* Kate McLennan is appearing in The Debutante Diaries at the Q Theatre in Penrith Nov 20-22 (4 shows) - a hit at the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. [more info]

* George Smilovici started a monthly room at the Mosman RS Club last month called The Comedy Womb - it’s on again this Saturday 22nd featuring George and his guest Garry Who. [more info]

* Nick Sun is buzzing with ideas and taking them for a run - a not-just-for-comedians “open no rules peformance anarchy night” called PHUKLUB will run on several nights in December at the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe - Mondays 1st and 8th December, and then a Christmas Spectacular on 21 December. Nick’s also planning an experimental stand-up night on Wednesdays in December with full details yet to be announced.

* John Cleese is doing an Australian tour of his business leadership seminar in mid-December (unaffordable unless your corporation coughs up), so will possibly also pop up on a few telly shows etc. Keep your eyes peeled in Perth, Melbourne, Canberra & Sydney. [more info]

Tags: Garry Who, George Smilovici, John Cleese, Kate McLennan, Mosman SL Club, Nick Sun, PHUKLUB, Q Theatre, roxbury, The Comedy Womb, The Debutante Diaries

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

• 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

Two shows on at the Opera House Playhouse for a limited time only - you could make a really big night of it and see one show straight after the other if you wanted! With only 13 dates over the last week of November and the first week of December, these shows are sure to sell out the best seats fast - we don’t see either of these favourite acts often enough.

THE UMBILICAL BROTHERS - “DON’T EXPLAIN”

• Helpmann Award Winners - Best Comedy Performers 2008
• ARIA Nominee’s 2008 for “Don’t Explain”

The Umbilical Brothers are a global comedy phenomenon, having delighted fans around the world as they twist theatrical rules and everyday situations into comedy triumph. As a result of them winning the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performers 2008 and for their ARIA Nomination for “Best Comedy Release’, they are bringing their classic show “Don’t Explain” back to the Sydney Opera House in November and December 2008 for a very special one off season.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:
VENUE Sydney Opera House - Playhouse
DATES Tuesday 25 November-Saturday 6 December, 2008
TIMES Tuesday 25 - Saturday 29 November 7.30pm, Sunday 30 November 5pm, Monday 1 - Friday 5 December 7.30pm & Saturday 6 December 2pm
TICKETS $39.50-$44.50
BOOKINGS 9250 7777 or [link]

The Umbilical Brothers are touring in London and Spain before the Sydney Opera House season. For details see A-List Entertainment [link].

JIMEOIN ON ICE

Catch Jimeoin in his new show, “Jimeoin On Ice”, a five star hit at the Edinburgh Festival! See Jimeoin gracefully skate through brilliantly funny observations on the absurdities of everyday life. Jimeoin’s strength lies in his detail. His routines are sustained solely by the most subtle of facial expressions, as he explains the fine line between looking cunning or appearing sleazy, and why our hope is stored below and despair hovers above. With previous sell-out seasons in Montreal, Edinburgh and London, you will not want to miss the brilliance of Jimeoin.
PERFORMANCE DETAILS:
VENUE Sydney Opera House – Playhouse
DATES Tuesday 25 November – Saturday 6 December, 2008
TIMES Tuesday 25 - Saturday 29 November 9.30pm, Sunday 30 November 7pm, Tues 2 - Sat 6 December 9.30pm & Sat 6 December 7.30pm
TICKETS $34.50-$44.50
BOOKINGS 9250 777 or [link]

Jimeoin is touring in New Zealand before and after the Sydney Opera House season. Check details at A-List Entertainment [link].

Tags: Don't Explain, Jimeoin, Jimeoin on Ice, London, New Zealand, Opera House, Playhouse, Spain, Umbies, Umbilical Brothers