All posts tagged: festivals

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 …

MICF Review: Just Like Buddah

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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?

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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 …

Moomba Festival – 2017

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Every March Labour Day long weekend Melbourne comes alive for four colorful days with over a million visitors celebrating all the fun of Moomba Festival. What is Moomba… it’s basically a celebration of everything Melbourne, of diversity, the arts, sports and music kicked off on the Friday and wrapped up on the Monday holiday with a super-cool parade and fireworks. Intense, serious, fun. You can watch world-class watersport competitions along the Yarra, groove to a silent disco, send the kids along to karaoke or a cooking class, head along to an Afro-Brazilian music workshop or take in a local band in the Main Arena… the options are pretty much endless. And the bonus… all the events are free. There are some must-see events which are synonymous with Moomba like: Birdman Rally (Sunday, 12 noon) Basically a bunch of people create fun, bird, plane or otherwise winged costumes and jump off a pier into the Yarra, to raise money for a good cause. Moomba Parade (Monday, 10.30am) Meandering down St Kilda Road, this parade is a celebration of …

Royal Croquet Club

Royal Croquet Club Returns for Summer

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Melbourne’s favourite garden party returns to Birrarung Marr this December. Since it’s debut three years ago, the Royal Croquet Club has been summer favourite and has gone from strength to strength. This year there’ll be more of a focus on music with a killer lineup of musical acts including Dope Lemon (Angus Stone), Jarryd James, Hayden James, Aston Shuffle, KLP and Touch Sensitive. As usual, there’ll be plenty of croquet to be played, Pimm’s cups to be drunk and entertainment to keep you there well into the late hours of the evening. Adding to the festival fun, The Parlour a 70-seat pop-up theatre, will be set up to show acts from the Adelaide Fringe Festival, along with roving entertainment and street theatre. To keep you from going hungry, some of Melbourne’s most loved restaurants will be there including burgers from 8bit, barbequed skewers from Hoy Pinoy, smoked meats and sandwiches from Up In Smoke, and everyone’s favourite Gelato Messina will be returning  with their infamous soup tins filled with gelato. When: 8 December – 23 December Where: Birrarung Marr, …

Binge on Musical Theatre

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Inspired by the event of the same name in New York, and launched for the first time in November by founder and Artistic Director Trevor Alexander and the fabulous Dolly Diamond – the first ever Melbourne Musical Theatre Festival will be kicking off in Melbourne this January with a line up set to make everyone fall in love with musical theatre all over again. Priced for a serious musical theatre binge with tickets ranging from only $25-$69 this event, celebrating local performers, writers and producers will feature a classic line-up of well-loved family musical favourites, timeless adult productions and new Australian shows and will run from January 6th through to the 28th making it a fantastic (and super affordable) school holiday activity. Based out of the historic, iconic Athenaeum Theatre in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, the festival’s ethos is all about reigniting a passion for the genre in the youth market, but the ranges of shows are not all targeted at the young (and young at heart). Kicking off the festivities, and running for …

Melbourne Festival

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Melbourne Festival is an innovative festival highlighting the rich culture of the arts that exist within the Melbourne lifestyle. Watch various performances of dance, theatre, circus, music, visual arts, multimedia,  as well as free outdoor events will be held across several venues across the city. First established in 1986, the festival was created to carry the transformational nature that exists within arts and culture and the positive change it has on individuals.   Highlights this year include David Bowie: Nothing has changed | October 15 – 17 Paying tribute to the starman, musical artists will perform his music in their own unique styles, accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. M Pavillion | October 5 – February 18 Commissioning a world-leading architect to design a temporary garden pavilion for Melbourne, this year’s space is designed by influential Indian architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai. Watch a free program of talks, performances, debates in this unique experimental space. Program released September. Triptyque | October 6 – 9 Canada’s Les 7 Doigts (The 7 Fingers) straddle the gap between circus and dance …

Paris to Provence Festival

Paris to Provence

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Immerse yourself in a vibrant and lively French village atmosphere at the Paris to Provence Festival. Now in it’s 8th massive year, the festival returns once again to the beautiful gardens of the National Trust’s iconic Como House and Garden in South Yarra. Soak up the culture, French food and champagne, festivities and activities that are sure to rival any bustling French village. From the moment you pass the historic wrought iron gates of National Trust property, Como House and Garden, you will feel transported to your favourite French memory as the delicious aroma of French culinary delights float past, and the sights and sounds immerse you in the lively buzz of the popup French village. Browse through 75 French exhibitors, selling everything from homewares, wines and fashion or pick through the stalls selling delicious French food. After you’ve full to the brim of scrumptious French food, sit down to a masterclass from fourth generation boulanger (baker) Gontran Cherrier. Finally for all the bachelors and bachelerottes there’ll be a Singles French speed dating soiree where you can meet the dreamy love of your …