Things to do in Melbourne in June

Every Monday fortnight at 8pm the Brunswick Hotel hosts free comedy and $10 jugs of draught (you’re kidding?). Whilst the beer may be cheap the laughs certainly are not, these are talented comedians performing weekly and bringing you the best gags you can find around Melbourne on a Monday night.  

This is a review of the 2017 Sydney season of The Bodybag. Nothing is sacred in Sydney drag-comedy stalwart Trevor Ashley’s new adults-only panto, not least the pop culture it skewers and spoofs: American thrillers, pop divas, jukebox musicals and British pantomime. The Bodybag follows former Australian Idol runner-up and Logie-less TV talent Rachel Marinade (Ashley) as she faces the challenges that are part and parcel of being a slightly adored diva. The first big problem: she’s recently been found guilty of bribing a government official for a fake driver’s licence and has been suspended from driving. The second: she has caught the attention of a creepy and violent stalker, and desperately needs protection. At just the right moment, in walks Tank Charmer (Gus Murray), a hunky former ASIO security officer and now Uber driver. Rachel suddenly has transport and a bodyguard in one. Those with a keen eye – well, those with any of their five senses working – may note some similarities between the premise of this panto and a certain Whitney Houston-led movie from the early 1990s. You might also be reminded of the recent stage musical version of the film, starring an Australian Idol contestant who has had similar problems with her driver’s licence. But Ashley is careful to never mention the B word: “Bodyguard”. This is Ashley’s third Christmas panto written with cabaret satirist Phil Scott – who’s currently across town in his final year of Sydney Theatre Company’s Wharf Revue 

This is a review of the Sydney Theatre Company season of Going Down. The production is now playing at Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne. Contemporary Australian city life bursts off the stage with playfulness and incisive commentary in Going Down, a new play by Michele Lee. Natalie (Catherine Davies), outfitted in Gorman and carrying a Marimekko tote around Melbourne, has written a sexually adventurous memoir: Banana Girl. But readers at a book talk in regional Victoria – and even her lefty friends (played by Josh Price and Naomi Rukavina) – want to know why her memoir isn’t as ‘Asian’ as early-twenties-literary hotshot Lulu Jayadi (Jenny Wu). Those sensitive accounts of family hardships might feel too model-minority trauma-porn to Natalie, but they’re flying off the shelves and selling out talks at the Wheeler Centre. So what’s a young writer to do? Lean into her modern sex-positive persona with a new book called 100 Cocks in 100 Nights? Or should she write about her Hmong heritage for a crack at the Miles Franklin? Davies is unstoppable as Natalie, who, high on sugar and her own ideas, darts from scene to scene with unflagging energy. She’s rude to Lulu, who turns out to be something completely different from her pure persona (Wu does sensitive, warm work here) and her friendships start to suffer as Natalie becomes obsessed with the publishing world and her place in it. So what is the right thing to do? Which stories matter? Do some matter more than others? Lee’s play grapple

This is a review of the Sydney season of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. The world is still recovering from the wave of jukebox musicals that came as a tsunami at the start of the century, when the hits of everyone from Billy Joel to The Proclaimerswere rehashed for the stage. With notable exceptions, it felt like every show in the genre believed the hard work began and ended with securing the rights to a vaguely prominent artist’s back catalogue. One of those exceptions was Jersey Boys, the amazing tale of Frankie Valli and his journey to form the Four Seasons. It adapted a strong true story into a gripping narrative that not only tied the songs together, but was genuinely worthy of a show in and of itself.  Every scene, every song, contributed to the whole, to build a near perfect musical experience that captivates with story, but celebrates with music. The first half of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical matches the standard set by that success story in every regard: story, shock value and amazing songs. Douglas McGrath’s book uses the frankly stunning career of Carole King as the building blocks to craft a captivating tale. Carole has written more than 1,000 songs that have been performed by a variety of artists, as well as giving the world her rightly famed Tapestry album among others. Impressively, while the audience is left gobsmacked by the sheer deluge of recognition – as hits from ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow to ‘The Locomotion’ are doled out at a rate of kno

This is a review of the Sydney season of The Wizard of Oz. It’s well over a century since Dorothy first strolled down the yellow brick road in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The story of the lost girl from Kansas and her unlikely companions has barely dulled in our collective imagination since then. On the one hand, it’s a plainly wonderful fantasy-adventure, set in a magical world full of illusion and fascinating characters. But it can also be read as an allegory for just about anything: one of the most popular theories is that Baum was writing about American economics at the time. The story has had countless adaptations, makeovers and remounts since its publication – many of those adding new layers of meaning and allegory – but none more famous than the 1939 MGM film, which provides the inspiration for this faithful family-focused stage version. The colourful Australian tour is based on the London Palladium production which premiered in 2011. The stars – apart from Flick and Trouble, the very good doggos who share the role of Toto – are the sets and costumes by Robert Jones. They’ve been somewhat scaled down for this tour, but the Emerald City still glistens and Glinda’s entrance is a sight to behold. This version features the original MGM score alongside a few new numbers penned by British musical theatre legends Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice: they’re a little more contemporary than those written by Harold Arlen for the film, but they’re witty and melo

