There’s something very special about being inside the Melbourne Museum at night – it feels forbidden, exotic. The same enormous dinosaur skeleton that might seem interesting during the day takes on a much scarier aspect when it comes looming out of the shadows. This is one of the two major reasons to treat yourself to the Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour, the second of course being taken around the museum by three very talented comedians, all of whom seem not just knowledgeable but downright excited about their respective material.
Curator and host Ben McKenzie has established himself as Melbourne’s premier science-comedy nerd. Ben handled the ‘dinosaur’ part of the tour and his enthusiasm for these creatures is as infectious as it is informative. They really should leave the gift shop open when this tour is on because all of us wanted to buy a bag of plastic dinosaurs by the end of Ben’s walk through the hall of bones. The other two hosts were Andy Muirhead (host on ABC’s Collectors) and Janet McLeod. Andy is himself a trained entomologist so it was natural for him to take the audience through the section of the museum dedicated to bugs (or ‘The Buggery’ as Andy called it), and this gave the comedian free rein to mix his two greatest passions, bugs and jokes. Insect-based puns were found in great measure. Janet, being Melbourne’s most renowned quizmaster, is a compendium of all human knowledge so can speak authoritatively on any subject. Her special area was aquatic life, giving her a chance to espouse on some of the strange organisms to be found in the ocean’s depths (although, as she rightly pointed out, most life on earth is underwater, so it’s us who are the strange ones).
The audience was about equal parts kids, parents, and twentysomethings. While last year’s show leaned more heavily on laughter than learned, I felt the reverse was true this year, with more facts than giggles being imparted. But I don’t think anyone in the audience minded – whether laughing or gasping in awe at something they’d never encountered before, the audience seemed truly satisfied by the experience, and if anything the tour flew by more quickly than we would have liked. Even if you’ve been to the museum before, seeing it in the dark puts it in a whole new light. Recommended.
For more info and booking details go to The Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour