MICF- Zoe Coombs Marr, Tom Ballard and Nath Valvo

The challenge for the acts at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival seemed to be how to address the coronavirus pandemic in their comedy shows (if at all). Over the past couple weeks Belinda and I have been to see a few of the Melbourne-based comedians at the festival. On 31 March we were at the Melbourne Town Hall for two shows. We started the evening in the Powder Room for Zoe Coombs Marr and her show Agony! Misery! She began by reminding the audience what comedy is and how to laugh through the use of some Wiki How illustrations, and then reflected on her past and key moments from her childhood. Told using slide show pictures and dramatic readings from her diary, we learned a few things about young Zoe, including how through a series of unfortunate events she managed to land the flute solo at band camp when she was 13 years old. It was a silly and fun show which had a fantastic musical ending.

Next we headed upstairs to the Supper Room see Tom Ballard in We Are All In This. Needless to say, if you are a conservative, this is not the show for you. Using PowerPoint slides and some film clips, Tom went through a bit of a 2020 Year in Review covering such cheery topics as the coronavirus pandemic, Liberal Party voters, structural racism and inequality, and climate change. Throughout the show he explored the history of these topics, how we got to where we are now, and expressed the rage we are all feeling living in the world at present with a blistering delivery of biting political humor. No one was spared from Tom's wrath and the audience was laughing and cheering him on all the way through. The show was my highlight of MICF and I definitely recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

Our last show of MICF was tonight at Max Watt's where we saw Nath Valvo in Chatty Cathy. This was the first time I have seen Nath live, and he was full of energy as he wandered around the stage and told stories about his life and how things have changed now that he's in his late thirties. He had observations on how his friends have changed from their partying youth now that they've become parents, his dislike of Airbnbs, fans of true crime stories, and a funny recurring bit where he told mini horror stories he wrote in lockdown under dramatic lighting at the front of the stage. It was a fun and entertaining show.

MICF- Hannah Gadsby: Douglas

It's been two years since I last saw Hannah Gadsby at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where she debut a little show called Nanette. I knew while watching it that it would transform the structure of comedy, and it not only did that but also made Hannah an international star. Tonight Ebony, Sally and I got to see Hannah's new show, Douglas, at the much bigger venue of the Arts Centre Playhouse compared to her previous shows at the Melbourne Town Hall.

Opening up the evening was the hilarious Zoe Coombs Marr, who did a few bits from her show Bossy Bottom, which is being reprised this year for a short run at MICF. If you haven't seen it check it out as it was my favorite of last year's festival.

Hannah has named her latest show after her dog, Douglas, but like Nanette, the title doesn't really hint at the content of the show. Hannah started off by talking about how her life has changed since moving to Los Angeles and having access to some of the trappings of Hollywood. She joked about various words and references she will have to change in her set so they make sense to an American audience, and also referred to America as the straight white male of cultures, which is sadly true. Both Ebony and Sally told me after the show they felt slightly uncomfortable for me, but I'm well used to the American bashing by now.

The main theme of the show though is power - who has it and its impact on others. Hannah talked about how men are the ones that have named everything, and how it was mainly men who complained that Nanette was not comedy, but a lecture. She turned than on its head by actually doing an arts lecture, which is something that has featured in her work over the years. Hannah also spoke for the first time about her autism diagnosis, and how she has to navigate in a world that is ableist and doesn't recognise neurodiversity and the impact of that on her life. It was always going to be difficult to follow up Nanette, but while Douglas has a bit more laughs, it still holds those in power to account.

MICF- Louise Beuvink, Zoe Coombs Marr and Danielle Walker

Tonight was a big night of comedy shows for me at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as I went to three different performances. I began the evening with New Zealand comedian Louise Beuvink's show Ladylike: A Modern Guide to Etiquette at the Butterfly Club. Dressed like a 1950s housewife, Louise took the mainly female audience through her modern takes on being a lady, including lessons on how to dress and put on makeup, cheap ways to entertain through homemade food and drinks, and a quick lesson on cricket to be able to talk to guys. Her funniest bit was a twist on women acting like some men do when being turned down by the opposite sex. The show was a blend of stand-up and cabaret (Louise has a really great singing voice).

Next I headed to the Melbourne Town Hall for Australian comedian Zoe Coombs Marr and her show Bossy Bottom. In this show Zoe sheds her male alter ego of the past six years Dave and performed stand-up as herself. She promised that this show would be just jokes, jokes, jokes, but of course that was never going to be the case. Zoe was full of energy and commanded the stage throughout her set as she broke down the traditional tropes of stand-up comedy (particularly that of white hetero males) and did call backs to different bits throughout the night. Her use of props was hilarious, and she had the audience on its toes as you just didn't know where she would go next. This was my favorite show at MICF so far and I highly recommend checking Zoe out if you can.

My final show for the evening was Australian comedian Danielle Walker's Bush Rat at the Victoria Hotel. The title comes from the nickname that Danielle's grandfather gave her, and the show focused on funny stories about her family who live up in Townsville in northeastern Queensland. Danielle also does drawings, which she used to illustrate some of her stories, including a pig with wheels for legs that was a running gag throughout the show. You can see why Danielle has been nominated for Best Newcomer at MICF this year.