Lynn Belvedere

SHORT AND SWEET COMEDY+MAGIC 2016 WEEK 2 @ NEW THEATRE

00 suzie-1 01 Adam Axford-1 02 Di Barkas-1 03 Conway Restom-1 04 Alex AND Tash-1 05 Thao Thanh Cao-1 06 Legless-1 07 Bob Deacon-1 08 Adam Milgate-1 09 Victor Lee-1 10 billy D'Arcy-1 11 Cardistry-1

Production photography by Sylvi Soe has been displayed in order of performance.

This review relates to the second week of the Short and Sweet Comedy and Magic Festival held at the New Theatre on Sunday 25th January.

The very entertaining Suzie Q, was the excellent Master of Ceremonies. Suzie Q is a world champion pole dancer (currently ranked third in the world in pairs pole), a finalist on Australia’s Got Talent and a former Miss Nude Australia and Penthouse Pet. She was very excited to appear onstage fully dressed!                            

1. ADAM AXFORD spoke in fluent rhyme, and provided elements of alchemy and shamanism via the art of magic. East London born and raised, via a random audience member and using the magical power of persuasion, Adam correctly predicted that at the end of his magical performance, there would be: peace, love, magic. Clever magic at its best.

2. DI BARKAS, a “sweet” elderly British lady and comedy star, delivered an amazing assortment of very funny lists. They were about her life, love, marriage, widow, senior sex, lack of senior sex, and in particular she spoke frankly, “be still my beating vulva”. She displayed a twisted sense of humour, such as, “tried poetry but not enough angst.” Well deserved laughter throughout.

3. CONWAY RESTOM’s zany comedy magic act “Superswallow” was not perfect, just awesome. His love of magic took him from being a partner in a national law firm, to entertaining with his comic mind-reading and magic, A repeat performer at the Sydney Fringe Festival, he presented the classic magical illusion “sword-through-the-neck” aided by an unsuspecting audience volunteer, and received both laughter and applause from an appreciative audience.

4. THE TWIN JUGGLERS – Alex and Tash Turner-Cohen are teenage twin girls, who began partner juggling in primary school. Their amazing choreographed partner juggling routines required enormous skills to keep up with. They then switched  to juggling clubs for the final routine. Huge applause for each and every amazing juggling routine. Very entertaining.

5. Thao Thanh Cao delivered dry, self-deprecating and female politically incorrect comedy. Vietnamese born, she delivered unique and refreshing humour, and got away with discussing sensitive issues without using decorum and tact. All her explanations created constant, laugh out loud comedy, and her methodology included situation based humour. Here was some of the rap- When you see outdoor public sex, just get up close and ask “Do you mind if I watch?”….When your dog eats your homework, eating the dog prevents a repetition…. She lives with parents, and she keeps her elderly parents under her control by asking them “Do you want to visit the Nursing Home?!”…

6. DALE JOHNSON-GREEN presented LEGLESS an incredible mimed journey of magic illusions, starting from a drunken dinner date, drink glasses magically floating in the air, and items disappearing and reappearing. The finale was walking along, and then jumping up and down, on sharp broken glass. Very entertaining, and the audience reacted to the unexpected glass walking, with plenty of applause.

7. BOB DEACON delivered spirited humorous lyrics as he played his guitar. Playing the character of “Bob from Baltimore” he delivered classic comic one-liners about POPEYE and OLIVE OIL and a pride of elephants.

8. SEVEN DEADLY SINS – Adam Milgate has had an eclectic career of acting, magic, mind-reading, puppetry and advertising, Dressed as an irreverent mind-reading evangelical preacher, seven random people each discreetly selected their particular “Deadly Sin” from the well known collection:- Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony wrath, sloth. Adam Milgate used mind-reading skills to quickly determine who ‘held’ each sin. http://www.justaddmagic.com.au/

9. ACCORDING TO VICTORLEEDIA… Victor Lee is a Hong Kong born, Sydney raised comedian, provided a Chinese take on comedy. He explained the world as seen only through the eyes of his VICTORLEEDIA. Laughter ensued.

https://www.facebook.com/thevictorleedia/

10. BILLY D’ARCY – All of twenty-one years old, he provided sharp wit and youthful perspective, and was the runner up in the 2015 Comedy Court Grand Final. Very interesting, comic points of view, that many quickly responded to with laughter.

11. DOUBLE TROUBLE – Lucas Itrawan and Ash Hodgkinson are the two boys from “Cardistry” and are just fourteen years old, but are already seasoned professionals on the Australian entertainment circuit. Crowned Australian Junior Magic Champions at the age of twelve, they then starred in their own sell-out show at the 2015 Melbourne Magic Festival. Should be on TVs “Penn and Teller – Fool Us”. Paul was grabbed from the audience, hand coloured in a gigantic sketch of their black and white JOKER CARD, to which the magicians produced a deck of colour 52 JOKER CARDS that exactly and precisely matched the colours as chosen by Paul. Superb magic entertainment.

http://www.shortandsweet.org/festivals/shortsweet-cabaret-sydney-2016

Published by Lynn Belvedere

Once we were old enough, my parents took the whole family to the Sydney CBD cinemas every week. Thus began a lifetime interest, in going to the cinema every week, and became a passionate cinephile by watching all those very heavily edited ''Australian Film Censorship Board'' true cinéaste versions of brand new release ''Cinematograph Films''. Greater Union always gave my father (who worked in Cinema Distribution Exhibition) guest double movie passes, to every first-night ''red carpet Opening Night'' at The State Theatre Cinema at 49 Market Street. Up until his death, my dad always received ''two house seats'' for every Opening Night performance events at the Theatre Royal SYDNEY and at Her Majesty's Theatre SYDNEY. As a child, when mum choose not to go, I often went with him, to those live performance events. As a young child, I remember being taken for each new show, at both The New Theatre at 60 Sussex Street, and the Phillip Street Theatre when located at 150 Elizabeth Street, and for classical music concerts at Sydney Town Hall. = = = ★★★★★ = = = Being happy is a choice, and I have always viewed my life, as material ready be made into a series of amazing tentpole movies. My New Years Resolution is kept every year: ''Get to see/review five new live theatre shows each week, and get to see/review six new cinema movies each week'', plus is one of the Australian Cinema Pioneers, and apparently have seen far too much already, but always wanting to experience more and more each year. I am also able to do almost everything that I enjoy doing. Yes, I do have a great daytime job in I.T. as ''Software Design Project Manager'', PLUS each evening until quite late - - - Australian Cinematograph Films historical censorship consultant - product-placement consultant - mystery-shopper consultant - playwright, writer, author, director, producer, photographer, cinematographer, color-grader, subtitles proofreader - arts/ drama/ music/ film critic and judge, journalist, member FIPRESCI & FCCA & AFCA, member AACTA accredited film reviewer-critic-writer, accredited IMDB.COM critic-reviewer-author, projectionist, plus an innovative iconoclast - - - ★★★★★ LYNN BELVEDERE ★★★★★ - - - [usr 5] - - -