Month: April 2017

2017 Melbourne Cabaret Festival

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Dolly Diamond, Melbourne’s undisputed Queen of Cabaret has taken the reins of this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival, in her role of Artistic Director to bring together ten Australian premiere shows as well as some of the best new talent. Now in it’s eighth year, Melbourne Cabaret Festival returns to Chapel Off Chapel with two weeks of fabulous entertainment.  “At last I can reveal the fabulous line-up for this year’s Melbourne Cabaret Festival”, says Dolly Diamond, Artistic Director, Melbourne Cabaret Festival.  “It’s full of homegrown Australian talent with a huge amount of new works being presented. It was important for me this year to draw on the talented artists who live and work in Australia, just as I do. I’m a great admirer of artists working all around the world but I felt it was time to focus on the performers who are the backbone of Australian cabaret.”  “I believe we have put together a program that audiences will really enjoy and for me that’s what cabaret is all about. I’m looking forward to seeing you all at Chapel Off Chapel when …

Dine with Heart This May

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For all the food lovers out there with their heart in the right place, Dine with Heart during the month of May is a great way to enjoy a night out, completely guilt free, while at the same time supporting Sacred Heart Mission, an organisation assisting people experiencing homelessness and social disadvantage. Restaurants and bars all over Melbourne have jumped on board to organise fun and delicious events to fundraise for Sacred Heart Mission’s Meals Program which offers free, healthy meals to people in need. Restaurants who are on board this awesome initiative include Donovans, the Craft & Co, Little Blue, St Ali and so many more. Highlights include: Second Act St Kilda | May This shiny new neighbourhood wine bar on Fitzroy Street are donating $2 from every dinner sold in May. Cirque D’Ali – St Ali | 5 May 2017 Circus performers, jugglers, magicians and all manner of performance will delight in this intimate version of a big top, coinciding with lively music to transport guests to a vibrant atmosphere that delights all five …

Win tickets to The Dog Lovers Show

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-competition now closed – Can you think of anything that is better than Disneyland? We can! No need to spend big bucks on your plane tickets, because The Dog Lovers Show is here again! Celebrate, interact with and learn about man’s best friend this May at the Royal Exhibition Building. Visitors to the show will get to learn about over 600 beautiful dogs, browse over 250 exhibitors and see celebrity vets do their thing. What can you expect at the show: Australia’s most talented canines in action in the Royal Canin Arena DockDogs, Australia’s most exciting dog sport and competition with a wide range of breeds launching themselves off a dock into a massive pool of water! Meet and learn more about more than 100 popular breeds Expert tips for a healthier and happier dog Discover all you need to know about providing a loving home for a Dog in need Information & experts on hand to help you find the right Dog for your lifestyle Tribute to Australian Hero Dogs including Military, Guide, Therapy, Customs, Working and Assistance Dogs showcasing the skills and abilities of our …

Delight your Mum this Mother’s Day

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Your mum deserves a solid gold statue in her honour, and a thousand roses delivered fresh every day. Since that’s not usually in the budget, we’ve gathered some ideas in advance to treat Mum this Mother’s Day (Sunday 14th of May if you really need help) Let her pick her own present @ The Queen Victoria Markets Spend the morning strolling through the abundance of the Queen Vic, sampling some of Melbourne’s most delightful handmade skincare and homewares. Finish it off by picking up a fresh bouquet of mum’s favourite flowers. Where: The QVM can be found between Queen, Peel, Victoria and Franklin Street Discover more: Here Treat her to a lush lunch  @ The Swanston Hotel Enjoy a three hour buffet in the stylish surrounds of the Swanston Hotel, choosing from over 20 options including a seafood bar, carvery, cold and salad options and, of course, dessert. All mothers enjoy a glass of sparkling and a box of chocolates to make their day even more special. Where: 195 Swanston Street, CBD 3000 Discover more: …

MICF Review: Nikki Britton is Romanticide

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We recently head along to check out super face-paced, anti-romance comedy – Nikki Britton is Romanticide as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. From the moment we arrived, we were hit with hilarious, laugh out loud comedy from a lady that says everything we are all thinking as she shares her own true stories about dating, single life, getting older and the mysteries behind life. Every single girl within the room caught themselves out nodding along as her continuous comment “This doesn’t happen to normal people” reminds them of their your own cringe-worthy stories. Being that they are all her own true stories, it does get emotional at times as she describes a heart-break and unbroken hope for true love but always lifts the crowds moods quickly in her hysterical fashion even if that does involve acting out seeing her ex and then falling into a tower of Tim-tams, which quickly melted under her. Nikki tied her performance together with a continuous reference to the two characters that she is in life – a …

MICF Review: Burn the Witch

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Last week we checked out Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Burn the Witch on it’s opening night at the Butterfly Club, a tale set in a small English Village in the 1650’s, a village which keeps experiencing the mysterious disappearance of their children. Witchhunter General Dunlop and his comical, cockney assistant, Jennifer are engaged to get to the bottom of the conundrum and take the audience on a whodunnit style journey to get there. Written by and starring Martin Dunlop and Bec Petraitis, Burn the Witch has a great story to tell, a story that unfolds naturally for the audience with intelligent jokes, ironic humor and energy in abundance. The acting was brilliant, both Martin and Bec really engaged with the audience, and continued to hit the mark with their constant, sometimes dark, humour. For us, the speed of the execution was the only let down, particularly at the 10pm timeslot, the narrative moved from scene to scene at lightening fast pace, which made it a little hard to follow. And did they end up …

MICF Review: Songs in the Key of Awesomesause

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Matt Kilpa’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival show starts with an introduction song which instantly makes us think of the Mighty Boosh, and it’s a great way to describe Songs in the Key of Awesomesauce, sort of inspired by Flight of the Conchords, throw in a touch of the Boosh-style quirky delivery – and mix it with some cool, original material, for 45 minutes of laughs. One man, a guitar, and a bunch of funny songs. Matt’s debut solo show show is pretty fast paced, the songs are nice and short, just long enough to be punchy, but not too long that the audience drifts off, as he very easily moves to the next subject matter. Our personal favourites were the initial workings of his ‘Captain Planet the Musical’ project, where everyone knows that Planeteer Ma’Ti has the lamest power – the power of heart, a topic that any kid that grew up in the 90’s knows about, a parody set to the Dolly Parton classic, Jolene (about a certain red-haired politician), and a song about …