IL DAGO II: NOW WITH NOODLES

Australia’s best ethnic comedians George Kapiniaris, Joe Avanti and Simon Palomares have teamed up with ‘wokboy’ Jason Chong in the award winning show Il Dago II: Now with Noodles. A a stand-up comedy show with a big musical finale at the end, Chong told Neos Kosmos that his job in the show is to get the crowd ready for these three comedians, who combined have about 70 years of experience.

“I am half-Asian so I talk about being half-Asian which is remarkably similar as we’ve all had the same migrant experience. We joke that I am iwog 2.0 – the next generation. All the jobs that Greek and Italians used to joke about having – the market gardeners, the fish and chip shops – they are all held by Asians now. And soon they will be taken over by Sudanese or another culture . There’s this migrant experience that we all share in Australia”

DETAILS: Northcote Town Hall, 189 High St, Northcote April 1-17 Thurs-Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm (120 mins) Prices: Full Fri-Sun $39.50 Group (10 or more) Fri-Sun $36 All Tix Thurs $33 Bookings; 9481 9500, www.northcotetownhall.com.au & at the door

THE HATEFUL HUMANITARIAN

Kon Karapanagiotidis is a good man, a humanitarian in fact. But this is no easy feat. Kon takes you on a journey of exploring his tormented childhood, condemned dating life and dysfunctional Greek family – don’t we all have them? Every dollar from every show he performs at the festival will go to the Asylum Resource Centre to help asylum seekers… told you he was a good man.

DETAILS: The Brunswick Green, 313 Sydney Rd, Brunswick April 13-18 Tue & Thu & Fri 8pm, Sat & Sun 6pm & 8pm (50 mins) Prices: All Tix $15 Bookings: tickets at the door

FUTURE WORLD

What do you get when you cross and Irishman and a Greek? Xavier Michelides that’s what. Back again for his 6th Melbourne Comedy Festival, Xavier is bringing his one-man sci-fi show Future World to the masses. “In the future there are too many jobs and not enough people so they start employing workers from the past,” explained Xavier to Neos Kosmos about his show.

Xavier will be playing all the characters in this show which includes – because of time travel – Thomas Edison, Harold Holt, Marie Antoinette in a shared office in the future. “In the show, you follow the journey of the two main characters Brad and Zach – they’re the odd couple. You’ve got Brad who is your typical 1975 Aussie nice guy and Zach…well, he’s pretty much me.” A social commentary on the future? “My idea is that the future is full of companies and there is nothing else left apart from corporations so it’s a comment on what the world would be like but it’s also a comment that there’s no right way to do anything in the end so the message is you should be open-minded to everything.”

DETAILS: Venue: Trades Hall – The Bookshop, Cnr Lygon & Victoria Sts, Carlton March 31 – April 24 Tue-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm (55 mins) Prices: Full $20, Concession $18, Group (6 or more) $18, Preview $15, Tightarse Tuesday $15 Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 or at the door

THE HERMITUDE OF ANGUS, ECSTATIC

Vachel Spirason is physical comedy at its best. In this show Vachel combines dance, music, clowning, cake and books to display the story of Angus, a strange boy with a murmuring heart and a crazy corporate mother. The Hermitude of Angus was the winner of the 2010 Best Comedy award at last year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival and the winner of the 2010 Brisbane Powerhouse Comedy award.

DETAILS: Melb Town Hall – Council Chambers, Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne March 31-April 24 Tue-Sat 7.15pm, Sun 6.15pm (60 mins) Prices: Full $20, Concession $18, Group (4 or more) $18 , Laugh Pack $18, Preview $16, Tightarse Tuesday $16 Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 or at the door

EUROPEAN MAN 2

European Man decided his first show European Man 1 was such a success that he’d do it again, with European Man 2. “I am back,” said European Man, “with more laughs than ever. You know when I was writing it so many jokes kept coming out. I tried to write some bad jokes, but I could not, they are all good, no they are great.” In his show, he talks about what it’s like for a European Man to live in Australia, with it being so foreign but with so many kangaroos and wallabies.

Asked most what he loves about Australia, European Man told Neos Kosmos it was the humble snag. “I like having sausages in bread that you can have at the barbecue… maybe with some coleslaw.” A show for people who like to have fun, who love life and who like to laugh a lot.

DETAILS: Three Degrees, QV Square, Cnr Swanston & Lonsdale Sts, Melbourne March 30-April 9 Tue-Sat 7.15pm (45 mins) Prices: Full $18, Concession $15, Group (5 or more) $15, Tightarse Tuesday $15 Bookings: (03) 9639 6766, 3dcomedy.com.au/bookings or at the door

THEY’RE JUST WORDS

There are some words that make us shut off to reason. Words so powerful, that at their mere mention, entire comedy audiences become silent. Balancing out dark subjects with clever, funny, and sometimes silly jokes, They’re Just Words is a thought provoking comedy about the context, of context. Watch Mikey Mileos tackle the words that make audiences go quiet in his, potentially controversial, new show.

DETAILS: They’re just words: Mikey Mileos Venue: European Bier Cafe,120 Exhibition St, Melbourne April 4-23 Mon-Sat 8.45pm (55 mins) Prices: All Tix $15 Bookings: moshtix.com.au or at the door