Katherine Phelps

I do watch film and television comedies. In fact my highest aspiration is to write scripts for television and/or film. However, as far as this blog is concerned, I mostly stick with live comedy. Many people are already covering the other, and live is such a rich fertile ground for experimentation and growth. If you [...]

Melbourne is fortunate enough to have one of the most interesting of resources: The National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA). I was aware of its founding in 1995. At the time I mentored for Big Brothers Big Sisters and kept encouraging my little mentoree to run away and join them. Since I’m keen to learn [...]

Justin Hamilton is both a delightful person and comedian. Having him as a companion for a three hour show of comedy is a joyous affair that seems to last no time at all. He and the inimitable Adam Franklin MC their Show The Shelf Mondays at Toff in Town. For the moment The Shelf is [...]

Simon Taylor in Ten Things I Know About You I feel lucky to have caught the shows I did this year at Fringe. I always find something to enjoy; this year’s festival managed to attract several particularly exceptional works. Simon’s Ten Things was amongst these. Ten Things I Know About You plays with psychology, language, [...]

Recently, one of the radio channels I listen to in the car has been playing Gilbert & Sullivan. I love H.M.S. Pinafore, Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, etc. While driving out to Healesville to see Mager & Smythe’s show In Search of Atlantis, I had the pleasure of listening to “I am a pirate king!” [...]

Bullet: A Superhero Comedy I’m a long time comic book nerd. From childhood I was a big fan of Spiderman and now continue to read comics such as Flight or Girl Genius. I can tell when someone is faking the comic aesthetic, because they hope it will sell. I can also tell when someone knows [...]

Australia has been very lucky in the high quality ventriloquists we have seen pass through our festivals and television shows; people such as American David Strassman, British Nina Conti, and our very own Lindi Jane. Sarah Jones is definitely aiming to be part of this company with her show Does Not Play Well With Others. [...]

Alasdair may regret the title for his show before long. It completely messes up being found sensibly by search engines such as Google. Fortunately, the show is memorable even if the title is not. “The” is structured something like a lifestyle show with themed segments and musical segues, which include Alasdair’s smooth dance moves and [...]

Demitri began his comedy career in 1997 doing standup gigs at various clubs. His big break came in 2001 when he appeared on Comedy Central’s stand-up showcase Premium Blend. In 2003 he won the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s Perrier award and in 2006 won Melbourne Comedy Festival’s Barry Award. It’s good to see a timeline, since [...]

I feel we should be sitting inside an old police box. Your show involves a fair amount of time travel between your childhood and present living arrangements. This is held together by The Carpenters‘s Song “Close to You”. Sounds like a longshot. So how do “birds suddenly appearing” make it possible to discuss your domestic [...]