Chaos and comedy at Melbourne Fringe

In the great tradition of Jewish comedians who use wit, absurdity, and just a touch of chaos to reveal deeper truths, Michael Lanzer is stepping onto the stage at this year’s Melbourne Fringe with his most ambitious project yet.

For Lanzer, The Michael Lanzer Extravaganza is more than a performance, it’s a culmination.

“It’s a mix of comedy, characters, puppets, and theatrical sleight-of-hand, all tied together with a sense of chaos and play,” he told The AJN ahead of the show. “The show is really a culmination of everything I love – puppetry, comedy, magic – all rolled into one night of joyful unpredictability.”

That sense of unpredictability runs deep in his creative DNA. Audiences, he promises, should expect the unexpected.

“Audiences can expect spontaneous moments, larger-than-life characters, puppetry, magic, and a lot of unexpected turns. I like to blur the line between performer and audience, so there are always surprises that can’t be repeated from night to night. It’s a mix of meticulous craft and complete chaos, sometimes in the same sketch,” he explained.