This post has been updated to add new performance photos

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Shows:
Peter Green Book Launch, Comedy on the Edge @ Hotel William Tues 11th
Jackie Loeb, Mic in Hand @ Friend in Hand Hotel, Thurs 13th
Theatresports Cranston Cup Semi Final #2 @ Belvoir, Sun 16th

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• Comedy on the Edge, upstairs at the Hotel William, is a big (big) comfortable space, filled with rows of sofas and a small stage. The audience for the book launch of Are Youse The Comoydians? were mellow and appreciative, anticipating a more laid-back night than your usual stand-up show, and so it proved. Fast-talking Jonas Holt and veteran Peter Meisel were delightful supports in the first half of the show, and then (proving room manager Mark Williamson’s maxim of “you just never know who may be dropping by the EDGE”) in the second half came the welcome surprise of “toughest woman in comedy” Julia Wilson doing a spot before Greeny came on to discuss his book with fellow cyclist-comedian Dominick O’Kieran (who also MC’ed the evening).
  
  Peter Green

  The Last Legs tour was obviously different: two comedians cycled across Australia and wherever they stopped for the night they put on a comedy show. Their own mishaps and the varied reactions and characters they met along the way make for a string of highly entertaining anecdotes. Chase down Peter Green and buy his book to see for yourself!

  This week on Comedy on the Edge: “The Bad Boys of Comedy are back!! Featuring the Man, the myth the Legend Jeremy ‘Keasty’ Keast, Justin ‘D’ Lodge, all the way from Melbourne the Nelson Twins and your main attraction Barry ‘Hardcore’ Hamilton.”

• A Mic In Hand: this room has built a strong reputation in the nearly six years it’s been open, offering crowd favourites as headliners and featured acts while providing a rising comics showcase as well. They always pull a good crowd, not least because top comedians often drop in unannounced to do a spot.

  On Thursday, veteran Rob McHugh was MC, mixing well-refined material with the topical to good effect. The rising comics showcase offered the varied styles of Thomas Russell, Duncan McConachie, Hugh Cameron, Mikey Mileos and John Cruickshank to a generally strong crowd reception. Some material was slightly uneven but all had great moments. Dave Jory (triple j) dropped by to do a surprise spot, most uncharacteristically not wearing a suit, telling us he was too depressed to bother due to his Movember hairiness and the domestic tyranny of his cat, amongst other things.

  
  Jackie Loeb at A Mic in Hand in 2007 (Liz Christie)

  The featured acts were both musical comedians, but their styles are quite different. Supporting act Shane Matheson flashes an engaging cheesy grin to present as an amiably energetic lunatic with a keyboard and a ukelele, offering songs that are sometimes only one phrase long, and covering a plethora of topics. Transitions are abrupt and the laughs roll on top of one another. He was very well received. Headliner Jackie Loeb’s set, befitting her 14 years or so in comedy, was more structured and polished (especially in her use of audience banter), her absurdities and physical comedy sparkling amongst the trademark song parodies, most especially delighting the crowd by doing their requested Bassey song to end the show. [previous review]

  This week at Mic in Hand: Peter Eigner headlining with David Smiedt as MC, plus rising comics open mic.

• Theatresports Cranston Cup Semi Final #2 was a rip-snorting show last night, ring-mastered by the outstanding Ewan Campbell and Jane Simmons (pictures coming!).
  
  Host Ewan Campbell & Timekeeper Jane Simmons
  (Source: sgr.com.au)

  It started off as a fairly typical show, with the requisite chuckles and occasional guffaw, but by the end of the night the players were on fire, taking enormous risks with the challenges they set themselves and each other with absolutely hilarious results, enhanced by musical accompanist Jason Rushton. Winners on the night were student team Arabian Disko Knights from Blue Mountains Grammar School, a triumph richly deserved and truly memorable: for certainly the first time that either I or Impro Australia’s Geoff Bartlett can recall, the Schools contest winners have made it all the way through the heats to secure a place in the Grand Final: congratulations!

Teams now through to the Grand Final (at Enmore Theatre):
Man/Raven. Dave Bloustein, Marko Mustac and Steve Walsh.
North Sho’ Pimps. J Rex (Jon Williams), Lynch Pin (Steve Lynch) and Tao of Yao (Jeremy Yao).
Super Love Ultimate Team (defending Cranston Cup Champions). Lee Naimo, Jordan Raskopoulos, Steen Raskopoulos and Simon Greiner
Arabian Disko Knights (2008 Schools Contest Champions): Jimmy Tredinnick, Nadia Odlum, Ben Hunter, Lauren Moscovis

Teams in next week’s Repechage Playoff (at Belvoir Street):
Osama Bin Laden Blues Exposion. Rebecca DeUnamuno, Cameron Knight and Dave Williams
Obese People Can Be Healthy:Study. Grant Davies, Scott Hall-Watson, Matt Foster
Pyjama Party. Lisa Ricketts, Amanda Buckley and Susie Youssef
Unicorns Are Racists, Too. Alice Fraser, Tess McLellan, Mitchell Alistair and Carlo Ritchie

The Grand Final is on Saturday Dec 6th at the Enmore Theatre.

