The must-see and might-see shows as Melbourne International Comedy Festival nears halfway mark

AS this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival nears the halfway point, star-rated reviews shed the light on the big shows you’ve gotta see and the quieter ones that might surprise you.

SUNDAY funny Sunday.

Time for a laugh. But how do you make right choices in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival? How do you wade through 612 comic acts and come up with the one that’s right for you?

Celia Pacquola’s All Talk is an hour of laughs.

As this year’s festival nears the halfway point, the fog around the fun is lifting. Star-rated reviews are shedding light on the big shows you’ve gotta see ... and the quieter ones that might surprise you.

Festival director Susan Provan says: “It’s been a strong Easter opening. Autumn is in the air which always encourages people into comedy shows. We’ve had lots of great reviews and a raft of performers booking in extra shows.”

MUST SEES

An Australian woman, two clowns and an Icelandic nice guy have impressed our critics thusfar. All three shows have notched 4.5 stars.

Celia Pacquola earned them for All Talk, an hour of laughs and wincing as she unpacks her 2017 year when she was dominating career wise yet floundering in her personal life.

Mikey Cahill wrote: “Her huggable, protean charm comes across as we watch her star hurtling in orbit.”

Lano and Woodley’s Fly feels like the daggy hit of the Festival.

Kate Herbert observed: “Colin (Lano) is determined to stage a serious bit of theatre, a play about the flying Wright brothers, but Frank (Woodley) keeps tilting the show into the stupid, silly nonsense.”

Aunty Donna have a sleeper show at this year’s festival. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

And the fresh-faced Ari Eldjárn had Michael Ward reaching for the superlatives in Pardon My Icelandic.

“Even without the jokes, it’s fascinating to not only listen to an Icelander, but hear his take on his fellow countrymen. Disorganised. Desperate for attention. They look down their noses at Faroe Islanders. Who knew?”

Other bolters: Rose Matafeo, Rhys Nicholson, Ivan Aristeguieta.

MIGHT SEES

Helen Bidou is fixing mojitos as you Enter the Spinnaker Lounge and she’s clearly been getting high on her own supply.

The bawdy, loose unit from Get Krack! n has added three extra dates and Sam Campbell (who has previously won the Director’s Choice Award for Zanzoop) plays her hapless son.

Tim Key’s mega 70-minute Mega-Date show is a meta tour de force through his career and famous collaborators (Steve Coogan, Kristen Schaal, Anne Hathaway).

Patrick Horan reckoned: “In cocksure mode, Key trades wonderfully well in mangled portrayals, engaging in borderline worrisome behaviour with a self-confidence that appears enviable but heavily hints at darker aftermaths.”

Lano and Woodley’s comedy show Fly has been a festival success. Picture: David Caird

LA-based surrealist Natalie Palamides won Best Newcomer Award at Edinburgh Fringe for her LAID show (where she lays an egg every day) and plenty of the “right people” are raving about her form here.

Jason Byrne doesn’t do bad gigs, regardless of who he plucks from the audience. He is The Man With Three Brains and will provide a circuit-breaker from the usual stock standard stand-up.

Don’t forget Aunty Donna ... going back to school in Glennridge Secondary College and not even thinking about homework!

SLEEPERS

Stuart Daulman’s Death of a Daulman looks like taking the underground star out into the open where we can all appreciate him.

It’s a look back at his own life where we see the master impressionist in full flight.

Cameron Duggan is getting plenty of Best Newcomer buzz, his Sorry I’m Late set is a rip-roaring 50 minutes at Trades Hall in Carlton where you can catch other quiet gems: Chimp Cop, Aboriginal Comedy Allstars and Simon Taylor.