Dating Horror Stories from Top Stand-Ups!; Hannah Camilleri; Sam Nicoresti; David Correos; Emma Holland; Dan Rath; Story Soup; Damien Power; Con Coutis; Annie Boyle;

Sam Nicoresti | Baby Doomer
The Westin, until April 19

“A joke a minute” is a low strike rate for an hour of comedy. Luckily, we have a true professional steering the ship tonight, an alarmingly confident talent that belies Sam Nicoresti’s age.

The transgressive transgender comedian is in full control of her set from the get-go, bringing up the benign “one laugh per 60 seconds” compliment-not-cliche from a previous review then barbecue-ing it for the next 59 minutes. She blasts sharp line after line to an adoring crowd, similar to local comedy icon Rhys Nicholson’s ratatat success rate.

Perhaps the most tightly written hour of stand-up comedy this year, Nicoresti is at the top of her game. The sassy, acerbic UK comic covers themes such as finding the perfect skirt suit, the difficulties of fitting in as a woman and the undeniable truth that her chosen vocation is autistic.
★★★★★
Reviewed by Mikey Cahill

Emma Holland | The Dog Dies at the Start
Comedy Republic, until April 19

The loss of a pet may not seem like a funny premise to predicate a show on – and to be clear, it’s not – but Emma Holland is a master of mining the absurdity of any experience, chief among them that of profound grief. In her trademark droll fashion, Holland charts the immediate aftermath of her greyhound being put down: a period of 10 days mired in a routine of mind-numbing tasks to distract her from the business of grieving. That she transforms this into a rhythm rap is one of the show’s many highlights.

Breaking into dance seems to be Holland’s new thing and I can’t complain – one particularly well-timed, self-congratulatory jig brings tears to my eyes after an unexpected punchline that flourishes in the split-second of anticipation between misdirection and reveal. Subverting the audience’s expectations is indeed what Holland does best, whether she’s interjecting jokes with her hilarious slideshow, leaning on old aphorisms, bounding around the room taunting the audience about something inconsequential, or revelling in an immaculately calibrated callback.

There are many beautiful moments that serve as metaphors for grief, whether it’s Holland rearranging her set’s furniture to illustrate the chasm of loss, or her literal reimagining of a “canary in a coalmine”. But the fact that Holland has crafted such a riotous show while honouring the memory of her sweet dog Teddy is perhaps the most impressive part of all.
★★★★
Reviewed by Sonia Nair

Annie Boyle | To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Melbourne Town Hall, until April 19

You’re going to need a drink after seeing Annie Boyle – her material is delivered so dryly it will leave you parched.To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before has a loose interwoven thread of Boyle’s adolescent relationships with men before having the realisation that she’s a lesbian. She’s furious that her parents didn’t let her know when the signposts were apparently so obvious from her teenage years.

There’s a brilliant piece exploring what are in her opinion the best three romantic films of all time: Titanic, George of the Jungle and the greatest AFL grand final of the past decade (Richmond fans, if you’re upset that you’re currently wallowing at the bottom of the ladder, there are at least three references in the show that will lift your spirits immensely).

Boyle ends with a crescendo of just how happy she is to be in love by reading out a letter from her partner. It’s almost oddly poignant considering her shtick: and a moment she admits “ruins her brand”. But considering the content of the hour, it’s a brilliant full-circle moment. Having risen through the festival-funded programs RAW Comedy and Comedy Zone, it won’t be long before she follows the same path to stardom as luminaries like Celia Pacquola, Becky Lucas and Sarah Kendall.
★★★★
Reviewed by Tyson Wray

Playhouse Pantomimes | Story Soup
ACMI – Gandel Lab, until April 19

Kids say the darndest things, and this pantomime turns their responses into a nonsensical musical adventure. Story Soup requires four key ingredients from children to make a narrative concoction: a location, an object, a hobby and a character name. After receiving a few suggestions, the high-stakes mission of Captain Barbara Barnacles — who lives in a castle, loves to do magic and battles a kraken for a cursed necklace — is born.

The improvised approach, reliant on audience participation, means no show is the same. The seven-person ensemble makes up silly songs, choreography and costumes as they go (think a sea monster wearing sunglasses, a tutu around his neck and a dinosaur tail).

Alanah Parkin was a standout as Captain Barbara, building colour into the character’s backstory and even making the parents laugh by shifting a prompt about whether evil people exist into a modern-day moral quandary. Aidan Jonathan as a wide-eyed, wisecracking fish deploys physical comedy in mischievous fashion. A comedic dish that will delight the wild imagination of its young crowd.
★★★★
Reviewed by Vyshnavee Wijekumar

Damien Power | Unnerved
Swiss Club, until April 19

Damien Power has been nominated for Most Outstanding Show at the comedy festival three times. It seems criminal that he’s never taken home the trophy. One of Australia’s most thought-provoking comedians, in each hour since his first nomination in 2015 for I Can’t Believe I Cared, he has seamlessly weaved politics, philosophy, social commentary and a hefty dose of self-denigration to immaculate effect. Unnerved is more of the same – which is to say it’s mostly superb.