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Image Credits for performance photos: all images used with permission. Jackie Loeb at A Mic in Hand courtesy of Liz Christie, Theatresports Semifinals photos courtesy of photographer sgr.com.au and Impro Australia.

Tags: A Mic in Hand, Comedy on the EDGE, Cranston Cup, Dave Jory, Ewan Campbell, Grand Final, Jackie Loeb, Jane Simmons, Jason Rushton, Jonas Holt, Julia Wilson, Peter Green, Peter Meisel, Repechage, Schools Champions, Shane Matheson

The inaugural Brisbane Comedy Festival will take place from 6 - 29 March, 2009. The lineup is being announced in stages - we already know that Danny Bhoy and Tim Minchin will be staging shows, and now it’s announced that Adam Hills and Dave Hughes will also take part.

All shows for Adam Hills and Dave Hughes went on sale for Brisbane Comedy Festival this Monday 10 November, 2008:

Adam Hills - Inflatable
Date : 13 - 15 March 2009
Time: 7:30pm

Dave Hughes is Handy
Date : 6-7 March 2009
Time : 7pm and 9pm

Venue: Powerhouse Theatre
Bookings: 07 3358 8600 or brisbanepowerhouse.org

Brisbane Comedy Festival is presented by Brisbane Powerhouse and brisbanetimes.com.au. I’d suggest booking fast - these shows will be very popular.

Tags: Adam Hills, Brisbane Comedy Festival, Danny Bhoy, Dave Hughes, Tim Minchin

Whether you win or lose a bundle on the gee-gees, kicking on at a comedy show after the race is a fine way to finish off the day.

Your comedy options are listed by State:

SYDNEY

Comedy @ Marble Bar: catch The Axis of Awesome supported by Ray Badran, Jay Sullivan and MC’ed by David Smiedt at the iconic Marble Bar under the Hilton Hotel in George Street, Sydney. Includes “so you think you’re funny?” spot for the audience and a prize for the best hat! Doors 5:30pm, show 7pm $15 [more details]

Full Body Contact No Love Tennis Horse Race: a night of impro mayhem with pairs of veteran improvisors competing for the night’s prize at the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe. 8pm. Book through moshtix [facebook]

Comedy On The Edge@ Hotel William: Makybe Diva as MC! 8pm, Exit by donation [myspace]

Comedy @ The Harold: Harold Park Hotel: Featuring Brett Nichols 7pm, [more details]

Ridiculismus @ Belvoir: UK comedy duo play all the parts in The Importance of Being Earnest. Multi-award winning show. 6:30pm on Tuesday nights. $52/$45/$33 [more details]

MELBOURNE
Being a public holiday, there’s a Monday night gig kicking on late because everybody can sleep in the next day!
Local Laughs @ The Local, St Kilda: Why not wear a hat? MC is Lawrence Mooney
PLUS: David Quirk, Damian Lawlor, Ryan Coffey, Dan Walmsley, Adam Knox, Richard McKenzie, and more. $12/10 [myspace]

Tuesday night:
Laughing Lion @ Toorak Lion: Chris Franklin, CJ Fortuna, Eliza Rounds, Cameron Marshall, Steele Saunders & Luke Ryan. Doors 8pm, show 8:30 $12/10 Ph: (03) 9827 8244 [myspace]

Mock The Vote @ The Bella Union Bar (Trades Hall): A night of fresh political satire, witty barbs and last chance deals on George Bush material. Hosted by Courteney Hocking and featuring Rod Quantock, Mat Keneally, Dan Burt, Kate McClennan and Nick Caddaye. There’s a panel of political pundits, and quite possibly no horses will be mentioned at all. $18/$15 [more details]

ADELAIDE
PJ O’Briens: Featuring Ben Darsow, MC Phil Cowie. 8pm, $10 Entry $8 Conc. [more details]

PERTH
Wild West Comedy Fest @ Subiaco: spoiled for choice! Featuring performances by Rachel Berger, The Scared Weird Little Guys, Ben Russell, Jeff Hewitt and many more!!! [more details]

Addit: Shapiro Tuesdays @ Lazy Susan’s (upstairs at The Brisbane): MC Ben Wright, Jordan Newnham, James Palm, Josh Makinda, Cameron Davis, John Conway, Laura Davis, Paris, Tess and Sam (class clowns WA winners), Ben Russell, Zack Adams & The Sexy Ghosts [more details on facebook]

Please leave details of any comedy shows not listed in the comments below.

