Paul Foot
Paul Foot isn’t new to the Melbourne international comedy festival but his blend of surrealist humour still feels like a refreshing contrast to the conventional, rather linear approach of most of the big acts here.
Foot’s show, gloriously entitled Hovercraft Symphony in Gammon # Major, toys with the idea of how a standup gig should be structured, from the off-stage introduction to the foreshadowed list of joke topics that Foot will delve into.
The British comic has a perfectly pitched routine, all physical tics and shrieking delivery one moment, switching to subtle, bizarre comments the next.
When you have a set that involves straddling, confected homophobia and ruminations on what would happen if all your food turned into snakes, there is bound to be a division in the audience. Half the Hi-Fi crowd was stunned, mouth agape, while others were in convulsions. Happily for me, I was in the latter group.
• Hovercraft Symphony in Gammon # Major is at the Hi-Fi until 19 April (no show Mondays)
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is another show attempting to shake up a few conventions, although the approach is rather different from Foot’s. The show, for those who haven’t caught it in its decade-long run on bigger stages, is a kind of Sesame Street for adults, with actors running around stage with puppets, belting out show tunes about sexuality and racism, among other things.
The pace is slick, with plenty of songs jammed into the two-hour performance. The colour and energy on stage makes up for the thin plot and, while there are few laugh-out-loud moments, the show is consistently entertaining.
A small Australian acting cooperative is putting on this “part flesh, part felt” show and they perform admirably.
• Avenue Q – The Musical is at Chapel Off Chapel until 11 April
Arj Barker
Barker is perhaps on the more conventional end of the comedy spectrum but he is consistently funny and seems to have found his groove in Australia.
The US comic has just spent a month performing in Adelaide and mistakenly says he’s glad to be there, when he is in fact in Melbourne. It’s fine, we laugh and move on to the bulk of his material which spans Isis, boners and his terrible landlord.
Barker’s delivery is smooth, he’s a likable presence on stage and you feel in safe hands with him. Which is either a good or bad thing, depending on how you like your comedy.
• Arj Barker’s Get in My Head is at Melbourne Town Hall until 19 April
Ali McGregor’s Late-Nite Variety-Nite Night
Given the bewildering array of acts showing at the festival, it’s tempting to catch a compilation of shows in one go.
McGregor has become an expert in blending a diverse set of acts into one enjoyable night, set in the Famous Spiegeltent. There are two comedians, a burlesque act and Puddles the clown – a terrifying tall man with a painted white face who belts out show-stopping tunes.
In between it all, McGregor is a genial host, adding her own impressive vocals to the mix. The setting is intimate, the show whizzes along and by the end you have seen at least one act you want to catch more of. Hopefully the tent, and McGregor, will remain at the Melbourne comedy festival for a further decade.
• Ali McGregor’s Late Nite Variety Nite Night is at the Famous Spiegeltent, Arts Centre Melbourne, until 18 April
• Melbourne International Comedy festival runs from 25 March to 19 April at venues citywide – see the full program and follow live coverage on Guardian Australia culture
