Considering the tradition of Upfront night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, you might be wondering why the festival needs another night celebrating a cavalcade of talented comediennes? I thought about this and then thought, well, why not? Really though, this had a different feel about it and a different concept behind it. Upfront was created as a sort of ‘up yours’ to all those who dare contend ‘that women can’t be funny’. It showcases a lot of big powerhouse names and this year is advertising an equal amount of local and overseas artists. It is often filmed for TV and doesn’t really see the need to argue a case anymore. There’s a bit of a corporate feel about it these days, not that there’s anything wrong with that! Keep Your Skirt On has a more, young, CWA vibe, definitely home made, quirky and full of scrumptious surprises.
The Skirt Network is a supportive social network set up for women in the comedy industry, whether they be performers, writers, producers, technicians and so on. It is based in Melbourne and encourages women to be brave and have a go, whether they are youngsters learning their craft, or those with more experience trying something new or different. The results speak for themselves, this was a delicious assortment of comic variety performed by 20 Australian women (Well… Tina del Twist was an honorary woman for the evening), with several more backstage no doubt and not one dud act.
Women trying new or different things included Geraldine Quinn in spandex doing some Shakira style choreography, Tegan Higginbotham only hours away from turning 22 (yet she seems like a veteran performer) doing some solo stand up away from her Hounds chums, there was bright and perky newcomer Chelsea McIver, fresh from RAW getting laughs while bouncing from topic to topic like a playful puppy and Felicity Ward playing the guitar and singing a funny new song written for her show about how to be a “Modern Moron”, but probably the highlight of the night for me was Kelly Fastuca. Acting the nightclub chanteuse, sparkly gowned, nestled on the end of the bar, she provided a stunning introduction to her current Festival Show, singing “Take me to the Logies”. She ate up the room like it was a yummy dessert and gave the more established musical comedians a run for their money. The crowd went wild.
Geraldine Hickey and Claire Hooper as genial co-hosts traded banter and saucy stories about making plum jam that had to be heard to be believed and another highlight was headliner Celia Pacquola one of the founders of the Skirt Network. Two years ago Celia was treading the boards doing stand up spots here and there, barely known in larger comedy circles, now after traveling the world, it warmed my cockles to watch her own the cachinnating crowd like the consummate artiste she has become. She’s an inspiration to all skirts.
The venue at the Order of Melbourne, opposite RMIT is like one of those chic warehouse apartments with a big bar that serves snack food and lots of character. They will be having a regular comedy night throughout the Festival on Thursday nights. The only problem is it is up several flights of stairs & I couldn’t see a lift, so it could be a problem for the mobility challenged. The stage is a good size and there were lots of chairs, tables and stools and nooks and crannies to hang out in. My main problem with the night was the sound. It was mostly too loud, occasionally things weren’t working and there was quite a bit of feed back, problems that were never really rectified on the night, but other than that, everything ran really well and Fiona Scott Norman spun some fabulous disks of female anthems throughout. It just might have been nice to have a conversation over the top without screaming. This has often been a problem at many comedy venues over the years, we’re not there for loud music, we’re there for comedy and conversation with friends before and after. Anyway it didn’t really change the fact that this was a fabulous night’s entertainment from a variety of talented, gorgeous gals and surely the one of the best value shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.