It’s a serious business, booking comedy tickets.
This year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival has 450 shows over more than three weeks. It’s on. International acts and everything.
Up for a laugh: The Listies, Ali McGregor, Scientwits (back) Andrew Hansen and Vidya Rajan.Credit:Chris Hopkins
But how do you choose? You want a laugh or two. You want to catch the hot new thing, for bragging rights in the queue outside Town Hall, but you don’t want to miss the veteran at the top of their game, even if everyone else saw them 10 years ago when they were cool.
For serious answers to these serious questions, who better to ask than comedians.
How do you choose what to see at the festival?
Andrew Hansen: I have little kids so my comedy schedule is restricted to Dr Bubble and Milkshake, The Listies and Mr Snot Bottom. Mind you, they’re all excellent choices for adults, too. I keep a keen ear out for recommendations and steer well clear of those shows, because my taste is completely different from anyone else’s. Occasionally, I browse reviews and if the critic really hates something, there’s a strong chance I’ll adore it.
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Vidya Rajan: Scan the program, see what mates are doing, word of mouth during the festival, and just accept you’ll miss out on a lot of good stuff. Every year it feels like I’m about to discover an algorithm that ensures I get to the best and most things, and it falls miserably flat.
The Scientwits (Sam Harrison): I see my friends’ shows, the shows my friends want to go along to and sometimes I just try to find a show that sounds interesting from the program. I do try to get along to the award nominee shows.
Laugh hacks: Comedians share their tips on choosing the best festival shows
Source: Philippines Alive
