When f*gs say ‘protect queer art,’ this show better be what they’re talking about
Finn McGrath, Johanna Cosgrove, Beat Boyz, Chelsea Heaney, Guneet Kaur, Lucas Meintjes, Conk, Handful of Bugs, and Hannah Camilleri at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Oh this newsletter is a big one! Nine comedy festival reviews plus an offer for free tickets at the very end.
Would’ve gotten this one out a lot sooner but the festival really got away from me—and then my email newsletter app decided to delete a couple of reviews before I could send them. :)))) Anywho, here we go: a selection of reviews from the past week.
Georgie & I caught Performative Comedian last Saturday on the penultimate night of the season. It's an hour of sketch and standup from Finn McGrath in which he takes on the persona of a not-yet-woke-enough performative male. I was tickled by the mix of jokes and stories which included extended riffs on a nightmare of working three shifts on Boxing Day, and a deep dive into the kidnapping of the 11th Panchen Lama by the Chinese Communist Party. These jokes tiptoe around the line of cancellation, but satisfyingly fall on the right side.
Finn's acting chops are well-used too and his beige office-core persona makes for an amiable host for the evening. The show's fun if a little winding, sometimes feeling like the throughline was a little unclear. I think this drew down the inertia of the show, leaving it feeling more like a night of sketches rather than one fully formed dramatic conceit. But structure aside, the show’s made up of little nuggets of comedy gold made with lots of heart.
Immediately after watching Johanna Cosgrove’s Sweetie I bulk sent a link to a heap of queers in my phone because like, you just have to see this.
Johanna tells us the story of their first girlfriend, meeting their parents, and travelling across the world for love. She has this f*cking insanely cheeky attitude to the audience which felt like a raucous and unhinged primary school drama teacher telling us about what she's been getting up to. Heartfelt and hilarious—one of my standup standouts of the festival by far.
Watching the Beat Boyz’ Best Houseparty Ever was maybe the most I felt like a show had transported me to another world—namely a killer house party hosted by two eshays, performed by drag kings Roxie Halley and Michele Owen.
The party of theirs lives inhabits the long shadow set by Corey Worthington, and the pair outwardly declare that their goal for the night is to get so wild that the cops turn up—cus that's really the determiner of any good houseparty.
The pair keep the action f*cking lively with unhinged audience participation (there's a goon sack, and I didn't think anyone would go for it but somehow THREE audience members got up and got SOAKED which was shocking to witness).
There’s this really satisfying plot where the boys manage to deepen their friendship and kind of pull off the party they always wanted, replete with f*ck competitions, rap sessions, group dance parties, and finally an appearance from the cops. Absolutely worth a visit if this show returns—Roxie and Michele are masterful party hosts at blending the heartfelt with humour.
Chelsea Heaney’s last comedy hour, Big Pants, was one of my absolute favourites—a seam-splitting hour about losing her luggage on a holiday as a fat person. Expertly delivered, that show wound up in a beautiful narrative of coming to love yourself (yes, it's a trope, but Chelsea f*cking ate it up).
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I was real keen for Chelsea's follow up, I’m Funny I Swear, which while just as fun, doesn't rise to quite as high an emotive punch as Big Pants did. This hour is structured around a series of reasons that Chelsea (accurately) thinks she's funny, which run the gamut from dating mishaps, and musical theatre obsessions, to mental health struggles.
The hour's an adroit showcase of Chelsea's range, as she does a bit of clown, bit of standup, storytelling, and singing. It's engaging and moves with the satisfying pace and charisma that I expected from Chelsea, and is well constructed too; the ending you absolutely won't see coming (but is so f*cking weird and delightful). Worth a visit to The Motley Wherehaus for this one.
Guneet Kaur’s Sharp is an hour which riffs on a series of reviews Guneet received which all called her 'sharp,' an adjective which perturbed her. From there, the show explores the dissonance between how we're perceived and what we think of ourselves as. Entirely deadbeat and almost too cool, Guneet's stage presence is unlike a lot of other comics who lean on emotive storytelling—it's a refreshing change of pace which I'd almost describe as autistic, but Guneet makes it clear that her bluntness isn't autism... just exactly what she wants to say.
