MICF- Celia Pacquola and Velvet

I've been to a lot of shows over the course of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and the past two evenings have been my final ones for this year. On Monday night I went to see Celia Pacquola in The Looking Glass at the Comedy Theatre. Celia is a veteran of MICF and has branched out into acting with the comedy Utopia and drama The Beautiful Lie on the ABC. However, she joked that if someone as messed up as her can have that kind of success, imagine what a person with their life together could do. Celia's show mainly covered her being a single woman, love for beer, visits to a cat cafe, and a hilarious hate read of a passage from Miranda Kerr's book "Treasure Yourself." The ending was a very funny throwback to a story from the start of the show.

Tonight I headed down to the Malthouse Theatre for the disco cabaret show Velvet. The room was pumping from the start with DJ Joe Accaria playing music to get people in the mood. The show is set in a Studio 54-esque nightclub as a young conservatively dressed man (Brendan Maclean) wanders in and is intrigued by who he encounters. The cast is a hugely talented group that includes an acrobat, aerialist, hula boy, muscle man, two female backup singers and the legendary Marcia Hines.

Each member of the cast had their own moment to shine, with hula boy Craig Reid a real stand out. Marcia Hines nailed her vocals, but my favorite moment was Brendan Maclean's touching stripped back version of "Stayin' Alive" on ukulele. By the end of the show Maclean's character has transformed and is dancing around in a sequin jumpsuit with large feather collar. Velvet is a fantastic and entertaining show that will literally have you grooving even after it is finished - it's the only show I've ever been to where the audience stuck around to dance.

MICF: Celia Pacquola

This evening Belinda joined me at the Swiss Club for Celia Pacquola's Melbourne International Comedy Festival show titled Let Me Know How It All Works Out.  Celia told a well-woven story centering around her love of psychics, even while admitting she would mock anyone else who visits them or wears crystals like she does.  One day at a UK music festival though things changed when Celia received a disturbing palm reading in a tent by "Tony."  The news had her questioning her beliefs, especially after visiting a doctor and being given evidence that refuted what she was told.  She also talked about events in her life, and I could definitely relate to her love of the tv show Hoarders and feeling rage against those with air-conditioning during Melbourne heat waves.  Celia cleverly joined up the bits and pieces of the show at the end and even gave us an epilogue like in the movies.