It was Oscar Wilde who said the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about, and it’s a sentiment that lies at the heart of UK playwright Mike Bartlett’s new play Wild. In a world where social media likes and viral sharing hold real currency, where information is power, not being talked about is a kind of death. Of course, being talked about is no guarantee of safety either.Bartlett takes the known facts of the Edward Snowden case as a dramatic template and then folds in a Julian Assange character as his Godot. US whistleblower Andrew (Nicholas Denton) has escaped to a Russian hotel room after the most mammoth info-dump of all time, and he’s alone and cut off. Although he’s not quite alone because there’s a woman (Anna Lise Phillips) with him, English and clipped and decidedly odd. She says her name is Miss Prism, first name George – in a direct reference to Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest – and claims to be working for “him”, he with the old locked-up-in-an-embassy vibe.She offers Andrew a way out if he’ll join their outfit, although she prefers in the meantime to tease and torment him rather than elucidate what that might actually entail. It’s here that we get a sense of Bartlett’s love of wordplay, of the ways that language can veil as much as reveal and, while it’s a long way from the prismatic wit of Wilde, the banter is truly funny and alarming. Phillips is a scream as the blithely torturous George, deflating Andrew’s self-importance with her

Malthouse artistic director Matthew Lutton has expressed an ongoing desire to tell and retell Australia’s iconic mythologies; those narratives that have become embedded in one way or another in the collective culture. To this end, we’ve seen an electric Picnic at Hanging Rock and a truly expansive, poetic production of Away. It’s not hard to see his adaptation of Peter Carey’s 1981 novel Bliss as another nudge into the national psyche, and it’s potentially the most caustic and true.Adman Harry Joy (Toby Truslove) dies for nine whole minutes, although whether he awakes at all and in what dimension is initially unclear. Is Harry in hell when he comes to and discovers his wife (Amber McMahon) is a cold-hearted adulteress and his kids (Will McDonald and Charlotte Nicdao) are narcissistic and incestuous monsters, or is this the life he built for them all? A series of increasingly improbable situations fail to make it clear, until Harry is forced to the uncomfortable realisation that hell might just be him.Tom Wright has adapted the novel for the stage – he was also responsible for Lutton’s Hanging Rock – and has rejigged Harry’s epiphany to reflect current shifts in gender politics. Thus we get extended mentions of Harry’s cluelessness, his lifelong fuckuppery, his unchecked privilege; he isn't just a deluded fool seeing the error of his ways, he’s a rich, white man forced by a society of better-informed people to choke on the error of his ways. This is a significant change, one t

It’s been almost six years since Rafael Bonachela last premiered a full-length work, but the Sydney Dance Company artistic director is unveiling his new creation this year. He’s kept fairly quiet about exactly what audiences can expect, but knowing Bonachela’s style it will be visually bold with a strong emotional sweep. SDC is promising a visceral piece and “an electrifying journey into the extremes of human nature”. Bonachela is collaborating with composer Nick Wales, who has worked on a number of SDC shows and recently collaborated with Sarah Blasko.

The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre does things the traditional way and will bring that approach to Tchaikovsky’s magical masterpiece about a beautiful princess transformed into a swan. The performance will be led by award-winning prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova who’ll play Odette. The company may not perform with a live orchestra, but there are 60 dancers on stage in intricate costumes and their own touring sets, making this a pretty decadent production. Swan Lake will play a short season at Melbourne’s historic Princess Theatre, marking the first time the stage has seen the classical ballet in 65 years.

J.K. Rowling's West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is set to open in Melbourne in early 2019, and is almost certain to break as many records locally as it has in London. But before Harry, Hermione and Ron make their Australian theatrical debut, another group of Hogwarts students will take to the stage. Puffs, or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic tells the story of students unlucky enough to be sorted into Hufflepuff (and let's face it – even though Rowling claims that she is herself a Hufflepuff, nobody wants to be sorted into the house whose most famous student is Cedric Diggory). The characters in Puffs might not be destined for greatness, but that doesn't mean they don't make for fascinating theatre. The play is set across the seven years when Harry Potter attended the school of witchcraft and wizardry. And while the Gryffindors and Slytherins get most of the attention of Hogwarts staff – and constantly threaten to derail the basic wizarding education most students are seeking – there's plenty happening to three students who went through school with the most famous boy wizard of all time. The show will start performances at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda on May 26, with playwright Matt Cox and American director Kristin McCarthy Parker travelling to Australia to oversee the local production.  The show's protagonist, Wayne, will be an Australian boy wizard played by Ryan Hawke. His best friends are goth girl Megan (Ev