It’s an interesting set which has a lot to say about what it means to sit outside of easily identifiable categories. At the end Guneet reads from Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride:
Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it.
It’s an academic conclusion to the show which came pretty abruptly. Not unsatisfying, but it does land pretty sharply. I’m curious to see what Guneet does next, as this set’s meta-reflections and lofty ideas signal a comedian to pay attention to.
In the outro of Alien Superstar (which is the best track on Renaissance imho), Beyoncé samples the founder of the National Black Theatre, Barbara Ann Teer, reflecting on the need for a theatre for and by Black folks:
We dress a certain way. We walk a certain way. We talk a certain way. We, we paint a certain way. We, we make love a certain way, you know? All of these things we do in a different, unique, specific way that is personally ours.
Teer’s words underscore the importance of coming to accept, love, and celebrate the identities we habit. And somehow, Lukas Meintjes’ B48Y Crash Lands on Earth! (a solo clown show following a bright yellow alien who’s just crash landed on a gay bar) managed to make me viscerally feel the devastation that comes from ignoring Teer (and Beyoncé)’s call.
Lukas’ alien is a jaundiced and Seussian fellow who’s discovered a poster of RuPaul in the wreckage—and it falls to us to help B48Y learn how to become a drag superstar (while lip syncing to Alien Superstar, of course). That means teaching them basic phrases, how to walk, strut, and woo, and helping them find all the clothes they need to serve charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. This is truly a ridiculous pitch for a show but it miraculously works. Lukas is so playful with the audience and repartees with a devilishness befitting of outer space.
Towards the end I was happy with the show; I’d had a great time, some belly-shaking laughter, and gotten to see my friends help an alien dress themselves. And then the f*cker that is Lukas Meintjes leads the story into the most obvious yet devastating ending. This clown manages to wrap a story about how to find and build language to communicate with people we love into the campiest spoof of ET you’ve ever seen. Plus, somehow manages to comment on what it feels like for queers to return to queerphobic families? I’m SORRY????
When f*ggots say ‘protect queer art,’ B48Y better be what they’re talking about. Go see this, go, go, go!
Also let’s shout out the brilliant work of technical operators at the festival! Caitlin Duff (of Freidah fame) is operating the show, and there was a BEAUTIFUL moment where a tech mishap became on ongoing bit in the show. It came about so organically and made the show so much funnier for it, with the two of them pushing the gag further each time it reappeared.
Conk's Man Sings The Same Song Over And Over Again For An Hour was exactly what it sounds like. Even though I've heard so many people tell me that's exactly what it is since hearing about it at Fringe last year, I still suspected there was some world shattering twist to it—that the man stopped singing and somehow convinced hundreds of audiences to keep quiet. But no, Conk really does do it for 60 minutes—and it is ridiculous and unravelling and engrossing for the entire hour. This is the perfect late night show to arrive at after a couple of vinos.
This bit's a little spoilery, but basically each repetition of the song gets f*cked with in little ways and I was super satisfied by how those changes were structured? There is a really satisfying affective journey through this work which is considered and really effective—and wow—WHAT an ENDING! A hoot.
Right after I saw Conk with dear friend (and emerging comic) Seboosay, we wandered up Collins St to Proudly’s Club Club—pitched as an artist-led revolt against the festival's own nightly club.
We were there to A) see some friends and B) see Ben Night—a line up of comics named Ben (plus an appearance from Ben 10 and Big Ben). I wouldn’t say that my specific interests in comedy are covered by folks named Ben (post-dramatic leftist clowns tend to take other names) BUT it was lovely nonetheless. I adore these comedians and their response to a festival which far too often favours big international acts over the indie weirdos who make Narrm one of the world's best cities for comedy.
Go see a night, and go subscribe to Proudly's newsletter to stay up to date on what weird sh*t these divas get up to next.
Handful of Bugs’ Hello Mr Radio! was a treasure of a show, a live radio show which examines the outsized benefit that participating in community offers our lives.
