Adam Richard, Adam Hills & Charlie Pickering

Edit: updated ratings now that I've seen more shows.

It's an odd beast, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, with its long queues of punters lining the steps and corridors of the Melbourne Town Hall and snaking out into the streets. Up the road at Trades Hall you can find people puzzling over the lack of stand-up and seduced by strange theatricality, music and magic; or revelling in rogue cabaret at the Buterfly Club across the river, but for most punters, comedy means stand-up, and subsequently that's how I started my festival this year, with three stand-up shows back to back.

Adam Richard X sees the gay Melbourne comic best known for regular appearances on FOX FM's Matt and Jo Breakfast show celebrating his 10th year in stand-up with a brand new show. Not surprisingly, much of the material covers familiar ground - celebrity gossip, Kylie Minogue, Bindi Irwin and the delicious vapidity of pop culture - essentially the same topics that Adam addresses on radio, and also on his Channel 10 apearances. Rounding out the material is a hefty dose of queer culture, which for some audience members on Friday night didn't seem to sit entirely comfortably, judging from the odd squirm and the nervous expression of the cute boofhead sitting in front of me.

Adam's musing on beats, one night stands and Gaydar profiles was entertaining, but lacked a certain spice required to really give the material zest; although that could perhaps be explained by the fact that the show was still really finding its legs, and didn't flow as smoothly as it no doubt will later in its season. Consequently it was billed as a preview, with ticket prices discounted accordingly. As Adam himself said, "You get what you pay for, people!"

On the plus side, there were some touching observations about death and funerals rounding out the material, in which the usually bitchy (in a good way) comedian showed a tender and vulnerable side; and some hilarious riffing on a reality TV show Adam appeared in (appeared being a more appropriate word than starred) called Celebrity Dog School - notable for its distinct lack of celebrities, and ex-footballer Robert 'Dipper' DiPierdomenico shouting "I've got a bloody Brownlow medal, I shouldn't have to do this shit!".

Adam's schtick won't satisfy everyone, and if you know his style, you basically know what you're in for with this show: it's entertaining without being innovative, and consists largely of a series of well-aimed barbs seasoned with buggery and leavened with a dash of mortality. Two and a half 'I can't believe he just said that' giggles out of five. (Melbourne Town Hall til April 29)


Following a quick walk to meet up with Josh, next on the bill was Adam Hills Joymonger, in which the host of the popular ABC TV quiz show Spicks and Specks proved himself to be delightfully endearing,very funny, and really, rather sweet. From his engaging banter with latecomers that reveals a quick wit and genuine warmth; to more structured elements of the show that skim through a range of weighty topics (including racism, human nature and the perils of bureaucracy run amok) without seeming either didactic or facile, Hills is an absolute delight to watch in action.

I could criticise the infectiously optimistic and charming Hills for being so nice that he's a little bland (he said 'freaking' instead of 'fucking' at one point for example, as if not wanting to offend some of the older audience members present) or for failing to address some of his material with the satirical bite it could have warranted, but really, to do so would not just be missing the point of Hills' "lets make the world a nicer place" philosophy; it would also be rather churlish. Who needs anti-depressents when you have Adam Hills? Three and half delighted hoots out of five. (Forum Theatre til April 29)


Finally, after an invigorating champagne in the Peter Cook Bar with Mel Sherridan, my lovely editor at Beat magazine, it was off to see another local comedian, Charlie Pickering in Impractical Jokes. After the traditional start spent padding out the wait for latecomers with some easy laughs generated by jokes about lawyers, ninja and accidentally fighting for the Taliban, Pickering got stuck into the show proper, which celebrates his love for his father, and specifically, his father's love of elaborate practical jokes.

Thence followed a long - overlong, judging by the anxious and slightly irritated expressions on the front-of-house staff's faces at its conclusion - series of stories about practical jokes, counter jokes, and a state of virtual warfare between, 'Two households, both alike in dignity".

Sadly, unlike the familiar story of Shakespeare's Montagues and Capulets, there really wasn't enough material to sustain Pickering's admittedly well-timed retelling of what are essentially amusing family anecdotes for a full hour. While acknowledging that this was a preview show, and so of course Pickering will gain a stronger grasp of his material over time; and that it is well-constructed both thematically and in terms of its narrative, the show felt padded; perhaps more suited to telling over the dinner table or a few beers than on stage at the Comedy Festival. A lowpoint in which Pickering segued into an aimless, seemingly improvised conversation between himself and a parking meter was a clear indication that charismatic as he is, the toussle-haired Pickering needs stronger material if he's going to live up to his reputation. Two and a half wry smiles and an occasional chuckle out of five. (Town Hall til April 29)