Power delves into his own hatred of the Australian television industry by declaring that the standard that most of the shows we produce are due to the poor quality of our cocaine, while following with an anecdote of seeing the molecules of the universe while taking DMT. A thread about Darth Vader draws guffaws. As do tales of detesting the new generation of comedians (and following them home), his social algorithm serving up videos of a cat chiropractor, and the importance that the friends of his teenage son still like him – even if they bully his offspring.

There’s an unfortunate use of a slur for a promiscuous woman and a slight reworking of an old bit told in a festival gone by, but otherwise it’s a solid hour of free-flowing laughs. A few tweaks and that well-deserved laurel might finally be his.
★★★★
Reviewed by Tyson Wray

Dan Rath | Help Me Please
Swiss Club, until April 19

There are comedians where you can afford to tune out for a split second, and there’s Dan Rath, who’s galloped ahead to his next non-sequitur in the time it took you to stop gasping in laughter from his last setup.

Rath jokes about mindfulness being the province of the wealthy, but being in his audience is an exercise in heedfulness in and of itself. There’s no throughline to the show – not unless you count Rath’s self-professed mental illness, unique blend of self-deprecation and disorientation, and casual nonchalance about dying. But you’re hooked on his every word as he frenetically rebounds from punchline to punchline in a set studded with them. Rath eschews narrative conceits and meta commentary in favour of good, old-fashioned standup that’s unmistakably woke despite occasionally teetering on the line between good sense and poor taste.

Why don’t words mean how they sound? Ever wondered how ludicrous Grill’d is as a concept? What’s up with water bottles? And what’s one to do if they’ve gone off their lithium? If you’re interested in life hacks from an unwell person while laughing non-stop for an hour, look no further than Dan Rath.
★★★★
Reviewed by Sonia Nair

Con Coutis | Joke Protocol
Melbourne Town Hall, until April 19

The name’s Coutis, Con Coutis. A former nominee for the festival’s Golden Gibbo award, his latest James Bond/Mission Impossible-inspired show is testament to the fact that there is no Australian comedian using sound design to better effect. How often do you hear a joke delivered in full surround sound across four speakers, or a comedian bleeping the expletives in their own jokes? It’s a glorious feat, but every time I see him perform I feel sorrowful for his tech. There’s no-one working harder at this festival.

The overarching theme of the show is Coutis acting as a spy trying to retrieve a mythological artefact (from, of all places, Chadstone). While that crux is strong enough, his individual skits throughout the show are greater than the sum of their parts. A hyper-specific quip about how he could have made a sketch more realistic is so gloriously stupid that it’s hilariously smart. As is a terrible pun of a counteragent wanting to “slip into something more comfortable”, and his fears of being sued for the use of copyrighted music.

It’s another first-rate hour from the rising local talent. Highly recommended.
★★★★
Reviewed by Tyson Wray

Chloe Petts | Big Naturals
Melbourne Town Hall – Portrait Room, until April 19

Lad culture formed Chloe Petts, and it informs every aspect of her show, which takes its title from slang for large, non-surgically-enhanced breasts of the sort historically favoured by page three of the English tabloids.

She waxes lyrical (and also not) about Kasabian, a band she saw live 14 times in the 1990s but with the benefit of hindsight adjudges to be like “Oasis, but shit”. She rhapsodises about watching the football, and seeing her beloved Lions win the Euros in 2022, while bemoaning the fact the guy sitting next to her in the stadium mistook her for a creepy man who is obsessively following the team around the country. And she’s ambivalent about the wild, leery energy of the mosh pit, and the sozzled knife-edge of camaraderie-cum-violence of the pub.

Big Naturals is a show all about masculinity as seen through the unique lens of a tall lesbian often mistaken for a man, one who identifies with elements of male culture while also seeing its many flaws. Petts’ critique is spot-on, and doesn’t spare herself, but it’s gentle and generous too. And in a late twist, she finds a role model for a kind of masculinity she – and we – can comfortably embrace. Away, the lads.
★★★★
Reviewed by Karl Quinn

The Burton Brothers | Tinseltown
Trades Hall – Quilt Room, until April 19

Hollywood is the place where dreams go to die, but not in sketch comedians The Burton Brothers’ paean to the glitzy world of celebrity and film. A cast of interlinked characters – brought to life by the irrepressible Josh and Tom Burton – reoccur in a series of sketches that peel back the curtains of movie making and catapult us into the minds of stars thwarted and emerging. Each sketch draws on various archetypes of the silver screen, albeit the dial is turned up to 11 and the zaniness levels are unmatched.