Handful of Bugs are quickly becoming some of my favourite comedic theatre makers. Their shows take outlandish concepts to the limit, but keep them grounded with incredibly compelling characters and a sense of theatricality that's up there with the best of the indie theatre scene. HMR continues that legacy with Alex Donnelly playing a radio host who gives off the vibes of Julio Torres but like if Julio was your uncle who overcommits to making corny jokes.
It's 3AM, and we're listening to a radio station which seems to be predominantly for cross country truckers, when HMR's first bit of audience participation gold begins; we’re asked to phone in to the station to tell them what we're hauling. It's a low stakes and warm intro to the show which is full of games with callers, surreal musical interlude and guests, and some of the most beautiful world building I've seen in a show this festival.
I'm not much of a radio-listener myself but that didn't stop me from loving it. I really enjoyed how the show seemed to wax romantic about analogue media. It kind of reminded me of Liam Sparrow Gange’s 2024 MICF show: Little Video Shop of Horrors which was a desperate treatise on the importance of media preservation. There's a compelling case to be made that the transition to digital media lost a lot of the texture and friction that made life more satisfying, and the limits of the technology of the time ultimately made for stronger, more resilient communities. If there's only a limited amount of radio channels, people are going to come together in ways that FYPs and algorithmic bubbles don’t encourage.
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Circling back to the world building and the design in this show: HELLO!!!! The opening sequence is pure magic and it felt like I was watching a kids animated TV show from the 90s, but like... entirely live? The blend of puppetry and costume design is frankly unmissable, especially one whole scene dedicated to a choreographed cigarette dance.
Highly recommended, you'll have a swell time. My only wish was that this show was a bit later than 6:10pm—a show like this deserves a late night slot and a late night audience. So it's up to you then reader, to go, and bring your most rambunctious self, you'll love it.
I have loved Hannah Camilleri for her virtuosic character comedy for years. Her performances exhibit a level of control and precision that makes for an un-look-away-able show. But despite being unable to take my eyes off of her in her latest show, Dinner Hannah Show, it didn’t click for me.
The show follows two accomplished stars of the stage who fall for each other, both classic Camilleri characters with a subtlety which makes us feel like we know them from the get-go. But I struggled with the frequent costume changes and ambling narrative which left me feeling like the show didn’t go anywhere. The audience participation too felt like a hurdle to the narrative, a contrast to past years where I’ve seen Hannah pull utter magic from the quietest of audiences.
There’s no question that Hannah is one of our city’s brightest performers, but it takes more than technically excellent characterisation to make a memorable comedy fest show.
P.S. Guy Webster wrote a two star review in The Age which I think you’ll enjoy reading.
My review of Josh Thomas‘s show at the festival garnered over 80,000 views on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok which is f*cking crazy and I’m still not sure what to make of it. I kind of posted it to test a hypothesis of mine that negative criticism is an opioid for the algorithm, which is why I tend to avoid posting negative criticism on social media.
I’m not sure what the takeaway is here just yet but I’m thinking about the responsibility I have to artists and audiences, especially now that my profile seems to be growing (what the heck this email is going to 200 of you!!!). It is kind of scary to recognise that my reflections on work (and the sector) are noticed by many, but also pretty cool.
If you have any readings/posts/videos from people grappling with how to wield their platform for good (and what that looks like on social media) I would love to hear about it. Love you all x
In other news, maybe all 200 of you can help a mate out! Maybelline, a lovely friend of mine from Sydney, is bringing her award-winning comedy cabaret about breaking up and hooking up to the festival.
Ticket sales have been thus far pretty slow (we probably should have a discussion around why it’s so hard for interstate indie artists to succeed at this festival), so she’s generously offered complimentary tickets to the show to all subscribers of Gag City.
If you can make it I highly recommend you go along. Not to dox myself, but I’m watching at 2pm today—if you wanted to join me. :)
Maybelline is in her Slut Era — April 9 to 19
The Improv Conspiracy • 9:30pm (Thu/Fri/Sat) and 8:30pm (Sun)
Storyville • 2:00pm (Sat/Sun)
That’s all from this edition of Gag City. Hope you’re having an EXCELLENT festival and I can’t wait to chat to you soon. Go see some comedy!
