Laughing, Moving and Flying [21.03.2008]

Moving Target is on at the Malthouse Theatre until March 29th, and if you have siblings, you'll love the opening scene. A group of six people are spread around a sparsely furnished room, including a young man sitting on a office chair who teases a young woman by making silly mouth noises. This goes on for quite some time. As sibling teasing did, according to my recollections. Soon the group of people start to play hide and seek, which in a sparsely furnished room is no mean feat. They tell stories about children, they count up to one hundred, they roll themselves up in carpets, they hide behind the sofa, and by the end of the night, what began as a memory of the quiet cruelty of childhood games has become a deeply disturbing, prismatic look at our fear of The Other. You'll laugh and then you'll get goose bumps.

The Comedy Festival Gala moved to the Vodafone Arena this year. Sooooooooooooo big. I got lucky and sat near the front. It's a great sampler for the Festival - so here's who you should consider seeing:

Mark Watson - wacky Welshman who you'll want to take home and keep as a pet

Shane Warne the Musical (in progress) - Eddie Perfect meets Casey Bennetto (Keating the Musical) meets a Playboy magazine

Fiona O'Loughlin - the Bad Mother is back, and now she's menopausal (and has misplaced her cervix)

The Umbilical Brothers - so so so skilled, these boys - Marcel Marceau eat your heart out (and yet - may you rest in peace)

Nina Conti - ventriloquist with a monkey hand puppet - sounds dodgy but she's clever and funny and a little bit sicko

I'm heading to New York this week for a couple of weeks. Will try to keep you posted as regards my adventures in the Big Apple.