Comedy Festival 2017: Best of the must-see, four star comedians

OUR reviewers have called it: these are the must-see laughmeisters at the comedy festival so far. PLUS LATEST REVIEWS.

COMEDY Festival is well underway and, with more than 550 shows on offer, there are still plenty of laughs to go around.

We’re a few days in, which means comedians have warmed up their material and are taking to the stage, puns blazing, every night until April 23 for your laughing pleasure.

LATEST COMEDY FESTIVAL REVIEWS

Still don’t know who you want to see? Well, our reviewers have done the hard yards for you.

These are their picks of the funniest acts at festival so far: minimum four stars, maximum LOLs.

Best of the festival’s four-star funnmakers (so far)

Comedian Jason Byrne has a show called Propped Up. He is hiding ducks all around the city for people to find for free admission to his show. Picture REBECCA MICHAEL

4.5 STARS

Jason Byrne in Propped Up

Reviewer Megan Miller says: “In less capable hands it could be a disaster, but Jason Byrne is the king of audience recruitment. He’s the ultimate puppet master/ring leader, manhandling blokes onto stage, continually singling out audience members (two people with broken legs in the front row on this Friday night), badgering latecomers and generally having fun with people at their own expense.”

The Forum, corner Flinders and Russell streets, until April 23

Tommy Little & Gossling in Heartbreak & Hilarity

Reviewer Daniel Ziffer says “This show should be terrible ... But in the hands of two people so talented it makes you weep. This is a moving and hilarious show that truly delivers the promise of the title.”

The Famous Spiegeltent, Arts Centre, until April 9

Andy Zaltzman in Plan Z

Reviewer Michael Ward says: “The last time Andy Zaltzman played the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, John Howard was prime minister, George W. Bush was US president and the battle cry for the War on Terror echoed around the western world. But if there was plenty of grist for this British satirist in 2007, a decade on Andy Zaltzman is positively spoiled with the state of the world ... This is sparkling, intelligent comedy with a stupidly high joke count from a clever mind that whips about like an eel on a boat deck. Quite superb.”

Melbourne Town Hall until April 23

Abandoman in Life + Rhymes

Reviewer Mikey Cahill says: “Not once did Life + Rhymes falter; the duo rides on the seat of their pants and slide all the way to home base. Join their posse, Melburn.”

The Famous Spiegeltent, Until April 23

David O’Doherty in Big Time

Reviewer Brendan Casey says: “O’Doherty’s stand-up material has risen to be just as sharp as his song-writing ability, and his real talent lies in how he is able to do both with a sense of haphazard unpredictability, so no-one (not even O’Doherty) knows what’s coming next.”

At the Forum Theatre, Flinders Street. Until April 23rd

Tessa Waters is fully sik and four stars.

4 STARS

Tessa Waters in Fully Sik

Reviewer Brigid O’Connell says: “Channelling the sass and charm of iconic comedian Tina Fey, Tessa carries the same cheeky glint in her eyes throughout as she uses audience participation in the most inclusive way I’ve seen.”

Greek Centre, Aphrodite’s Room, corner Lonsdale and Russell streets, until April 23

Stuart Goldsmith in Compared to What

Reviewer Daniel Ziffer says: “Working the crowd’s gears like a Formula 1 driver, the show whizzes along at a furious pace. There’s no audience interaction beyond the laughter, because everything he needs is on stage and on show in a brilliant hour of stand-up.”

A podcast star — he’s recording one live during the Festival, too — Goldsmith is one to watch.

Mykonos, Greek Centre, until April 23

DeAnne Smith in Post-Joke Era

Reviewer Mikey Cahill says: “Smith’s show is a rollicking, laugh frenzy. She loves doing the bait and switch when talking about fascist regimes and how she is now a hipster of emotion. White supremacists get torched and she dovetails her act neatly when she declares “I want to do a roast of depression.”

ACMI, until April 23

Loyiso Gola in Dude, Where’s My Lion

Reviewer Mikey Cahill says: “Finally, a new spin on avocado jokes. I can’t tell you what it is, South African powerhouse comic Loyiso Gola will, though; so book your ticket already ... The first 20 minutes is 100 per cent crowd work and local observations; all the more impressive as Gola has only just hit town. It’s a long festival, get a win under your belt early with Gola. You’ll be charmed by his big toothy smile and easy energy as he smashes white privilege like an avocado.”