Tags: Axis of Awesome, Bella Union, Belvoir, Ben Darsow, Ben Wright, Brett Nichols, Chris Franklin, CJ Fortuna, Damian Lawlor, David Quirk, Full Body Contact, Harold Park, Laughing Lion, Lazy Susan's, melbourne cup, Mock the Vote, Phil Cowie, PJ Obrien's, Ridiculismus, Rod Quantock, Ryan Coffey, Shapiro Tuesdays, Wild West Comedy Fest

• Comedy on the Rox’s $5,000 Quest for the Best is in the last few weeks of preliminary finals on Wednesday nights, with the Grand Final taking place in a larger venue this year to avoid disappointment (last year many were turned away). All tickets for Comedy on the Rox events can be purchased through moshtix.
• Here in Sydney the Comedy Court has just finished one $1,500 contest and has gone straight into another: it’s Heat 2 and every week 20 comedians will compete for a shot in this series’ final on December 24th. There’s also a competition for audience members - “In the Witness Box” - where they can strut their comedy stuff and have a chance to win prizes too. They’ve also got a huge New Year’s Eve showcase planned.[bookings]


• The $2,500 Green Faces contest has finished, with the 2008 Winners as follows:
  Winner - Jay Sullivan, Canberra
  2nd Place - Brian Chandler, Sydney
  3rd Place - John Robertson, Perth
  Congratulations to all!


• And of course, it’s very nearly the time for rising comics to register for next year’s Raw Comedy competition. (Check out the Raw Judges’ Dos and Don’ts while you’re there.

What contests are happening elsewhere?

Tags: Comedy Court, competition, finals, Grand Final, Green Faces, Quest For The Best, Raw Comedy, registration, Roxbury Hotel, Star Bar

It’s a big line-up for the festival this year: 26 days of stellar Australian comedy acts, starting from October 28th.

Big Purple Undies
Fiona O’Loughlin
Rachel Berger
Tom Gleeson
Bob Franklin
Scared Weird Little Guys
Over The Fence
Comedy Film Festival
Tym Jeffery
Dolores Lorette
Tom Middlebrook
Ben Russell
Zack Adams
Kieran Butler
Jeff Hewitt
Luke & Drew
John Robertson
Comedy Killed the Radio Star
Matt Dyktynski
Llama Bar Festival HQ
Heath Franklin’s CHOPPER
Flying Heart - Broom! Broom!
George Smilovici

More info at the official festival website.

Tags: Ben Russell, Big Purple Undies, Bob Franklin, Dolores Lorette, Fiona O'Loughlin, George Smilovici, Heath Franklin, Jeff Hewitt, John Robertson, Kieran Butler, Luke & Drew, Matt Dyktynski, Rachel Berger, Scared Weird Little Guys, Subiaco, Tom Gleeson, Tom Middlebrook, Tym Jeffery, Wild West Comedy, Zack Adams

UPDATE (1st Nov): SEASON EXTENDED - TWO MORE SHOWS
Fri 7th & Sat 8th November [more information]

15 Oct - 1 Nov (Tues-Sat) 8pm
The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Rd, Marrickville
(just down the hill from the Enmore Theatre) [map]
TICKETS: $28 full, $24 conc, $22 groups 10+ & IA members
Bookings 9550 3666 or Ticketek
Warning: May contain coarse language and adult themes.

PULP is a night of improvised theatre based on those gloriously kitsch paperback serials of the mid 20th century - hardboiled gumshoes, menaces from space, jungle adventures and shadowy scandals amongst cut-glass English vowels, every one of them chock full of politically incorrect views on gender, race and class relations. A veritable treasure trove of dodginess for the performers to explore while making as many puns as possible along the way, never forgetting to incorporate audience suggestions of various bizarre non sequiturs such as a hedgehog in a handbag, a highly significant tea-towel, or a bunny-eating pope.

But it’s not just your ordinary improvised theatre - this is New Wave Impro. The innovation is to incorporate multimedia expositions of pulp genres as well as sound effects that pick up on the spine of the show: scripted vignettes at various intervals that lead into the next invitation for audience suggestions. Detailed flourishes in the costume and staging elements give impact to the proceedings, especially the film noir lighting. Director Marko Mustac and producer John Knowles have created a very slick looking show that tickles every sensory apparatus.

The performers are veterans of Sydney’s Theatresports(R) scene, all thoroughly enjoying themselves in this New Wave format. The cast rotates, with twelve members of the ensemble but only six on stage any particular night, and all players taking on different characters on different nights. This extra challenge will, no doubt, keep the improvised elements fresh for each performance.

On Friday night the players on stage were Rebecca de Unamuno, Nigel Sutton, Josie O’Reilly, David Callan, John Knowles and Jon Williams. The long familiarity these players have with each other shone through the scenes, and for those who know their impro onions there were many moments of great technical proficiency to admire in how the improvisations unfolded, while for those more innocent of such things there were a hell of a lot of laughs. Particular mention has to go to Sutton for creative use of the worst Kiwi accent ever, O’Reilly’s femme fatale, Callan and Williams being painfully French, de Unamuno’s array of ingenues and Knowles’ evil alien and swishy billionaire.

PULP finishes its current season this Saturday. Don’t miss out.

Tags: David Callan, John Knowles, Jon Williams, Josie O'Reilly, Marko Mustac, Nigel Sutton, Rebecca de Unamuno