Melbourne International Comedy Festival comedian Q&A: The Listies, R.O.F.L.S.H.A.L.B.O.W.C.O.

From farts and burps to bubbles and mayhem, The Listies’ crazy kid-centric fun is bound to make you laugh so hard you wee.

The Listies Melbourne Comedy Festival 2019.

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

‘Does it have a burpershop quartet?’ Yes, yes it does.

‘Are there 37 bubble machines?’ Of course there are.

‘Is there a mini panto fairytale called Jack and the Beans-Talk about a boy who eats magic beans and f.rts himself into space?’ Yes, but then what MICF show doesn’t have that?

THE A-Z OF COMEDIAN Q&AS

YOUR GUIDE TO THE MELBOURNE COMEDY FESTIVAL

What have you been up to since last time you were here?

Our first kids comedy MICF show was in 2010 (just after the dinosaurs went extinct), it was called More Fun Than a Wii.

It was a huge deal for us as we got a Barry nomination (the award for best show in the festival), we were (and still are) the only children’s show to ever be nominated for it.

This blew our tiny minds and springboarded us into nine years of solid kids komedy touring!

Since then, we have made five kids shows and taken them all over Australia, the UK, Malaysia, South Korea; bagged awards, made a play called Hamlet: Prince of Skidmark with Sydney Theatre Company, hung out on ABC Me, published two best smelling books with Penguin, and released three comedy albums and learnt how to make long show-offy lists about what we’ve been up, too.

So we are pumped to be finally be BACK in our hometown’s best festival.

Who should see your show, and why?

Our shows are for humans aged 4-400 million (dinosaurs allowed).

If you fit into that age range you should prolly come along.

The show is pretty sensible actually, it features all the standard things you normally see in a serious piece of theatre: alien attacks, a giant with 100 heads, a half cow/half dinosaur, someone weeing on a house plant, you know — proper culture.

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

If you are prone to Rolling On The Floor So Hard A Little Bit of Wee Comes Out you should probably bring a towel.

Also: pants first THEN shoes.

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

So many shows, so hard to choose, but here’s some initial picks:

For the families: The Big Laugh Out in the city is great — last time we were there a dinosaur chased a hot dog around Federation Square and we then we saw people ‘spit juggling’ banana. Also it’s free: LITERALLY NOTHING NOT TO LIKE.

Also check Holly Austin’s Alphabet Soup — she’s an amazing beat boxer and mime.

Also see the accurately named Children are Stinky!

For the adults: Bron Batten’s Onstage Dating (what it says on the box, she goes on a new date every show, it’s insane and v funny).

We’ll also go see Lano and Woodley (probably every night), Tim Vine for our pun fix, Tom Walker and Demi Lardner are doing a show where they play twin brothers which looks bonkers, Astrid and Otto’s Haus Party is always great. So. Many. Shows.

What do you love about Melbourne?

Melbs in known for food so you should have some nomnoms. But be sure not to have too many nomnoms because it could make you vomvom. (However in the end it all comes out your bumbum.)

Who or what is your comedic inspiration, and why?

This week in the rehearsal room we have watched Laurel and Hardy, The Mighty Boosh, Jerry Lewis, Lano and Woodley, Kermit and Fozzie, French and Saunders, Morecombe and Wise.

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

Every kid who attends gets a free car* (* parents to supply car).

OUR REVIEW OF THE LISTIES, R.O.F.L.S.H.A.L.B.O.W.C.O.

Rating:★★★

Reviewer: Jim Schembri

This show is a complete mess, at least by the end.

The stage is cluttered with garbage, clothes and scores of dead aliens, there’s a pile of cow dung and most of the audience is wet.

It’s what you get after the raucous hour-long mayhem created by control-freak Rich and chaos-loving Matt.

OUR Q&A WITH THE LISTIES

The kids loved them, responding en masse to all their calls for audience participation, though the kids often did the precise opposite of what Rich & Matt were asking.

It was a gorgeous spectacle.

Fractured fairy tales, twisted musical numbers and a liberal sprinkling of adult references (Kafka; Blanche Dubois; Brexit; The Prodigy) accelerated to a clap-along climax that left young and old alike with a deeper appreciation about the eternal appeal of the fart joke.

More power to them.

The Listies, R.O.F.L.S.H.A.L.B.O.W.C.O., until 21 April, Malthouse.