MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL GUIDE
2015
ANTHONY JEANNOT
ARI SHAFFIR
UNACCEPT-A-BUBBLE
DO MUSHROOMS
Unaccept-a-bubble is the debut show from one of Australia’s freshest voices, Anthony Jeannot. Fresh off performing to sell-out crowds at the Melbourne Fringe Festival, Anthony delivers a show that’s extremely personal, still being deeply relatable. Covering love, the search for work and mortality, Unaccept-a-bubble is the story of finding your feet, only to look down and realise you’re stepping in a bit of poo. A commanding storyteller, Anthony combines subtle emotion with obvious dick jokes, in a show that’s sure leave the audience “smiling and surrounded by bubbles.”
Ari Shaffir describes his comedy as a puppet show, but way filthier and without the puppets. In addition to his increasingly popular podcast The Skeptic Tank and as a regular on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, Ari is probably most well-known for a series of comedy works entitled The Amazing Racist. Ari requests that you please don’t come to the show if you’re easily offended, or if you don’t like a Jew telling awful stories about sexual misconduct. Everyone else, please come.
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V ENUE: The Downstairs Lounge at The Grand Mercure Hotel, 195 Swanston St, CBD DATES: March 26 – April 5 (except Monday) T IME: 7.30pm T ICKETS: $5 - $15
V E N U E : Comic’s Lounge 26 Errol St, North Melbourne DAT E S : April 16 - 18 T I M E : 10.30pm T I C K E T S : $30
GREG BEHRENDT
ALEX WILLIAMSON
I AM THE KING SWEATER
THAT GUY FROM THE INTERNET
After years on the US comedy circuit, California native Greg Behrendt was flung to meteoric stardom with his role as consultant on Sex in the City. He followed that by co-writing He’s Just Not That Into You. One New York Times Bestseller list and subsequent film adaptation later, it’s all gone away and Greg is older, wiser and sporting great knitwear. I Am The King Sweater is a stand-up odyssey with guitars, by the Patron Saint of comedy comebacks, featuring the (mostly) true story about Greg’s failed rockabilly career, dead kangaroos, cosmetics and the Japanese emperor. Think 1968 Elvis without the fame, looks or songs, but a lot more jokes.
YouTube superstar back by popular demand after a crackin’ run in 2014. That Guy from the Internet; that’s what Alex is, but he’s also sold out Edinburgh, Adelaide, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney since he was last in Melbourne. Get set for the brand new show from the guy from the Internet, and get in quick. With over 50 million views and some 485,000 people who have signed up as subscribers to his YouTube channels, as well as over a million ‘likes’ on Facebook, 80,000 Twitter and 430,000 Instagram followers – he’s running hot and the public love his work.
JAQCUES BARRETT
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VEN U E : Greek Centre - The Parthenon, 168 Lonsdale St, CBD DAT E S : March 26 – April 19 (except Mondays) TIM E S : 7pm (Sundays 6pm) TIC K E T S : $28 - $34
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V E N U E : Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St, CBD DAT E S : March 27 & 28 T I M E S : 9.15pm (extra show Saturday 10.30pm) T I C K E T S : $35
BRYONY KIMMINGS & TIM GRAYBURN
THE CONFIDENT PROFILER
FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT After ten years of bartending and 12 years of stand-up, Jacques has weaponised his ability to sum people up on sight. His policy? Always judge a book by its cover; that’s the whole point of a cover. We all have decent intuition when we meet new people, but Jacques wants to go deeper. Teaching you how to interpret body language, body art and body odour. Sharpen your ability to identify potentially dangerous stalkers, strangers and people from Queensland. Soften the edges of your online profiles so prospective employers and life-partners don’t notice your faults until it’s too late. In just 60 minutes, Jacques will show you how to transcend the stigma of being “judgmental” and become a Confident Profiler.
