Vigilantelope: April 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

"Tale of the Golden Lease" listed in The Pun's Top Five Not-Just-Standup Shows

Top 5… Not-just-standup shows

21 APRIL 2009 LEFA SINGLETON NORTON NO COMMENT

In no particular order, here are our Top 5 suggestions for shows which break out of the stand-up mould to offer you something a little different.

1. Denise Scott - Number 26

Sit back, relax and put your metaphoric comfy nightie on so you can join Scott in her jaunt down memory lane. Part stand-up, part storytelling with a dash of showbiz thrown in, this show is one you’ll remember long after you’ve rushed off to the next gig.

2. Wilson Dixon Rides Again

If you haven’t seen a Wilson Dixon show before, you’ll want to give this one a crack. Not just because of the recent Barry Award nomination, which usually signals a good show, but because this uniquely drawn charachter has a way of sneaking up on you. The music is good, the premise is good, the story is good. This cowboy philosopher is more than just a charicature, which makes for a great show.

3. The List Operators

Addicted to making lists? This show is perfect for you. Fresh from their award winning season (and sold-out) season at Melbourne Fringe Festival, this duo will keep you laughing for a full hour… and what better than to make our Top 5 list than, well, a show about lists.

4. Tale of the Golden Lease

Read our review for a glowing recommendation to see this show, or just take my word for the fact that these lads are performing sketch comedy at its finest.

5. Justin Hamilton - Goodbye Ruby Tuesday

Combine one talented comedian and one talented actor and you get Goodbye Ruby Tuesday. An hour long story about little-girl-lost, Ruby, and her rather strange friendship with local comic Jason. There are smatterings of stand-up, a beguiling story and endearing, well drawn charachters. Well worth a look.

The Pun Reviews Vigilantelope's "Tale of the Golden Lease"

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Tale of the Golden Lease

22 APRIL 2009 TIM NORTON 5 COMMENTS

Utter the words ‘university’ and ‘comedy’ in the same sentence and you’ll usually elicit a long groan from me. As much as I understand the need for students to start somewhere and trial their material, I really don’t need to be subjected to painful performances limited to re-enactments of South Park or Monty Python. But this festival, Tale of the Golden Lease has blown all my preconceptions away with a magnificent performance, and ultimately restored my faith in the art of comedy, theatre and performance.

Vachel Spirason, Joel Tito, Pat Miller, Tim McDonald and Nick Russell from the Monash Law Revue Gold Alumni tell a pan-dimensional story of religion, history and silliness that is truly astonishing. Tale of the Golden Lease shows that regardless of budget, it is pure talent that will entertain, and these boys have it in spades.

This is an incredibly tight performance that overcomes every hurdle thrown at it. With a large number of scene changes, actors playing multiple characters and minimal props, the magical illusion of a continued story is never lost. The audience is continually spellbound by the antics of these rather manic, energetic and overwhelmingly entertaining performers. Lightening-quick scene changes ensure that boredom never sets in, and what they obviously lack in funding for props (the golden lease, holding the deed to earth’s future, is a phonebook badly wrapped in gold foil), they make up for in confidence and ability.

I really stuggle to find anything wrong with this performance – very few scripted jokes fell flat – with the exception of an inevitable law joke that went straight over my non-legal head. Combining very strong acting talents with no shred of shame enables these boys to keep the fourth wall of the theatre incredibly solid.

It is hard to avoid the feeling that, watching this performance, you are witnessing the birth of a new generation of comedic actors. Like the D-Generation or The Chaser, intelligent, informed talent has to start somewhere, and I predict we’ll be seeing much more of this crew in the future. Please, someone give them a TV show! If these five boys can produce a show so entertaining with little more than some devil horns, an oversized latte, black cloth and their awesomely tatty golden lease, just imagine what they could rise to.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Groggy Squirrel Review of Vigilantelope's "Tale of the Golden Lease"

2009 MICF Reviews

Tale of the Golden Lease

Colin Flaherty – 18 April 2009

Fresh from the Monash Comedy Law Revues comes Vigilantelope (Vachel Spirason, Joel Tito, Nick Russell, Tim McDonald and Pat Miller) with their show Tale of the Golden Lease. It told the story of the dispute of Earth’s lease with Father Time and the ensuing journey of a courier and two humans through various dimensions to find the document before Satan’s minions.

Working with a bare stage, they made creative use of lighting and sound effects to transport the audience to the different locales in the play. In a similar act of economy, they kept the props and costuming basic, often using only a hat to switch between characters. The only costuming of some substance was the brilliant one used to portray Vishnu. This bare bones approach was a necessity as each of the five actors was required to play multiple wacky beings, so we weren’t left staring at a darkened stage for too long between scenes.

The script was punchy and crammed a lot of story into the hour. The characters were completely over the top and made use of plenty of witty wordplay, nonsensical concepts and surprising visual gags to keep the hilarity at a high level that never wavered. A number of clever pop culture references added to the fun and a subtext echoing the current financial climate made this a quite topical show in spite of the lashings of whimsy.

The team threw themselves around the stage with great enthusiasm and bounced off each other effortlessly. Their five years working together certainly showed as they pulled off an almost seamless performance which the audience lapped up.

There were a number of big musical numbers that were not only amusing in content but regularly featured a troop of dancers to add some zaniness. These background elements of humour were subtle enough not to take away from the song, they were little funny things occurring in the peripheral. Dancing featured heavily in the show not just as a way of jazzing things up, but as an interesting and surreal plot point. All five joined in on some tightly choreographed and hilarious routines, mugging the whole time.

The Tale of the Golden Lease was a brilliantly rollicking show that had the audience in hysterics. It proved that the University Revues are still a fertile ground for top comedic talent.

Visit the Comedy@Trades Website for booking details.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Vigilantelope Nominated for a Golden Gibbo Award!

Last night, the Golden Gibbo Nominees were announced at the festival club, and incredibly, our very own "Tale of the Golden Lease" was amongst them!

The prize is in remembrance of Lynda Gibson, Melbourne comedy legend, who died on January 2, 2004 after a long battle with cancer. The award is "awarded to a local, independent show that bucks trends and pursues the artist's idea more strongly than it pursues any commercial lure."

The Nominees for 2009 are: Heath McIvor: Randy's Postcards From Purgatory, Wes Snelling: Kiosk, The List Operators, Rob Hunter: Moosecow, and Tom Ballard: Is What He Is. Such an honour to be up there with these guys! Go and check out as many of these acts as possible - they are all very different and excellent.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Tale of the Golden Lease - Selling Fast!

Vigilantelope's "Tale of the Golden Lease" opened last night to a full house of wonderful people. Tickets are now SOLD OUT for Thu the 16th and Fri the 17th of April! Book for tonight or Sat the 18th right now at http://www.vigilantelope.com or buy tickets at the door. Show starts at 7pm at Trades Hall on the corner of Lygon or Victoria. We'd love to see you there!