The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is wrapping up this Sunday, which means there are mere days to get your funny fix. The heavy hitting comedians might be sold out, but MICF is all about having a go – so why not support the local funnies? Of the (literally) hundreds of shows going down, it’s tough to keep track of them all so we’ve put together a guide to all the underrated acts you have to check out before Easter Sunday.
Jack Gramenz
With a sharp wit and a mean tongue, this 23-year-old retired journalist and Brisbane local wants to win the Comedy Festival’s Best Newcomer award – and he’s letting us know about it. Jack Gramenz’s show, Is Trying To Win Best Newcomer, touches on everything you’d expect a journo comedian to touch on like politics, media, society, and sport – plus some personal tangents that make life worthwhile. He’s on at the Greek Centre, Melbourne CBD every night until Sunday April 21.
Peter Jones
Likeable and extremely clever, Jones has an undeniable ‘nice guy’ quality about him that leaves you bemused when he throws around a swear word. Jones’ show They Call Me Peter Jones. Good Morning, How Are You? I’m Peter Jones. is about as polite as the title suggests. Not only is it clever humour, but it’s also relatively clean which is a refreshing change. Jones writes for Channel 10’s The Project and has been on the ABC’s Comedy Up Late. He’s playing at the Greek Centre every night until Sunday.
5 Servings of Ham
The four-piece ensemble, 5 Servings of Ham, have a rather absurd and whimsical long-form sketch show, Tangara Through My Heart. The hour-long show tells the story of a new train coming through the town of Glen’s Ridge. It might be the work of the devil, or maybe the storytellers just aren’t concerned with things like plots or the concepts of time and space. Catch it at The Victoria Hotel in the Acacia Room this Friday April 19 and Saturday April 20.
Blake Freeman
Up-and-comer Blake Freeman has debuted his solo show There’s Something There at this year’s MICF. The 23-year-old has a distinct storytelling style of standup, which is stupidly relatable. He’s vulnerable and honest about his life experiences, which is disarming and has a certain charm. His own experiences are funny and cover family, friends, and relationships – which everyone can identify with. You can catch Freeman playing every night until Sunday at Vic’s Bar in The Victoria Hotel.
Josh Earl
Probably in a stripy shirt, Josh Earl’s show Josh Earl Talks is an hour of Earl talking – you know, like stand-up? His usual show involves some singing or at least some guitar, but in this show he drops his usual gimmicks and tells the story of how a young Earl spent most of his life before 12 having difficulties communicating – which resulted in lots of money on speech therapy. Now he talks for a living, go figure. He’s engaging, charismatic, and knee-slapping funny. He’ll be playing the Boardroom at The Victoria Hotel until Sunday.
Barnie Juancan
Part stand-up, part surrealist theatre, in Tap Head, Barnie Duncan plays a lonely tap from a public bathroom in Fairfield Park trying to make it as a comedian. He then takes the tap mask off and does stand-up as non-tap-head-Barnie Juancan. What a ride. Duncan’s humour is odd and thoughtful, and his stand-up is more like a piece of art – but don’t think that makes it any less funny. He’s on until Thursday April 18 and it’s happening at ACMI in the Games Room.
Zach & Viggo
American Zach Zucker and Norwegian Viggo Venn make up the trained clown duo Zach & Viggo. Their show, Thunderflop is anything but a flop – it’s very very funny and very very silly. Non-stop, high energy, and zany, it’s silly and innocent humour that dares you not to enjoy yourself. There’s slapstick, there’s a saxophone solo, dangerous stunts, and (thankfully) a bit of stand-up in the middle. This show is insanity, and it’s playing in the Mykonos room in the Greek Centre until Sunday.
Rohan Ganju
Rude, risqué, and a little fucked up, Rohan Ganju’s show Ganju Dig it? mostly consists of deadpan one-liners promising the laughs keep going all night. Like a drunk girl trying to tell a story, the show will veer off its path several times – by design, not drunkenness – which makes the journey back to the main story all the more amusing. Ganju hopes the strength of his show’s title will be enough to entice people to attend. Sure to be a hoot-and-a-half, Ganju Dig It? is playing at Vic’s Bar in The Victoria Hotel until Sunday.
Cameron Duggan
Cameron Duggan’s show, ‘Crowd Favourite’ Cameron Duggan, is suitably named. After a successful solo debut last year, he’s back with some new material – and new confidence – judging by the show’s title. He’s good at karate, got a few jet skis, and is very funny. His show covers the facets of life; white dog turds, Mona, Perth, and Tinder dates with psychics (or psychos). Duggan is playing in the Ladies Lounge at the Forum until Sunday night and points out Joel Creasey did the same in his second year of the Comedy Festival (#twins).
By D’Arcy McGregor