JOEL OZBORN
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VEN U E : The Downstairs Lounge at The Grand Mercure Hotel, 195 Swanston St, CBD DAT E S : March 26 - April 19 (except Mondays) TIM E : 7.45pm TIC K E T S : $15 - $25
Fake It ‘Til You Make It is a new theatrical collaboration from Bryony Kimmings and her partner, Tim Grayburn, about clinical depression, love and ‘being a man’. Meet Bryony and Tim. Bryony is an outrageous, hilarious and fearless performance artist based in London. Tim is an outrageous, hilarious and fearless account manager at a top advertising agency. Bryony and Tim are a couple. Bryony spends most of her life on tour, trying her best to change the world. Tim spends most of his life at a desk trying his best to sell the world. Six months into their relationship, Bryony finds out that Tim suffers from depression. This collaboration between Bryony and Tim seeks to blast the taboo of mental health out of the water – with homemade music, stupid dancing, on stage arguments, real
DAVE EASTGATE
BE HERE NOW
I WISH I HAD A BAND
Award-winning comedian Joel Ozborn has toured the globe and shared the stage with the biggest names in comedy. In Be Here Now, he explores the notion of living in the moment and covers religion, big corporations and personal heroes. He also recalls how, at the age of six, he realised he would never be as good as Mozart.
Australia’s hottest new musical comedy genius, Dave Eastgate, is ready to strap on the leather, crank up the metal and metaphorically smash your face like a plastic schooner cup with his signature blend of stand-up comedy and balls out rockin’ thunder! After jetsetting overseas and performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, our favourite guitar hero, Dave Eastgate, hits Melbourne with his solo show I Wish I Had A Band. Dave blends rock, rap, emo, country, lounge and a little bit of soul as he takes you on this hilarious, high energy musical safari. Welcome to the jungle, baby!
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VENUES: Forum Theatre - Ladies’ Lounge, Carpet Room & Pizza Room, Cnr Flinders & Russell St, CBD DATES: March 26 - April 19 (except Mondays) TIMES: 7.15pm (Sundays 6.15pm) TICKETS: $19 - $25
life stories, tears and truths. A wickedly heartwarming and funny celebration of the wonders and pitfalls of the human brain, Fake It ‘Til You Make It sees Bryony and Tim seek to unpick what it takes to be a ‘real man’ in a society, in which one in eight men will have depression and one in five men will experience anxiety at some stage of their lives.
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V E N U E : Trades Hall - Old Council Chambers, Cnr Lygon & Victoria St, Carlton DAT E S : April 7 - 12, 17 - 19 T I M E S : 7pm (Sundays 6pm) T I C K E T S : $19 - $25
JAMES SMITH
JOSIE LONG CARA JOSEPHINE The three-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and cult optimist is back with her most personal show to date. It’s about love and being outdoorsy as a bear. As she returns to Melbourne with a new niece in the picture, Josie reflects on her own childhood and the resilience of an older sister. She’d never really truly known heartbreak until now, and she’s using this experience to change her ways; to be more patient, to work out what she really wants and to become a better person. This is truly her most heartfelt, honest and revealing material, but don’t fret – politics will still get a mention. A beautifully crafted hour focusing on love, family and heartbreak, Josie explores why she’s discovered a passion for the outdoors, her inability to be alone as well as explaining her penchant for recreating ‘40s American film noir and letting us in on a game she plays at classical concerts.
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Fans of pure stand-up should not miss Australian-born New Yorkbased James Smith. Since debuting at the Just For Laughs festival, James has appeared on Comedy Central, ABC, TBS and Flight of the Conchords, featured in Time Magazine and recently gave a TED talk. He’ll appear on Conan on his return to the US and performs nightly at the world famous Comedy Cellar in New York.
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VEN U E : Melbourne Town Hall - Supper Room, Cnr Swanston & Collins St, CBD DAT E S : April 6 - 19 (except April 8 and 13) TIM E S : April 6 - 12: 9.45pm (Monday 7pm, Sunday 8.45pm), April 14 - 19: 8.15pm (Sunday 7.15pm) TIC K E T S : $26.50 – $34
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V E N U E : Melbourne Town Hall - Powder Room, Cnr Swanston & Collins St, CBD DAT E S : March 30, April 6 & 13 T I M E : 8.30pm T I C K E T S : $25
BEAT’S 2015 MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL GUIDE BROUGHT TO YOU BY GRAVITY ESPRESSO
V E N U E : Theatre Works, 14 Acland St, St Kilda DAT E S : March 25 – April 5 (except Monday) T I M E S : 7.30pm (Sundays 5pm) T I C K E T S : $25 - $35