It's time to stretch those spirit fingers and prepare to be aggressive... be-be aggressive – Bring It On: The Musical is having its Melbourne professional premiere at the Athenaeum Theatre this June. The musical is inspired by the beloved 2000 cheerleading movie, but tells the story of a new group of competitive cheerleaders. It premiered on Broadway in 2012 and is written by an A-Team of contemporary musicals, with a book by Tony Award-winner Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q) and a score by Hamilton genius Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt (another Tony Award-winner for Next to Normal) and Tony nominee Amanda Green (Hands on a Hardbody). The local production will be directed by Alister Smith, who was nominated for a Green Room Award for his production of Sondheim's Pacific Overtures. Leading the cast is Nadia Komazec (Mamma Mia, Matilda, Legally Blonde) and newcomer Elandrah Feo. Komazec plays Campbell, a high-achieving cheerleading queen at her local school, who is set to win the National Cheerleading Championships. But when she ends up moving to another school without a killer squad, her dreams are dashed – that is, until she decides to take Danielle's (Feo) dance crew and shape them into a winning team. Given the challenges of the show, the producers have had to find not just triple threats but quadruple threats who can sing, dance, act and cheer. Choreographer Michael Ralph will be joined by cheerleading coach Natalie Commons, who has represented Australia internationally and has bee

After being nominated for the Barry Award at the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Helen Bidou's show is back for an encore performance. Here's our five-star review of the Comedy Festival season. I didn’t write any words down in the Spinnaker Lounge – the fictional late-night bar in which fictional late-night outrage Helen Bidou performs a cabaret-infomercial. This is for two reasons. First, there is laughter so physical it destroys all motor control. Second, a show like this can never be evoked in words. What do you say when you’ve been pissing yourself for an hour? That this show is wonderful. That this show is gross. That this show may not appeal to persons who prefer comedy built on an intellectual foundation. It will appeal to those who can happily commit to stupidity. Anne Edmonds’ Bidou is, by no means, the product of stupidity. She’s an elaborate hysteric whose suburban origin story feels as complete as Dame Edna’s, far better charted than that of either Kath or Kim. Her language is borrowed from morning television, discount vouchers and the sort of ballads sung by X-Factor contestants. Her identity, like Edna’s, is borrowed from delusion. She is a proud Australian who bakes in Bali, an entrepreneur who trades in stolen goods. She’s an ingenue with an adult son, played by Sam Campbell. Who must be commended for his first-rate Oedipal anxiety. To date, all published reviews have praised this 18+ show, but do so for its seeming sloppiness or spontaneity

The Melbourne's longest running and most successful improv comedy night, the Big Hoo Haa, is improvised comedy at its rawest: minimal pretension, audience participation and maximum laughter. Anything could happen! Well, not anything. Scripted comedy, for example. That definitely won't happen.

Every Monday fortnight at 8pm the Brunswick Hotel hosts free comedy and $10 jugs of draught (you’re kidding?). Whilst the beer may be cheap the laughs certainly are not, these are talented comedians performing weekly and bringing you the best gags you can find around Melbourne on a Monday night.  

A Thursday night staple in Melbourne, comedy at the European Bier Cafe is still going strong after over five years. They’ve featured all the big names, including Sarah Silverman, Adam Hills, Jimeoin, Dave Hughes, Stephen K Amos, Wil Anderson and heaps more, plus all the best Melbourne and interstate comedians there are. It's a guaranteed high-quality night of laughs for just $12; what more could you want?

Here's some news that will have you screaming "yas queen": Broad City's Ilana Glazer is heading to Melbourne for her first Australian appearance. Although she's not bringing her co-star and co-creator Abbi Jacobsen with her – and their show is tragically finishing after five seasons – local fans can still get their Ilana fix with an hour of stand-up. Although Glazer is now best known for her TV appearances, she's also a creature of the stage, and trained and performed with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre early on in her career. The impro-mecca UCB Theatre was founded by a troupe of its original members including Amy Poehler. Poheler would go on to champion Glazer's work and helped bring the Broad City webseries to Comedy Central, where it's attracted legions of fans, stellar reviews and a stack of awards. Glazer is coming to Melbourne as part of the Arts Centre MEL&NYC program, designed to draw links between Melbourne and New York City throughout winter. Indie pop songstress Regina Spektor, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch star and creator John Cameron Mitchell will also make the trip to Melbourne. Tickets for Glazer's Melbourne debut are on sale now.

Imperial Comedy is named as such not because of a policy of expansion via colonisation, but after the hotel in which it is housed. The comedy is more the descriptive here as every Tuesday night a fleet of Melbourne's best comedy talent set foot on the stage and plant their flag of foolery. With previous guests including Celia Pacquola, Rove McManus, Adam Hills, Claire Hooper and Wil Anderson, this comedy night is one of the best in Melbourne. Tickets (online or at the door) are $10.

If you know Fitzroy's Catfish, you'll know that this little bar does a mean Philly cheesesteak and they sure know a good craft beer when they see one, but they also run comedy nights every Tuesday. Comedians including Nazeem Hussain, Claire Hooper, Joel Creasey, Tom Gleeson and Tommy Little have all graced the Catfish Comedy stage, so order a cheesy steak sanga on Tuesday nights and pull up a chair, laughs from the best comedic talents in town are guaranteed.