ACMI - Australian Centre for the Moving Image

Last year was a bloody great one for award-winning comedian, writer and composer Lou Wall. They received a prestigious Moosehead Award, their Melbourne International Comedy Festival show was well-received, and they scored a sweet TV gig on the ABC. The only problem is their personal life went to shit in pretty much every way imaginable (yes, we really mean that).  If you’re thinking the title of Wall’s latest show, The Bisexual’s Lament, is starting to look quite literal, you’d be exactly right. This show is the definition of making some (distinctly horrific) lemons into lemonade, and that lemonade tastes quirky, acidic in its anarchy and just a little sweet.  Always equal parts chaotic queer and comedic powerhouse, Wall first takes a ride on an audience member’s scooter, before lamenting the burden of being the first comedian ever to go through a breakup. They then launch into a list of things that made them laugh during a “c**t of a year”. An early 2000s-style PowerPoint, rapid-fire anecdotes and intermittent singing ensues, as Wall puts all their faith in the old adage ‘tragedy plus time equals comedy’ and comes out swinging.  Slideshow comedy seems to be especially popular at this year’s festival, but we can confidently assert that no one does it quite like Wall, who is a true master. This is no dull presentation, but rather a mile-a-minute lesson in multimedia storytelling, with memes and selfies zipping by faster than you could swipe your TikTok feed.  From the nightmar

If you watch too many horror movies, you might get a little unnerved when you enter the darkened sanctum that is ACMI’s Swinburne Studio to witness an array of (admittedly cardboard) tombstones erected on stage. If so, perhaps you’ll scream when Mexican-Venezuelan-American comedian Lara Ricote emerges from the shadows, pre-show, in a Wuthering Heights-like floaty white robe that seems destined to get bloody.  If you do, you’ll look a little silly.  Ricote may exude a certain out-there energy, but she’s no phantom of the comedy festival. Working the room with her amiably oddball charm, she asks each of our names in a near-full house, her trademark cartoonish voice (she points it out herself, and that it has nothing to do with her being deaf) making her sound, for all the world, like she’s a character from The Simpsons. Turns out her unusual attire is actually baptism garb because – very on trend for our Easter Sunday review spot – we’re about to experience a resurrection of sorts. Making like it’s an episode of UK gameshow Countdown (not to be confused with the beloved Molly Meldrum’s musical alternative), she asks us to pluck a series of vowels and consonants from our minds as Little Tiny Wet Show (baptism) begins for real with us collectively renamed (dubiously so, in our bad luck). So begins a complete life cycle that lasts the length of an almost-hour-long show involving a light dusting of audience participation, but only if you offer yourself willingly. After all, if she’

The colourful creatures that make up ACMI’s latest, world premiere exhibition burst to life from a single drawn line, before growing and changing right before your eyes. The more you move and interact in the space, the more animated these curious characters will get, morphing between forms and textures for a hyperreal experience.   Beings is the name of this innovative exhibition, which will open from May 22 and stick around until September 29. The name refers to the friendly digital critters seemingly ‘living’ in the exhibition’s large-scale digital screens, just waiting for you to come and play. These generative digital artworks are constantly changing, which means no two people will see the same exhibition, and each time you visit will also be unique. So, how do these joyful (and seemingly magical) creatures remain so responsive to their environment? The technology behind Beings is an impressive mix of video game engines, evolving algorithms and visual effects software usually used in film. All these fancy technologies combine to produce what promises to be a bunch of fun lil’ (or not that little) guys who want to hang out and play, becoming more active in response to your presence.  The folks behind this exhibition are a UK-based art and design collective called Universal Everything. They specialise in “soulful technology” and they’ve created 13 brand-new artworks for this premiere curated by ACMI.  Beings is suitable for all ages, so you can bring along the whole fam. Ti