Return to the stage
The comedy festivals return to Melbourne and Sydney.
Get ready to laugh your pants off, as comedy festivals return to Melbourne and Sydney in autumn. Both cities have exciting programs of stand-up comedy, cabaret, theatre, street performance, film, television, radio and visual arts. While many shows are for mature audiences, there are also great performances to entertain the whole family.
Big names set to perform in Melbourne and Sydney include Joel Creasey, Effie, Tommy Little, Annabel Crabb and Dave Thornton. Also, performing at both festivals are a talented array of Jewish comedians including Mike Goldstein, well known for his appearances on The Hundred with Andy Lee, multi-award-winning Australian comedian, singer and writer Reuben Kaye, and rising star Ben Kochan who has opened for Wil Anderson and Dave Hughes.
At the Melbourne International Comedy festival, you can also see Jewish comedians Michael Shafar, Josh Glanc and Jeremy Moses.
Shafar is a comedian to watch and his popularity continues to grow. His debut comedy special (A)LIVE is streaming on Amazon Prime US, and his latest special Alright, Next Joke is available on YouTube. Across his social media platforms, he has over 100,000 followers and has had around 80 million views in the last year.
In his shows, Shafar speaks openly about being Jewish as well being a survivor of testicular cancer. Now based in London, Shafar returns to Melbourne for his new show Lots to Say, in which he calls for Nazis to be allowed to wear swastikas (so that we know who to punch) and has an idea for a show called MasterChef Racist where new immigrants cook for racist judges to help them overcome their racism.
Speaking to The AJN, Shafar discussed what it’s like to be a Jewish comedian in London amid rising antisemitism. Shafar said that while he recognises some artists don’t wish to discuss their Jewish identity publicly, talking about being Jewish is central to his show as he tackles issues of antisemitism and Holocaust denial in his standup.
“I’m always subverting Jewish stereotypes and Jewish tropes rather than confirming them, and I think that makes them more interesting,” he said.
Discussing what inspired him to follow comedy instead of his law degree, Shafar commented, “I like the cheekiness … It’s the only time you can say the wrong thing, and if you’re funny you can get away with it.” He added, “There’s a great quote from Andy Warhol which says, ‘Art is anything you can get away with’ and I feel that is so true for at least what I’m trying to do on stage … I’m trying to push as far as possible.”
When asked if comedians can push too far today and then be cancelled, Shafar replies, “I think it makes comedy harder, and I think that’s good because it means that people who can work out a way to say what they want to say while avoiding all the [racist and homophobic] landmines will shine, and the comedians that aren’t good enough to do that will be exposed for not being good at their job.”
Another comedian who is clearly doing a great job, as he won the “2023 Critics choice award Perth Fringe World” is Josh Glanc, who will be performing his show Collections in Melbourne. Glanc has received other accolades for his humour, including winning Best Comedy Weekly Award in 2017 and 2018 at the Adelaide Fringe.
A comedian new to the scene is Sydney born Jeremy Moses who is visually impaired and will be performing his show 157 Hours of Bad Slam Poetry, which is described as “comedic tales of disability, young grief and the lockdown-fuelled poetic obsession that partially swept Australia”.
Born with a rare genetic condition affecting his eyesight and coordination, Moses shares the trials and tribulations of visual impairment, the often-funny difficulties of disability, and the awkward misadventures that continue to plague his adulthood.
Moses performed this show at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in October, which was his first time performing stand-up.
Asked if comedy makes it easier to discuss disability, Moses told The AJN, “For sure. I never felt comfortable talking about my disability. When I was young it was always the elephant in the room … But since I’ve started doing comedy, and it started mid-last year, I’ve definitely become more comfortable in my own skin.
“I’m more able to talk about things, and the more I do, the more people understand me and when they laugh, it’s a recognition that they are learning something.” Moses adds, “I’ve been stopped at the train station by people saying are you drunk or are you disabled? And by explaining it to them or by inviting them to come see my show, hopefully it breaks down that barrier.”
Moses said he hopes his show will build awareness of disability.
“Comedy is a frontier that people with a disability aren’t often involved in, or if they are, they’re often a punchline, or disability is a punchline for a lot of comedians. But when you get up and you break that barrier, I think it helps to take that stigma away and be inclusive, and when venues are accessible, it’s a great thing.”
Moses noted that often comedy venues are not accessible for people with disabilities including for the performer. Moses will perform at Classic Southside in Melbourne which is a venue accessible for people with disabilities, and there will be an Auslan interpreted, sensory friendly performance on April 14.
For tickets to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (March 27 to April 21) see comedyfestival.com.au
For tickets to the Sydney International Comedy Festival (April 22 to May 19) visit – sydneycomedyfest.com.au
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