help her fall asleep and of ALL THE FILMS in the world, she decides the 1973 horror film The Exorcist is a suitable option (and if you’ve seen this you’ll have a better understanding of where the title for this show came from). From then on, we are treated to an absurd exploration of her twilight musings on religion, sexuality and the patriarchy through The Exorcist along with its 'deleted scenes' set in random alternate movies, such as The Matrix. Sounds weird? Buckle up. It gets weirder.