Live entertainment has been a major casualty of the pandemic with COVID regulations bringing all shows to a temporary halt.
After the pandemic led to the closing of all Melbourne theatre venues in 2020, there was an obvious need to provide the city with a COVID responsible performance alternative. Late last year, The Malthouse Theatre obtained the support of Creative Victoria through a grant “to strengthen knowledge and skills in COVID Safe best practice for venues and to reach audiences outside of the venue through complementary digital experiences that support the work Malthouse presents onstage”.
The Malthouse Theatre used the grant to set up the Outdoor Stage, Melbourne’s newest outdoor performance venue currently hosting live shows featuring a wide variety of Australian cultural experiences in partnership with Melbourne’s leading performing arts organisations.
Review: Lano & Woodley are still the grand masters of comedy
Words By Luke Carlino
★★★★★
If Melbourne were to erect a Mount Rushmore-like effigy purely for its comedic talent, Lano & Woodley would be the main faces carved into it. They are not only Australian comedy royalty, but two local heroes we must protect at all costs.
If you, like me, grew up with them on your TV constantly, the nostalgic joy of seeing the duo all these years later, still on top of their game, is possibly too much to handle.
Try keeping up with the erratic spontaneity in the new self-titled show, and you’ll have yourself an enjoyable time. It’s hard to tell if a single second of the act is planned, or if Colin and Frank’s comedic timing with one another is so refined that any situation thrown their way can be turned into comedy gold.
Who’s in need of a laugh?
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has returned, injecting the city with a much-needed dose of laughs after the drudgery of 2020 – a year which saw the beloved extravaganza cancelled just weeks out from commencing.
Kicking off on Wednesday March 24, MICF will welcome a long list of events, with both old favourites and emerging talents taking to the stage.
Whether it’s the return of Adam Hills – presenting his show,
Shoes Half Full – or undisputed funnyman Aaron Chen, Gen Fricker, Anne Edmonds or the seminal Lano & Woodley, there’s something for everyone at Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2021.
Malthouse Theatre is hosting a bunch of comedy shows this summer
Featuring Lano & Woodley, Denise Scott, Judith Lucy and more.
Malthouse Theatre bringing the laughs this summer with four new shows featuring six of Australia’s favourite performers (as well as one funny Welshman). Taking place across four weeks in February and early March, the run of shows will go down at Malthouse Theatre’s new outdoor venue.
Eddie Perfect will kick things off from Tuesday February 16 – Sunday February 21 with
Introspective, a journey through his two years living in New York writing two broadway musicals.
Then, each Sunday from February 21 until March 14, Judith Lucy and Denise Scott will join forces with