There’s Julie, the ageing starlet who can’t act without harking back to her breakout role in a certain cult classic – a highlight of Tinseltown is Josh’s vivid five-minute re-enactment of said film, matched by his turn as a neon-clad busker with a mangled understanding of green characters. There’s the alcohol-ravaged, has-been performer and the bright-eyed ingenue – both expertly inhabited by Tom.

The incredibly varied sketches spotlight the Burtons’ range as actors and comedians. A particularly clever one pre-empts the follies of improvisation, while another platforms the duo’s impressive miming. If there’s one quibble, it’s that certain scenarios are over-mined for laughs, but it’s a small one in an otherwise deftly curated show.
★★★★
Reviewed by Sonia Nair

Olga Koch | Fat Tom Cruise
Melbourne Town Hall, until April 19

Is Russian-born, UK-raised comedian Olga Koch the nicest person in comedy? She shakes half the audience’s hands before starting with such an effusive “thank you so much for coming!” that it seems like she might well be. She keeps her vow to the nervous front row that she won’t pick on them, and she is polite and welcoming to latecomers, giving them a thousand-watt smile as they shuffle in.

The sunny disposition helps her audience relax with her, taking in her bubbly, funny, raunchy feminist stories and bare-bones PowerPoint presentation with good cheer. The reveal of the show – who is fat Tom Cruise? – really lands, and she’s built such a foundation of trust and goodwill that the audience are willing to stay with her when she shifts the tone completely and shows us what she’s been really building to.

It’s deft, smart and a little uncomfortable, as great comedy should be.
★★★★
Reviewed by Cassidy Knowlton

Sam Jay | We the People
Melbourne Town Hall – Cloak Room, until April 19

Sam Jay is a “triple minority”, she tells us more than once, “black, gay and a woman”. But she’s not parading her exceptionalism, merely saying “so what”. Everyone’s a bit weird, a bit different – “there should be a spectrum of the spectrum,” she suggests – but instead of making differences the focus, we should be looking for what binds us. That, she argues in this very funny tour through some of the biggest issues of our times, is the only way out of our current and very real malaise.

Her material is free-ranging, touching on her own dyslexia, alien abductions (a hilarious bit about the “fucked farmers” phenomenon of the 1990s), the pace of change demanded by trans rights activists and the inevitable resistance to it from bull-punching rodeo riders in Texas, and a visit to England in which she reels at the sight of her first white ladybits (“raw”, she judges them, “like tartare”).

It’s a remarkable set that deflates righteousness and anger on both sides of the political divide, and manages the near impossible task of making a journey to common ground via laughter seem not only desirable but actually possible.
★★★★

Lena Moon | Sounds Like a Brag
Melbourne Town Hall – Lunch Room, until April 19

Ostensibly, Lena Moon’s show is about our national resistance to people bigging themselves up. “We hate brags in Australia, don’t we,” she posits early in the evening. “So I wrote a show about them.” No sooner has she said that, though, than she’s admitting “I don’t really know what makes something a brag. Like, is it just how it’s said? Does brag voice make anything a brag?”

It’s such a loose concept that it gives Moon, who has been a TV writer for more than a decade (she wears her stint on Thank God You’re Here with particular pride), licence to roam, and roam she does. She riffs on her name and how painful it was to have a broken foot – not because of the bones, but because everyone started calling her Lena Moonboot. She riffs on the invention of the fork, the idea that the Roman toga was really just a giant napkin, our obsession with filling bathtubs with so much stuff that they’ve essentially become oversized vats of human soup. And she riffs on encounters with three names of varying levels of fame – fellow comic Celia Pacquola, who directed the show; American comedian and actor Zach Woods; and rapper-producer T-Pain – with varying levels of success.

There’s plenty of good material here, but a little more thematic rigour might have made it a show really worth boasting about.
★★★
Reviewed by Karl Quinn

David Correos | Touching My Active Mind
The Greek – Athena, until April 19

David Correos has been told he puts his audience in a “comedic headlock” and doesn’t let them breathe, so he’s trying a new thing. This is far from his most unhinged show – Correos isn’t eating cat food, taping a bread knife to his face or likening a bike pump to a butt plug – but it’d still be one of the loosest at this year’s festival.

Aided by chaotic music changes – which Correos appears to be haphazardly controlling himself – and deranged self-fashioned props, Correos bounces from scenario to scenario with a few short “reprieves” of traditional stand-up, while simultaneously sloughing off all manner of clothing, laughing maniacally and brandishing a plastic gun.

