We share our favourite finds from the internet this week.Jon Stewart and comedy in ChinaJon Stewart has recently discovered that he’s a hit in China, from the millions of viewers who see his show in …
Dave O’Neil invites a merry bunch of vagabonds to share with us their most treasured possessions – their record collections. Join us for a High Fidelity-style rummage through the back catalogue, as w…
Presented by the Melbourne International Comedy FestivalWebsites, blogs, social media, YouTube, iTunes, live streaming and podcasts…The worldwide web has put a worldwide audience directly into the…
Jess McGuire probes a line-up of comedic talent on their experiences in the lovosphere. How far are they willing to exploit their private lives for comedic purposes? Is anything truly off limits…
Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project is one of the most awaited books of 2013. Since winning the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript last year, it’s been a whirlwind…
You are funny. We are funny. Everyone is funny. Some celebrate the use of humour; others merely come across it. Some are completely unaware of it. But all of us can develop it if we choose.Writer…
A co-presentation with Melbourne Conversations.You are funny. We are funny. Everyone is funny. Some celebrate the use of humour; others merely come across it. Some are completely unaware of it. But a…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect 1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
Ben Elton is a writing all-rounder: he got his start creating cult television comedy classics like The Young Ones and Blackadder, then moved onto novels, movie screenplays and musicals.His…
And now for something completely different … we’re delighted to present everyone’s favourite travel addict, Michael Palin. (And we’re getting the Monty Python jokes out of the way before he gets…
Michael Palin was first famous as ‘the nice one’ in the Monty Python team (despite fraudulently selling John Cleese a dead parrot), then as an actor in films from Brazil to A Fish Called Wanda. He’s …
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect 1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
Sex, sex, sex … and celebrity. Not all storytelling is about boarding schools, bloodsuckers and bow-slinging lady killers. In this adults-only night of fantastical tales, anything goes.Four writers s…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect 1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
In this instalment of Sam Pang’s series – focussing on the odd obsessions and unlikely fascinations of familiar faces – broadcaster Jess McGuire spills the beans about her love for British reality…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect
1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
Always diverse, occasionally devilish, the one thing you can always expect from Unexpected Passions is an evening of laid-back laughs, with wizard of wit Sam Pang at helm. Who’s next?Well… it’s…
Sex, sex, sex… and celebrity. Not all storytelling is about boarding schools, bloodsuckers and bow-slinging lady killers. In this adults-only night of fantastical tales, anything goes. Four writers s…
Comedian Lawrence Leung shares his dirty little writing secret – his habit of filing away life moments for use in his work, even while he’s living them.I was trying to write – or to put it another…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect
1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
In Unexpected Passions, host Sam Pang invites familiar faces to share their less familiar obsessions. This time around, Dave Graney drops by to tell us about his passion for explorer Sir Richard…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect
1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect 1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
Be horrified and delighted as your favourite comics describe, in gruesome detail, the worst gigs of their lives. Lawrence Mooney, Joel Creasey, Greg Fleet, Geraldine Hickey, Tony Martin and host…
Get Fact is a comedy panel show that concentrates on the stuff other shows don’t bother with. Swinging wildly from Colonel Sanders to Colonel Gaddafi, Get Fact covers everything from the trivial to t…
Be horrified and delighted as your favourite comics describe, in gruesome detail, the worst gigs of their lives. Tom Gleeson, Cal Wilson, Denise Scott, Dave Thornton and host George McEncroe walk us …
The Comedy Festival’s annual consideration of ladies’ matters is back with a discussion about agents and the representation of women in comedy. What do agents do? Why get one? How do you get one? Do …
Get Fact is a comedy panel show that concentrates on the stuff other shows don’t bother with. Swinging wildly from Colonel Sanders to Colonel Gaddafi, Get Fact covers everything from the trivial to t…
In the second instalment of Unexpected Passions, Sam Pang persuades Noni Hazlehurst and David Bridie to join him in revealing their unheralded pastimes. Bridie discusses his love of suburban…
We all know Jonathan Franzen is a twitcher. But did you know Tom Hanks likes to collect 1940s typewriters? Or that Johnny Depp likes to play with dolls?Sadly, Tom and the two Johnnies couldn’t join u…
In the debut event of his series, Unexpected Passions host Sam Pang has persuaded some almost as familiar faces to reveal their unlikely obsessions. Writer–comedian Kate Langbroek shares her love…
Join Nick Coyle (Pig Island, Me Pregnant!), Justin Heazlewood (aka the Bedroom Philosopher) and host Virginia Gay as our guests read excerpts from their own personal archives of angst and ecstasy –
An Irish author has, by dint of sheer chutzpah, managed a way to be nominated for a literary award before his book has been published. Two weekends ago, Julian Gough posted a plea for help on his…
George McEncroe likes a challenge, and she’s found it through a series of changes — some her choice, others not. In this entertaining Lunchbox/Soapbox, McEncroe explores the benefits of embracing…
Noni Reads
Dailies · Wed, 13 Jul 2011
You’ve heard Samuel L. Jackson read it. You’ve maybe even heard Werner Herzog read it. But have you heard Australia’s favourite storybook reader, Noni Hazlehurst, read the children’s book spoof…
In Written for the Telly, two television writers — Adam Zwar (Lowdown, Wilfred) and Robyn Butler (The Librarians, Very Small Business) — discuss the commonalities and differences between their…
Nine-metre bronze sculptures of Saddam Hussein in the grounds of the Republican Palace, Baghdad, 2005, by Kim Gordon, USDoD, via WikiCommons
The comedian Sacha Baron-Cohen …
The Comedy Festival’s annual consideration of ladies' matters is back, this time at the Wheeler Centre and on the world wide interwebs.A forum chaired by the very talented DeAnn Smith (Canada)…
At the first ever Melbourne International Comedy Festival, a collection of writers, performers and others came together to celebrate their favourite humourists. That was twenty-five years ago. This y…
Comedy is relative. One person’s hilarity is another’s wounding words. But surely there’s a place for material that’s on the nose.In this instalment of Lunchbox/Soapbox, Ben Pobjie argues that shock …
Fright Night
Video · Fri, 22 Oct 2010
From Imperial Panda, who brought you Erotic Fan Fiction – the Wheeler Centre’s least family-friendly session to date – comes Fright Night.Toby Schmitz recounts the story of a wartime navigator’s…
Catherine Deveny on ‘Why Becoming an Atheist Made me a Writer (and Why Being a Writer Made me an Atheist)’ at Lunchbox/ Soapbox as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.Warning: this…
Tomorrow at the Wheeler Centre, at 12:45pm, Catherine Deveny will be explaining 'Why Becoming an Atheist Made me a Writer (and Why Being a Writer Made me an Atheist)' at Lunchbox/ Soapbox, as part…
On Saturday February 13, on the anniversary of the Federal Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations, the Wheeler Centre presented a night of celebration and reflection, sharing the common and d…
On Saturday February 13, on the anniversary of the Federal Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations, the Wheeler Centre presented a night of celebration and reflection, sharing the common and d…
