Art Smitten - The Podcast

Samara and Smithers chat to Olugbade Okunade from the Nigerian afrobeat band Alárìíyá about their debut album launch on Saturday April 29, 7.30pm at The Toff (Level 2 Curtin House, 252 Swanston St) with Headphones Jones.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smithers reviews Comedy Zone Asia, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival show featuring Jinx Yeo, Neeti Palta, Sumit Anand, Rizal van Geyzel and Douglas Lim that runs until April 23. Click here to listen to Smithers' interview with Douglas!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the Mens Interesting look into the expansive Australian male psyche. The show is a number of monologues dedicated to generations of male Australians. It highlights the weird, quirky and uncomfortable experiences felt in our own backyard. Characters included “shirtfront” the jockey addicted to cheesecake, a ex-greyhound racer, a stockbroker stuck between the bliss of the sea-change and the agony of work, the oldest man in Australia, and a businessman breaking up with his fiancee due to his supposed infidelity. The show felt at first difficult to approach. Introducing this short enthusiastic Jockey and his pursuit of racing success and love was completely different from my experience. He was the epitome of who I could not care about unless I personally knew him. This was similarly seen with the greyhound racer. However, I was taken aback as the ex-racer’s story took a turn with the dog’s eventual death.   Ben Maclaine and Ben Grant’s depictions of loneliness and stress with

Cal Wilson's show in the MICF this year is about 'Things I've Never Said', or, all things she's never focused on in her comedy. For Wilson, this means a focus on politics and feminism. Wilson flourishes on the topic, deploying a white hot commentary on sex, gender and equality. Throughout a series of anecdotal pieces which include her prejudice about playing to a room full of male mine workers; what it means to be a mother; what happened when her son wore pink sparkly face paint, and being physically dominated by men or boys, as a woman or a girl, Wilson constructs a framework exploring very serious subject matter. Not one, you might think, for a comedy show. This is where the highly experienced comedian demonstrates, lightly, almost effortlessly, her genius. Wilson navigates her sadder pieces with grace, perfectly balanced between sad and happy, finding positive elements in each story, but also finding ways to tickle her audience into a state of emotional abandon, caught between the jagged truths of our curr

Colossal is a film about monsters, both literal and metaphorical. Written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, perhaps most famous for his sci-fi dark comedy Timecrimes, it stars Anne Hathaway as Gloria, a young woman with a lot of problems. In an attempt to recharge, she goes back to her home town, which is small, nondescript and somewhere in the Midwest of America. She reconnects with a childhood friend, and slowly starts to get back on her feet, when suddenly news breaks out of a giant monster terrorising the city of Seoul in South Korea. Amazing! We soon find out that through some strange force Gloria actually controls this giant monster when she stands at a particular spot in the playground at a particular time of day. And then a robot appears as well! Even more amazing! Amidst this odd revelation all the issues that plague Gloria still rage on. Alcoholism, the reason she went back to her home town in the first place. Relationships, both dysfunctional and downright abusive. The general disorientation of life

Raw has got to be one of the best horror films I’ve seen in recent years. It manages to create discomfort not only out of the deeply horrifying but also out of pretty much everything else. Cannibalism becomes as nasty to watch as skin rashes. The first film by Julia Ducournau, it’s grisly and very dark and shows an impressive flair for visceral tension and thematic construction. I was gripped from the start and floored by the end. Justine is a first-year veterinary student, intellectually gifted but socially stunted. It’s the start of the academic year and like all first-years has to undergo a series of unpleasant hazing rituals, including eating a piece of raw rabbit kidney. That she’s a vegetarian who’s just eaten meat turns out to be the least of her worries. Soon after, she starts displaying alarming symptoms, culminating in an intense hankering for more raw meat and, finally, human flesh. The discomfort is palpable from the start. From the startling opening, to the subsequen

Jim, Gill and Smithers interview vocalist and viola player Biddy Connor from the Letter String Quartet, who have an upcoming concert, Oracle Marker, on Sunday April 23, 6pm at the Hawthorn Arts Centre on 360 Burwood Road.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smithers chats to Brenton Amies and Cam Ralph the morning after seeing she saw their Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Everyday Monsters, playing at Tasma Terrace (6 Parliament Place, East Melbourne) until April 22.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nikki Britton is an excitable, full of energy Australian comedian whose show, Romanticide, reflects on her not so excitable love life. Britton reflects in her show on her romantic conquests, experiences and failures, and how they have shaped her as a person. The show is a one hour energised stand up routine in a small crowded room at The Forum, which boasts quite a hot time, as it’s stuffy inside. Luckily, there is a massive air conditioner blasting cool air into the place. Unluckily, it was positioned directly behind my head, meaning I sometimes struggled to concentrate on the show as blasts of cold air ruffled my hair. Apart from this however, Britton manages to encapsulate her audience over the hour by going through her experiences in the field of relationships from the help of a show plan which she attempts to hide behind a massive speaker on stage with her. Although this might come across as amateur at first, it merely adds to the hilarity of the show as she openly denies what it is, instead cracki

