Melbourne International Comedy Festival comedian Q&A: Tara Rankine, Love is a work in progress

This cabaret show about love sex, relationships and heartbreak will have you laughing and maybe crying too!

Tara Rankine, Love is a work in progress.

What can people expect from your show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival?

A storytelling cabaret show about love sex, relationships and heartbreak.

Hilarious, embarrassing and poignant love stories and sexual encounters interspersed with original soulful and funny songs played live on guitar, vocals and ukulele.

It’s a party in my heart — a rollercoaster of the feels, heartfelt, honest, ridiculous and lots of fun.

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Things get stuck places, absurd props are used including giant lips, a pump and modelling balloons, songs are sung with heart and gusto and we get vulnerable together.

People will laugh, cry and then sing — that's a promise!

Tell us what you’ve been up to since last time you were here.

This is my first one woman show in MICF.

I have performed children’s shows in MICF with my children’s theatre company Sausage Dog Productions and shows with other independent theatre companies (such at Don’t Look Away and AtticErratic) but this is my first solo show.

I am a Melbourne girl but have been living in London the past three years and developed this show there. MICF is my favourite festival in the world so I am super excited to be performing my one woman show here.

In London I performed with an incredible company Christmas For Kids — touring musical puppetry shows to hospices around the country and then have been focusing on developing this show ready to tour, performing at various info theatres in London including a season at The Space.

I’m super pumped to share this show with my home city.

Who should see your show, and why?

It won the weekly cabaret award for Adelaide fringe so you know at least three other people don’t think it’s shit!

I think it is for anyone who has ever loved, who has ever lost and who has ever had a sexual experience.

So many audience members have come up to me after the show and said “that reminded me of so many stories from my life!”

I tell honest, absurd, sexy, dorky and heartfelt stories from my life told literally from inside my crazy heart and it’s scattered with beautiful original songs written by the amazing Maddie Thiele.

It is genuinely a rollercoaster of a show — people wet themselves laughing, some people are moved to tears and everyone ends up singing!

So if you want some entertaining, hilarious, raunchy and poignant real life stories about love and sex with some banging and soulful songs and all the feels — this show is for you!

What’s your No.1 tip for people coming to see a show at the comedy festival?

Take a chance on a smaller show and someone you have maybe never heard of.
The big names are often great — they became famous for a reason, but some of the greatest shows I have ever seen and the discovery of favourite comedians and performers has come from taking a chance on a show I knew nothing about or a recommendation from someone else.

Also good to know what kind of humour you like — if you like absurd, weird and wacky humour maybe don’t go to a regular stand up show — this is the comedy festival — IT HAS LITERALLY EVERYTHING!

Ask the info desk or another performer for recommendations and you might just find your next favourite performer.

Which other comedians/shows are you keen to see at this year’s festival, and why?

Oh sooo many shows!

Oliver Coleman — I saw his show in development in Adelaide and he made me laugh so hard!

He is silly and absurd and wacky and I can’t wait to see where his show goes.

Neal Portanza and Joshua Ladgrove because he is absurd and crazy and silly and brilliant and the first time I saw him perform back in 2014 he made me scream-laugh so hard I was in pain

Hannah Gadsby (obviously) (if I can get a ticket) because she is absolutely brilliant and everything I think live performance and comedy should be

Double Denim — because they are a hilariously talented female duo and gorgeous humans and now award wining and I can’t wait to see the new show they have cooked up

Steen Raskopoulos — the most brilliant character comedy I have ever seen.

I adore his shows — they are clever and hilarious and full of heart and honestly the best audience interaction and participation I have ever seen.

And also another incredibly lovely human.

And more and more and more!

What do you love about Melbourne?

I love Melbourne, so much. It has such a good vibe, full of culture and good food and coffee and little alleyways and live music and beautiful parks and the beach so close and the hills and forest so close and a kind of creative, buzzing energy about it.

It feels warm and friendly and exciting and MICF makes the city come fully to life. I love thousands of people coming together every night to laugh together — it feels like the best kind of party and a healthy alternative to a lot of the hate and fear in our country and the world at the moment. If you have never been to MICF you are missing out and you seriously MUST GO this year!

Who or what is your comedic inspiration, and why?

I have a lot! A lot of slowing — modern clowning that is based around vulnerability and finding what is funny about you — the essence of you — is certainly a huge inspiration for me.

Anything else you want us to know about you or your show?

I am loving doing this show and it means a lot to me so to have had the overwhelmingly positive response I’ve had from audiences and fellow artists and to have won a weekly award means the absolute world to me.

I feel humbled and incredibly excited to be performing my own solo show in my favourite festival in the world and I look forward to sharing it with new audiences.

I promise you will laugh at least once and I’ll help you feel all the feels!

TARA RANKINE, LOVE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, APRIL 8-20, TASMA TERRACE 4, 6 PARLIAMENT PLACE, BOOK TICKETS