Melbourne Town Hall, Until April 22

Richard Gadd in Monkey See Monkey Do

Reviewer Patrick Horan says: “There’s an argument that you should know as little as possible about this before seeing it. So feel free to stop reading at the end of this paragraph but not without knowing that it is an utterly compelling and often very funny hour that takes comedy-as-catharsis to a new level and is borderline essential viewing for anyone with a vested interest in mental health issues.”

ACMI — Cube until April 23

Comedy Zone Asia featuring Sumit Anand, Douglas Lim, Neeti Palta, Rizal Van Geyzel and Jinx Yeo

Reviewer Nick Richardson says: “In truth, the show is delightfully affirming that the things that bind us across this vast and disparate region are stronger than the divisions. And one of those strong bonds is comedy.”

Melbourne Town Hall, until April 23

Rose Callaghan in Will You Accept This Rose?

Reviewer Ian Royall says: “The show opens with a Powerpoint-style breakdown of The Bachelor format, garnished with her own wisecracks. And while The Bachelor content is great, Callaghan really hits her straps when she settles in to tells a couple of personal dating stories that are both jaw-dropping and downright hilarious. This is maybe what not to do in the dating world - perhaps it could be a self-help session for 20-somethings swiping left and right.”

Forum Theatre until April 9

Luke Heggie in Rough Diamante

Reviewer Patrick Horan says: “It’s a beautifully written, coolly delivered take-down, somehow relayed without the off-putting aromas of malice or spite. Heggie is here to tell it as he sees it. Laugh if you like. Or not. He’ll keep on rolling, stacking brilliant observations with wonderfully evocative descriptors.”

The Chinese Museum until April 23

Kieran Hodgson in Maestro

Reviewer Michael Ward says: “At its heart, Maestro is a sweet love story ... The performance is faultless; each of Hodgson’s characters brought to life with simple, deft brushstrokes and delivered with a brilliant mastery of accents. This is an extremely polished show that should prove a Festival hit.”

Melbourne Town Hall until April 23

Alice Fraser in Empire

Reviewer Ian Royall says: “A natural communicator, Fraser avoids being preachy — rather she leaves you with something to think about later. It’s one of those performances that stays with you and keeps on giving.”

Chinese Museum until April 23

Sammy J in Hero Complex

Reviewer Joe Calleri says: “Once upon a time in the 1990s, in a faraway land called Frankston, there lived a young lad called Sam J McMillan who fell in love with The Ghost Who Walks and all-things Phantom-related. For those unfamiliar with The Phantom, Sammy J provides the right amount of trivia about the masked man in purple and black Lycra, created by Lee Falk in 1936.”

Victoria Hotel: 215 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. Until 23 April

Jenny Eclair in How To Be A Middle Aged Woman (Without Going Insane)

Reviewer Kate Herbert says: “She peppers her hilariously wicked tales of womanly woe with rude language, risqué topics, references to bodily functions and private bits, all delivered with a belligerent feistiness that is simultaneously alarming and refreshing. This is identification comedy that draws a crowd of women of a certain age who squeal or howl as they recognise themselves in Eclair’s startling anecdotes about old people’s drugs, supermarket blues, losing the fighting against cellulite and giving in to knitting.”

At Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne until April 23

Jimeoin in Renonsense Man

Reviewer Simon Plant says: “Jimeoin excels at quiet, observational comedy. This mischievous Irishman is in a league of his own when it comes to extracting laughs from everyday life. And in Renonsense Man, Jimeoin finds comic gold in the simplest things ... crossing the road, opening a jam jar, losing contact lenses ... That’s the real genius of Jimeoin. Intrigued by human behaviour, he goes out into the world, logs its absurdities and bounces them back at us as silly jokes. Funny and real. That’s the Renonsense Man.”

At ACMI, Federation Square, until April 23

Ben Darstow in Off The Cuff

Reviewer Joe Calleri says: “With only three lovely, paying patrons and me as his audience, the opening night of Ben’s show could have been a disaster. But this personable, stylish, 35-year old who holds a finance degree, is one of the warmest, most engaging comedians I’ve yet seen, and one of the most skilful and adaptable.”

Little Sista, Little Collins St until April 9