I grew up watching older British Comedy, so I’ve always had a love for it. Fawlty Towers was of course one of these loves, as well as Monty Python, The Goodies and Benny Hill. I’m shocked that I never heard about Faulty Towers, The Dining Experience until now, but better late than never, I finally went to go. Straight up, and I didn’t even realise until writing this review, the actual names of the show and the original are different. Fawlty is spelt F A W L T Y whilst the Dining Experience is F A U L T Y. Not a big deal, just thought that needs to be clarified. Even with the name change, Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is almost a complete mimic of an episode of the original Fawlty Towers, just with more improvisation. It’s remarkably impressive. It is also quite group, family or couple experience. It would be weird going in to sit by yourself and enjoy a three course meal. It just wouldn’t be the same. For the night I took my partner too the show, who actually has never seen

A stunningly beautiful dive into humanity's dark future with cyborg implants and upgrades, skyscraper high advertisements and incredibly frightening half human half machine - cyber terrorists. Ghost in the Shell is effectively a dark futuristic crime thriller that follows the Character of Major, who is an all robot body with the brain of a human being. She’s an elite counter-terrorist working for a crew called section 9 an elite group formed by murky mix of Hanka robotics the company responsible for Major, and the Government, Aramaki the the head of section 9, an enigmatic leader who seems to of seen it all before. Major’s team are relatively interesting but not particularly explored in depth, except for Major’s Partner Batou, who’s a relatively interesting character who ventures further from simply musclebound hard ass. He’s got a more soulful human bent. Now the film is an obviously an adaptation of the wildly successful and groundbreaking 1995 anime original. And in a way beau

For those who haven’t seen David O’Doherty’s comedy before, like myself, if you decide to see him in action you’ll be greeted by one of the most refreshing examples of comedy in modern day times. O’Doherty blends his own down to earth comedic vibe with music seemingly created on the spot in front of the audience. He covers both the biggest issues that the world faces today such as the rise of fascism, to the smallest such as bad twitter sponsorships. It’s nice to see both topics handled off hand, putting a light touch on even the saddest of events our world faces today. Performed at the Forum Theatre under a wash of blue, red and multicoloured lights, David O’Doherty keeps the crowd focused through his consistent switch between musical performance and stand up comedy, as he prances around the stage displaying his own brand of characteristics. You become so immersed in what he’s saying occasionally that you forget to notice him lying sideways on the stage, his le

Aunty Donna’s new show hits the MICF under the title Big Boys, a show about boys, who are now big. The title is more than just a gag or joke to go with the show. The title incidentally refers to the three boys who are Aunty Donna, who have now become big after years of being together as a group; Mark Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane. The three are perfect for each other, and after years of performance their blend of slapstick comedy, alternative sketch and surrealism creates a hilarious show which might not be for everyone, but has an incredibly big following. The trio are most successful for their online content, in which they create web series and musical sketches, which gain up to millions of views. There comedy show, Big Boys, blends what they do on the small screen with stand up comedy as well as a mix of audience interaction. Big Boys shows what each member of the group bring to the table, or stage in this case, and how they can do more than just planned sketches. Some of the funniest parts

Smithers and Christian chat to artist Cameron Moorhouse, one of the finalists from the 2017 VCE Top Arts exhibition, whose work, Extinction, will be on display at the Ian Potter Centre until July 16. Click here to listen to our interview with Miranda Picton-Warlow, manager of the VCE Season of Excellence and Sia Smyth, the curator of Top Designs 2017.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smithers and Christian interview Erin Taylor and Sarah Edwards from Phantasmagoria, a free site-responsive festival produced by the Bogong Centre for Sound Culture, running on weekends until the end of April in the Bogong Alpine Village.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christina, Rachela and Katie chat Ginger and Tonic Founder and Music Director Jane Patterson and ensemble member Laura Burzacott, from the A Capella group Ginger and Tonic, about their Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Desperate and Dateless, running from 30 March - 9 April at the Coopers Malthouse on 113 Sturt Street, Southbank. Image from James Terry PhotographySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adalya, Daniel and Christian from Queeries chat to Gavin Roach about his Melbourne International Comedy Festival Show, All The Songs I Can't Sing. Click here to listen to Hamish's review. Photo by Julyan StephensSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I haven’t been too a lot of shows when the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is on, but this year I’m starting off strong by seeing both big and smaller shows that the festival has to offer. To kick this season off, I checked out the preview show of Gavin Roach’s All The Songs I Can't Sing, a just under 50 minute show that is about just that; all the songs that Gavin Roach cannot sing. It’s an amusing title which follows through in the show. Roach structures his show well, telling a funny story from his life which follows into a song which has special meaning with that story. This rinse and repeat idea works, but does become a little tiresome after awhile, although the show is quite short. Roach also changes costumes in between stories, which takes a little while meaning there are moments of nothingness on stage, however you can see the costume changes as a mirror on the wall reflects it from behind stage. It is Roach’s personality which really sells the show, rather than h

Smithers chatted with Malaysian comedian Douglas Lim who’ll be performing in Comedy Zone Asia (which Smithers also reviewed) at the Melbourne Town Hall, and in his own solo show, This Is Nice, at the Greek Centre at 7pm on April 18 & 19.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian chatted with the South African comedian about his Melbourne International Comedy Festival show Dude, Where’s My Lion? on at the Melbourne Town Hall until April 23.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.