Shaolin Punk

While the Lab Coat may be sitting back and relaxing during this year’s Melbourne Fringe, the Man behind the Lab Coat, Ben McKenzie, isn’t resting on his laurels. His new theatre company, Shaolin Punk, is presenting its first production - Ben’s first play, A Record or an OBE. See the Shaolin Punk site for details!

The lovely Lisa Clark of Australian comedy web site The Groggy Squirrel has interviewed Ben McKenzie about A Record or an OBE. You can check out the article here.

Several friends of Shaolin Punk also have shows in the Fringe, and in the interest of promoting the kind of theatre and comedy I like to see, here’s a short list of the things we’ll be trying to see if we have the time. Don’t forget while you’re booking tickets for these shows that it’s only a week until the opening of A Record or an OBE, so be sure to book tickets for us too!

• Every Film Ever Made - OBE co-star Robert Lloyd, Adam McKenzie and Tegan Higginbotham, better known as The Hound of the Baskervilles, return to the stage to do exactly what it says on the tin. Do you remember every movie ever made?
• How to Rig an Election - Mr. Al and Mr. Nick are back, accompanied by Bec Hill, and in this political seminar satire they’ll explain exactly how you can win an election without actually requiring a majority of votes.
• Waiting for the Great Leap Forward - from the brains behind Birdhouse, a collection of Fringe and comedy artists including Casey Bennetto of Keating! and the boys of Tripod come together to play protest songs and raise money for Asylum Seekers. One night only - this Friday! - and it should be superb.
• The House of Anomalous - a collaboration between Jamie Robertson, Jason Geary and Dom Phelan (Anomalous) which they describe as “a surreal and subversive sitcom blended using an original mix of sketch, character and narrative.”

A Record or an OBE star Rob Lloyd will be appearing at Local Laughs @ Laundry tonight! Along with Adam McKenzie and Tegan Higginbotham Rob will be performing as “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, presenting an hilarious promo for their upcoming Fringe show, Every Film Ever Made. You can also see, as you can every week, some of Melbourne’s best comic talent, including this week Josh Earl, Mat Kenneally, Jess Moir and Duff. You might catch a glimpse of OBE scribe and co-star Ben McKenzie as well…

What: Local Laughs @ Laundry
Where: Downstairs at Laundry Bar, 50 Johnston Street, Fitzroy
When: Monday, September 24 from 8:00pm
Money: $12/$10 at the door

Yes, it be September 19, that most ridiculous of holidays - Talk Like a Pirate Day. But don’t let the vernacular fool ye - it still be the day o’ Punraiser, the fund raising event featurin’ the stars of A Record or an OBE, Ben McKenzie and Rob Lloyd. Here are those details again:

What: Punraiser! A comedy night in support of the RMIT Fine Arts Graduate Photography exhibition, featuring The Bedroom Philosopher, Josh Earl, Andrew McClelland, Lawrence Leung, Bec Hill, Hound of the Baskervilles (featuring Rob Lloyd) and Ben McKenzie.
When: Tonight! September 19 @ 8pm
Where: Roxanne Parlour
How Much: $12 at the door