Sunburnt Suburbia

Comedy festival compliments

Last night we went to see Shappi Khorsandi joyfully share with us the details of her life. We know her work mostly from listening to BBC Radio 4 comedy, and have enjoyed it. Time we thought, to see her for real. To make more of a night of it we dressed up with a strong steampunk or Victorian influence.

Susan wore a tight, bright tweed jacket over a black corset atop a red mini-kilt layered with tulle. She also wore checked stockings and red boots. I wore black, stripe textured trousers with a dress shirt under a waist coat and long jacket, all finished off with a bright bow tie. We looked different from everyone else, but not quite in costume. 

Somehow some people who saw us felt comfortable, and through the evening we got 3 or 4 compliments from strangers. One of the ushers said we were the most interesting audience members he had seen for the festival. Such compliments have never happened to us before, and it did give us pleasure. We have been playing more with clothes as a distinct artistic expression, and I suppose that would eventually draw a response. 

Cruise fantastique - day four

Day four of our cruise had a relaxed start while the ship anchored offshore from the village of Easo, on Lifou island. Lifou is one of the Loyalty Islands, part of New Caledonia but geographically separate from the main island. The crew ran a shuttle service of ship's tenders to ferry passengers onto the jetty 800m southwest of Easo - a little adventure in itself.

For those on foot, Lifou offered a beach with white sand and palm trees, a tiny market of locally produced souvenirs, a walk to the chapel on the point, and a coral-filled bay good for snorkelling.

We walked up to the point for some wonderful views over the bay and a few photos.

We then walked down to the snorkelling bay and enjoyed an amazing diversity on fish among the coral. The coral itself was mostly brown, though there was the occasional bright blue stand. The number and diversity of fish provided real delight. I really didn't expect such splendour of fish.

We swam for a while and then rested for a snack. We returned to the ship in mid-afternoon, and enjoyed our late afternoon wandering the ship listening to different live acts.

The quality of the live acts onboard also exceeded our expectations. Each group of performers had a specific niche and filled it well. They all performed covers, or pleasant jazz, which is what people want on a ship. I enjoyed listening to all the acts, giving each about ½ an hour before some other activity attracted.

This evening had a pirate dress theme, so lots of passengers joined in and the ship's show troupe presented a pirate pantomime. The show troupe too were great.

The Rehearsal, Playing The Dane

Last night Susan and I went to The Rehearsal, Playing the Dane as part of the Melbourne Festival. Though there were moments of humour and insight, overall I found it too pretentious and mannered. It was probably exploring the idea that time is not necessarily linear, and the same narrative can occur with a different series of events, but the artifice irritated. 

For example the show opened with a great dane dog on stage, and after the interval the dog reappeared. What was the point in that other than a silly pun? Susan did like the dog though. 

Political Mother

Last Thursday Susan and I went to Political Mother, one of the Melbourne Festival shows. It stunned and excited us.

An on-stage mixture of rocker guitarists, drummers, and dancers made a visceral impact. On occasions the wall of sound suited the almost vicious choreography of shivers, askew arms and hunched backs. At other times the dancers flowed across the stage in wide, graceful arcs. When dressed as samurai, they reminded us of the fight dances that occur in Chinese martial arts movies. 

The show filled our minds with strong images - the complex choreography of adoring crowds before a raving speaker on a podium - the line of prisoners hanging from chains while being inspected by a man with an ape head - the circular running with subtle patterns of shape moving through dancers' bodies. 

After the show we wandered along St Kilda Road to examine the Angels-Demons Parade. These highly polished and huge statues of babies with dragon wings and demon tails grab memory space too. 

Circus OZ Steampunk

Last Wednesday we had a family outing to Circus OZ Steampunk. Hattie, Bryony's friend visiting from England, came with us. Byrony and Hattie have been out and about all over Melbourne, and Circus OZ added to their fun. This was Hattie's first time at the circus. 

We tried to dress up with a steampunk influence, in corsets, waistcoats, jackets, hats and buckles. I doubt we really achieved a steampunk look, but we had fun. 

The show lived up to the Circus OZ brand. It had the strong Australian larrikin style that permeates Circus OZ shows, and there was plenty of amazing acrobatics, juggling and bicycle riding. I particularly enjoyed the block juggling, high acrobatics and candlestick juggling acts. They used steampunk style well in the production design, and it all added up to a great night out. 

