Tag: comedy review

Comedy review: Only If You Love Me

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Only If You Love Me by Nic Davey-Greene, on at the 2025 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, is a clever, dynamic, acerbic musical comedy show.

Davey-Greene starts by challenging the audience – he doesn’t want cheap laughs and fake smiles, he wants authenticity. What follows is a broad ranging hour of original tunes – pop, jazz, county, crooners and ballads – interspersed with narrative satire. He mixes the serious with the absurd, and just a little audience participation (only if you’re in the front row) in a well crafted, dynamic show.

Davey-Greene is, he sings, dating Cameron Diaz – while she is seeing whoever she likes – including his friends and work colleagues. 

A man after my own heart Davey-Greene says he watches question time for fun and gives both Albo and Dutton a grilling – appropriate during an election campaign. He sings about the ‘WOKE’ mind virus and that he likes eating microplastics – they will give you a vasectomy for free, and he has a recipe for turning plastic bags into pesto. 

The pace and topics change frequently from politics to clay shooting, to the dangers of artificial intelligence, to leaving your wife after falling in love with a tractor – a song with visuals I particularly enjoyed. There is something about the performer and his style that is a little reminiscent of comedian Sammy J.

You can catch Only If You Love Me at The Grace Darling Hotel in Smith Street, Collingwood. Shows start at 6.15pm and the season runs 9-13 April and 15-20 April.

Pop in after work or add it to your weekend gigs for an hour of laughs. You can grab a burger at the Grace Darling before the show, or anything else you fancy at one of the great eateries along Smith Street, Collingwood. Get out there and have a laugh (authentic only), I know you want to.

Comedy review: Meaty Sue’s Big Farma

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Sunny Youngsmith returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with their new solo show, Meaty Sue’s Big Farma. It’s a sketch comedy with the bogan of the abattoir, Meaty Sue. Join them on this pork-tacular adventure.

Youngsmith delivers a serve of meaty madness as Sue, leading the audience on a behind the scenes jaunt of the family’s meat processing business – an ‘abattour’.

There’s music, there’s dancing, there’s gloves (!), and Big Farma may not be who we thought they were.

You’ll get an original peek into the strange and surreal goings on at the farm that will help you affirm your vegetarian choices in this beefy comedy of errors.

The show is a riotous roller coaster ride as Sunny brings to life the awkward, loveable and very vegan friendly Meaty Sue.

You can get a peek at Meaty Sue’s Big Farma absurdity and a have a pre-show giggle on Instagram.

The Butterly Club in Carson Place is an old favourite of mine as a performance venue. Intimate and quirky – they host some great shows and make very tasty cocktails. I can also recommend Little Ramen Bar west up Little Collins if you’d like a bite before or after the show.

Meaty Sue’s Big Farma runs till 21st April as part of Melbourne International Comedy Festival – grab a ticket from The Butterfly Club.

It reminds me of a sign I saw in the window of a country town butcher years ago: Private bodies catered for…

Comedy review: The Titwitchez School of Titcraft & Boobery

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The Titwitchez School of Titcraft & Boobery, on as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, is cabaret meets burlesque meets vaudeville meets drag delivered by a troop of trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming actors.

This high energy unconventional school of life is an hour of unbridled guileless fun riffing off good and evil, feminism, transphobia and boobs. Comedy coven duo Emily White and Liv Bell lead the absurdity with tightly choreographed upbeat moves. They are joined onstage by a different set of characters each night – opening night included Darmanatrix who loves a bourbon, a barbecue and a chair dance, Lucy Seale the rollerskating mosquito, and Nicola Pohl the beatboxing janitor whose sweeping was accompanied by an extraordinary range of facial expressions. Oh, and there is an option for a bit of audience participation if you like your moment in the spotlight.

Titwitchez’s is a late show starting at 10.30, but Carlton is such a great spot for a night out that I made an evening of it and caught Ethan Coen’s latest film at the Nova, grabbed a bite to eat at D.O.C then a coffee at Brunette’s before the show. The venue, Motley Bauhaus also has a great little bar if you like a tipple before a giggle.

The Titwitchez School of Titcraft & Boobery is showing at the Motley Bauhaus till April 26th, so there’s plenty of time to grab a ticket for this raucous ride.

Comedy review: Ned Kelly: the Big Gay Musical

On By rlsmithwritingIn Reviews1 Comment

There’s always been rumours about queer bushrangers. They say Captain Moonlite’s dying wish was to be buried beside fellow gang member, his beloved James Nesbitt. So despite the sensibilities of those who would deny it, queer has always been here, and Ned Kelly: the Big Gay Musical is testament to that view.

Written by Kaine, Ned Kelly: the Big Gay Musical is a drag king extravaganza about Australia’s most loved bushrangers. With an original score, live band The Glen Rowans (aka Apex Bloom – comprising Griffin McGookin, BJ Humphrey, Timothy O’Keefe) will get you jumping in your seats with its rocky tunes that start before you’ve even entered the theatre. This show is a fast paced, action packed, all singing, all dancing, gender bending re-imagining of the story of the Kelly gang, and it’s a hoot.

Part of Melbourne’s International Comedy Festival, this original show is written by Kaine, a music comedian from Ballarat. The venue is small, and the set simple, but the cast set the stage on fire. Monique Kerr (Dan), Sunny Youngsmith (Steve), Erin McIntosh (Joe) and Ellen Morning (Ned) deliver flawless performances as the Kelly gang with great energy and synergy. The fifth actor, Sian Dowler was a stand out, switching between multiple roles (the diary, bank teller, leprechaun, police officers and Queen Victoria).

I saw Ned Kelly: the Big Gay Musical last night and it was sold out, but I believe there are still tickets available for the final performances tonight and Sunday 23rd April. So, dust off your favourite sequinned boots or bushranger hat and get along to the Motley Bauhaus in Carlton for some unbridled fun. Find tickets here.

I can also recommend the Green Man’s Arms for dinner before the show.