Author: We Know Melbourne

MICF Review: Burn the Witch

Published by

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

Published by

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 …

MICF Review: Just Like Buddah

Published by

Last week we were invited along to check out Anthony Jeannot’s 2017 Melbourne International Comedy festival show – Just Like Buddah. In a way there were elements taken from last year’s show – Rage Against the Manchild, signature elements which sort of set Anthony apart from his fellow performers like his entrance.. he doesn’t really have one, this year, just popping up randomly from the back row to introduce himself. There also was plenty of his usual self deprecating, sweet style of humour, but this year the delivery was injected with a lot more confidence, so the show was sharper, more on point. Some of the jokes from last year were reworked into the new show, but the fresh material in Just Like Buddha takes the audience though trips to Sweden (and other types of trips), Anthony’s date with a Doomsday prepper, and the perils of trying to meditate with an over excited, anxious mind. All the kind of interesting, engaging tales that seem far out, but are relatable enough that the audience always has …

MICF Review: No Tips For Keith Cheng?

Published by

Guest reviewer: Shannon Murphy On Wednesday night, we were invited to check out Keith Cheng’s debut Melbourne International Comedy Festival show “No Tips For Keith Cheng?”. This culturally diverse show was MC’d by Melbourne’s own Damian Cosgriff, whose punny goodness and one liners warmed up the crowd, before support act, Singaporean import, Wei got the show rolling. Our introduction to our main act advises that Hong Kong born Keith, has been a regular on the Brisbane comedy scene and his talents have previously seen him as a Finalist (2012) and Runner Up (2013) in the Queensland division of Australian’s biggest open mic comedy competition, Triple J’s Raw Comedy.  Keith’s arrival to the stage was facilitated via a fist bump with the MC, with Cheng confessing it’ll be the only time he gets to successfully punch a white guy. Cheng pushes the envelope on taste with his self proclaimed “Terrible Jokes of The Night”, a title that says it all and garners gasps, chuckles and full out laughter from the audience.  A walk out at this …

WIN: Double passes to the 20th Spanish Film Festival

Published by

Thanks for your entries! Our competition is now closed   The Spanish Film Festival evokes reel inspiración with outstanding films from across Spain, exclusively at Palace Cinemas. Discover a charming array of Spanish films ready to tantalize, amuse and evoke. This year, the festival welcomes Australia’s most beloved Spaniard Miguel Maestre as its newest and cheekiest ambassador, who will be joining audiences for a flamenco sensation at the viewing of Sara Baras, All Her Voices.  True spanish lovers can join in the fun, with 10 x Double passes up for grabs, valued at $30.00. Simply fill in your details to enter below. Terms and conditions are available here

Spanish Film Festival Competition Terms & Conditions

Published by

PRIVACY: We are committed to the privacy of your information. We do not, and will not, distribute, disclose or sell any of your personal information to third parties, other than as required by law or as necessary to process a payment. By entering the contest, you agree to release the Competition Entities, Instagram and Facebook and Twitter from all responsibility or liability for damages, losses or injuries of any kind resulting from participation in the Competition or any prize-related activities, if any, or any awarding, possession, use and/or misuse of prize(s), if any, awarded herein. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. You are providing your information to ErdiGroup Hotel Collection and not to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. This competition is also in no way affiliated with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. TERMS AND CONDITIONS The Promoter is ErdiGroup Hotel Collection (ABN 58 328 593 784 & 50 693 006 965)  of 195 Swanston Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000. Information on how to enter and prizes …

MICF Review: The Morning After

Published by

Last week we were invited to check out Evan Hocking’s 2017 Melbourne Comedy Festival Show – The Morning After, basically, his ode to the next day fear one experiences after only the largest of nights…., you know, the whole – ‘what have you done’ scenario. The show started with some short banter with the audience and then we were transported to tropical Port Douglas, which made us first think of sea, great barrier reef. However, a young man nicknamed “Buddha” (Evan Hocking), then walked us through the gradual piecing together of a big night out with friends and the ensuing consequences, with a remembered flashback to his Dad’s words “If you do something wrong, you have to pay the consequences”! Interwoven with short snippets about his family, his education, his friends, society’s fascination with reality TV, his breakup with his long-term girlfriend and the culture of a small town in Port Douglas, Evan took us on a carefully crafted and compelling tale of alcohol-fuelled misadventure. What the hell happened last night? Evan’s gentle, self-deprecating humor …

MICF Review: Self Sabotage

Published by

Last week we checked out up-and-coming comedian, George Dimarelos in his Melbourne Comedy Festival stand up show – Self Sabotage, at the Bull and Bear Tavern. Self Sabotage weaves in and out of various tales and recollections throughout George’s life when, essentially, he stuffed things up for himself.  Though simplistic to describe, the stories are fun, and told in a warm, self-effacing manner through which you can’t help but be drawn in, as the story comes to life in front of you. He sure can paint a picture with his words. George has a super high energy execution, which he maintained for the entire performance, leaving literally no opportunity to tune out, a real sign of an interesting, engaging and entertaining show. Our highlight, was his musical evolution portrayal of picking up girls, from the 1950’s through to a very intense modern day interpretation of chatting up in a nightclub, which is pretty much burned into our memory. My how times have changed. Audience engagement in this show is continuous but not uncomfortable, more like …

MICF Review: Coloured Aliens

Published by

Coloured Aliens is a short insight into the interracial relationship between two main characters, Mai Nguyen a struggling female Vietnamese-Australian playwrite and Kevin, her white, western boyfriend, a security guard who grew up in the rough areas of Melbourne. Each role is ironically played by a western woman (Mai) – Melbourne-based performer Annie Lumsden, and Kevin, by Asia-Australian John Marc Desengano, a quirky twist which works to lighten some of the heavy content of the piece. The chemistry between the two characters was easy, warm and believable. Mai, the main character was narcissistic, self-absorbed, irritating and difficult to like – the kind of character that has a chip on their shoulder, who holds onto the sins of forefathers past and thus cripples themselves with blinkers, unable to embrace the positive around them. This, thankfully was balanced with Kevin’s sweeter, more simplistic nature. Though the intelligent insights, cleverly disguised as witty banter between two lovers were aimed to re-educate western audience members, we felt a little uncomfortable and guilty, for no reason which made the experience …

Kid-free activities for the Easter long weekend

Published by

The Easter weekend isn’t just for kids – adults can binge on chocolate enjoy themselves too. Foot loose and child free? Dig in, with not a rabbit in sight: Adult Easter at Chapel Street Precinct Cocktails, plus Chocolates that match said cocktails. Need we say more? Ten of the Chapel Street precinct’s most famous locations want to treat you with a stunning drink and chocolate treat to match. Check them out here and plan accordingly Catch a game at Etihad Stadium Etihad is merely a hop, skip and a jump from Southern Cross station, and is hosting three fantastic AFL matches this weekend. Catch North Melbourne v Western bulldogs on Friday,  Carlton v Gold Coast Suns on Saturday, or Collingwood vs St Kilda on Sunday. Find out more here  Have a giggle or two  – Melbourne Comedy Festival With the festival in full swing, there are plenty of acts to catch over the long weekend. From Alanta Colley’s Parasite Lost to Ahir Shah’s Appearing In Order, there’s something for everyone’s taste. Find the lineup here Sing your heart out – Rainbow Karaoke Sing …