Holiday at home - almost

On Sunday Susan and I went into Melbourne centre for a short break. We stayed at a cheap hotel for two nights and did things within walking distance. Our first fun was The Burlesque Hour, which we first saw two years ago. We had a shocking and entertaining evening - cabaret pure - a good splash of nudity intermixed with insightful comments and fun dance. 

After the show we ate at Chin Chin Restaurant, purely by chance. The restaurant was open and crowded, so we walked in and had a delightful meal. The tastes all astonished me. We will eat there again. 

Monday morning came with us in the queue for the Vienna: Art and Design exhibition at the NGV. We progressed slowly through the exhibition, linking it to our stay in Vienna last December. The exhibition meant revisting some artists, particularly Egon Schielle, and that was good.  For me the overriding idea was the unified approach of art and design all together to create beautiful spaces linked under a single artistic vision. To do such meant discipline in the patron and collaboration for the artist.  

After our first walk through, we enjoyed a coffee and biscuit, which refreshed us for a second pass. 

On Monday evening we saw the movie Bridesmaids. This is a love it or leave it movie - we fall into the leave it group. We had a good time, but parts of the movie rely on the 'humour' of watching people embarrass themselves, and that never entertains us. 

The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic

Last night we went to a Comedy Festival show, The Hermitude of Angus, Ecstatic. Our interest arose from The Age review that described the show as 'left of field' and gave it 4 stars. We wanted something different from stand-up comedy so along we went. 

In the starting section, the style of this show reminded me of the over-the-top, frantic acting style that characterises many year-12 drama performances that we have seen. That was inauspicious, and I started to feel disappointed. Then he pulled out some lovely characterisations, which were well observed and beautifully performed. Susan particularly liked his receptionist portrayal, and his interlude to promote consideration of crop circles was a wonderfully subtle satire on earnest left-wing comedy. 

So he drew us in, and the end actually came too soon. I am not sure that I would recommend Angus's hermitude, but I certainly enjoyed it. 

Nina Conti and her puppets

Last night the Melbourne International Comedy Festival opened, and we went with Kate, Michael and Sophie to see Nina Conti with her puppets. 

 

Nina reintroduces us to the art of ventriloquism with her uproarious use of 'monkey' as an alter-ego. Monkey provides Nina a foul mouthed, insulting and irreverent voice to which she herself plays the beautiful innocent. With 'monkey' Nina both acknowledges the inherent nature of the art form and ignores it, making for an extremely entertaining and hilarious show. 

In this Melbourne show she introduces new puppets, some more successful than others. Monkey opens the show, and the puppet we most enjoyed after 'monkey' was 'gran'. The contrast between 'monkey' and 'gran' strikes so hard that we see the depth of her skill, and have a great night out. 

Michael

Terminus - ancient performance style, modern content

Last Monday night we enjoyed the show Terminus as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival. We got an amazing treat. Terminus has three actors standing on a stage taking turns telling their story. They hardly move, certainly not changing position; they take turns as the story tellers, with no dialogue; the stage is dark and sparse. This description implies a dull, staid play - but to make that implication would be totally wrong. 

Their language flows with lyrical grace, full of rhythm and rhyme. It conjures up such strong images with such ease that I found it impossible not to engage. The stories start with compelling drama, and move into the fantastic by seamless transition. The play gives us both ancient performance style and modern, explicit content. 

Standing, telling a story in verse shows us the origins of theatre - the storyteller - an ancient form that goes back into our deepest memories. But the content was modern, explicit - details of knives across faces, sex with a demon corpus of worms, and disembowelling through the anus. No Greek myth I have encountered gave such explicit gore. 

All-in-all, theatre that only the Irish can make. 

Bryony's triumph on the stage

Last week Bryony's months of rehearsals for Midsummer's Night Dream reached their payoff, with her impressive performance as Helena. In Helena, Bryony had the most interesting female role in the play, in which she has to achieve significant changes of mood, from comic, to bewilderment, to anger and to joy. We all went to opening night last Wednesday, and Susan again on Friday night, and were very proud of her performance. 

She amazed me with how well she handled the language, and with how well she portrayed an engaging character. I was impressed, and so were lots of other people. Callum overheard a few strangers praising Bryony's performance, and lots of friends gave enthusiastic feedback. Susan and I are both very proud of her triumph on the stage.