Correos’ animated digressions cover theme parks, aquariums, fishing, raw-dogging life without “punching cones”. The most enchanting thing once you get past the in-your-face hilarity of it all is simply the unadulterated joy Correos derives from performing. His high-key adoration of being onstage and self-evident love of connecting with the crowd is infectious, so when Correos instructs you to pick up your phone to participate in a collective prank, you dutifully oblige.
★★★
Reviewed by Sonia Nair

Robyn Reynolds & Chris Nguyen | Romantic Comedy
Trades Hall – Archive Room, until April 19

The thought of performing a stand-up set with your spouse is enough to make most people’s toes curl. But Robyn Reynolds and Chris Nguyen make it look easy – even enjoyable. What else would you expect from a couple who met while performing at a comedy open mic night?

The phrase “opposites attract” could not be more true of their performance styles. While Reynolds is a “golden retriever” who steals the show with two impressive original musical numbers, Nguyen has a “black cat” energy and takes a more conventional approach.

Sometimes the switch between the two is a little jarring (there are some sections where they perform alone, and others together) but it’s still great to watch two masters of their craft at work. Most importantly, they’re so goddamn likeable. Even the most cold-hearted comedy goer will be warmed by their declarations of love towards each other, and laugh at their ability to turn mundane domesticity into a satisfying punchline.
★★★
Reviewed by Gemma Grant

Hot Department | Amalgamation
Malthouse Theatre, until April 19

Buyer beware: prudes aren’t invited to this party. Honor Wolff and Patrick Durnan Silva are Australia’s foremost purveyors of psychosexual sketch comedy. I mean, how often do you see a duo make out while role-playing as closeted yet homophobic football players? That’s not the only time the two play tongue hockey throughout the show.

First formed five years ago after meeting at university, the duo mine their back-catalogue to present a smorgasbord of smut alongside a dabble of new skits in Amalgamation.

The sequences are hit and miss. But when they hit, they hit hard. The take-down of the outright laziness of straight white male standups is sublime. As is an impression of a homicidal Barbie taking out the competition. But the sketch of a married couple attempting to rejuvenate their sex life in an inventive way (it involves mice) could be left out. The acoustics for musical numbers also need sharp adjustment for the rest of the run if they’re to land. Trigger warning: if you’re a Liberal voter, or if your name is Sarah, you will leave offended.
★★★
Reviewed by Tyson Wray

Hannah Camilleri | Dinner Hannah Show
Malthouse Theatre – Playbox, until April 19

This year Gaulier-trained sketch artist Hannah Camilleri brings her talent for farcical clowning and physical comedy to the world of theatre. Her most enduring character, Frank is here as a starry-eyed stagehand managing two larger-than-life thespians mid-rehearsal: Victoria and Fondon. Victoria soliloquises in an Anne-Boleyn like headpiece in one sketch. Fondon is peacocking while running lines in another. Meanwhile, the ever-likeable Frank is just trying to find out who ordered the magic carpet. It’s an episode of Fawlty Towers set at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Camilleri replicates the tics and cliches of these diva-like theatre kids and stressed-out techies with all the skill and nuance we’ve come to expect from her. But too many sketches pass without a clear purpose or punchline, and Camilleri feels less in control of her audience than ever. Even the most game crowd would be hard-pressed to “yes-and” her confusing questions and unclear instructions.

The show becomes static as its narrative throughline returns us to these same characters without giving Camilleri any new opportunities to flex her physical talents or explore different takes on her theme. There’s a meta-twist near the end that’ll remind you why she’s a singular master of her craft. But it comes too late. The curtain falls on these characters with a whimper.
★★
Reviewed by Guy Webster

Bad Dates Anonymous: Dating Horror Stories from Top Stand-Ups!
Askal, until April 19

Who doesn’t want to hear about mortifying dating stories? Bring on the ghosters and the breadcrumbers, the tedious and the charmless, and let us all commiserate on the life of the singleton trying to find a mate. Unfortunately, the main problem with this show is that none of the performers sticks to the subject.

Apparently, there are eight comics in rotation, with three scheduled each night, plus an MC. At this event, Kyle Legacy was the convenor, ushering in Aliya Kanani, Donal Vaughan and Courtney Maldo. With four people on stage, you’d expect plenty of disaster tales, but alas, there was very little material about actual dating. In fact, each performer seemed intent on giving us snippets of their individual festival shows instead, with themes as various as the reproductive habits of cockroaches and the trials of being a tall trans woman.

The only nod to the actual brief is when the audience is given the option to submit anonymous stories of their own, which are then read aloud. All up, a promising premise but a disappointing outcome – which sounds like most bad dating stories…
★★
Reviewed by Thuy On

The Age is a Melbourne International Comedy Festival partner.

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