Shaolin Punk

Hello everyone!

It’s time for a quick update on the state of the punk, and things are hotting up for the next couple of weeks. Ben is going to be a busy man creating and writing everything he has on his plate, but SCIENCE WEEK is fast approaching, so here’s where you can find the Man in the Lab Coat!

First up Ben is reprising his role in the show Not the Nobel Prize at the Melbourne Museum.  Check it out if you can, it will be a barrel of nerdy and not so nerdy laughs as comedians pit their wits against actual scientists (who make science happen for a living) trying to get to the bottom of fact versus fiction.

Get ready everyone! In the same week, Ben is going to take on one of the 20th century’s greatest minds, Stephen Hawking, and attempt to make whatever it is he wrote in that book comprehensible to us mere mortals. Anyway, here is the flyer (as I am lazy and cut and paste is your friend).

Any questions or queries, feel free to comment here or you can get in contact with me, Gail, gail@shaolinpunk.net, and I will do my best to help you out.

A Brief History of A Brief History of Time

A comedic guide to a great unread classic of the 20th century

To coincide with National Science Week (August 17-25) Melbourne-based comedian, scientician and Graeme Garden-lookalike Ben McKenzie will present a new comedy lecture in his guise as “the Man in the Lab Coat”. If you’ve always wanted to read Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, don’t go in unprepared! For three shows, aimed at secondary students and above, McKenzie will unravel and demystify the book that everyone has heard of – and almost no-one has read.

Venue: Historic Theatre, The Royal Society of Victoria, 9 Victoria Street, Melbourne

When: Friday August 22 – 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm (free matinee for schools)
Saturday August 23 – 8 pm to 9 pm (open to general public) $18 full, $10 concession/RSV members
Sunday August 24 – 7 pm to 8 pm (open to general public) $18 full, $10 concession/RSV members

Tickets: Bookings essential; call 03 9878 3181 or email bookings@shaolinpunk.net

It’s been a while since our last update, so we figure it’s time to fill you in on the latest doings of Shaolin Punk and its creative director, Ben McKenzie.

This Sunday saw the launch of Melbourne’s newest comedy event, the Anarchist Guild Social Committee, at the Bella Union bar at Trades Hall. The brainchild of host Nick Caddaye, the AGSC is a monthly live sketch comedy show. Shaolin Punk’s Ben McKenzie is assistant producer and also a writer/performer, alongside the main cast of Andrew McClelland, Tegan Higginbotham, Dave Bushell, Celia Pacquola, Richard McKenzie and Courteney Hocking. The first meeting of the AGSC was a huge success, so don’t miss its return on July 20!

Shaolin Punk has two new shows coming up in the next few months. First up, as part of National Science Week, Ben McKenzie premieres his new one-man comedy science lecture, A (Very) Brief History of Time, to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Stephen Hawking’s influential book. Then, for the 2008 Melbourne Fringe Festival, Shaolin Punk presents Set List, an improvised musical performance devised and performed by Dan Walmsley and Karin Muiznieks and featuring Ben McKenzie. Set List will premiere in three afternoon sessions at the Bella Union bar at Trades Hall as part of the Fringe @ Trades programme. Watch this space for more details soon!

And finally, with the departure of Janelle Koenig for the UK, Ben McKenzie has taken on the role of artistic director of Melbourne improvised comedy troupe The Crew. The group’s final performance of Impro Sundae at Bar Open, before they move to another venue, is this Sunday, June 22. Don’t miss it!

Well, Comedy Festival is over, and the Melbourne Fringe is still months away, so it’s time for a little rest for Shaolin Punk. Well - a rest where performance is concerned. Ben McKenzie is currently working on some new ideas for projects for 2008, so watch this space for details. And of course you can catch both Ben and A Record or an OBE co-star Rob Lloyd at Impro Sundae, the fortnightly improvised comedy show from The Crew.

But we’d also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who saw A Record or an OBE in Adelaide or Melbourne, and all those who attended the Melbourne Museum Comedy Tour. While OBE may not return - certainly not in Melbourne - there will be more tours, both here and in other cities. Again, watch this space for details!

Well, this is it ladies and gentlemen - I know some of you like to wait until the last minute, and here it is. OBE’s final Melbourne performance is tonight at 6:30 PM in the Evatt Room at Trades Hall. There are still tickets available, so grab ‘em online or buy them at the door.

The Trades Radio Variety Hour, recorded live as part of Comedy @ Trades, airs its last episode tonight at 7pm on RRR - and A Record or an OBE stars Ben McKenzie and Rob Lloyd may feature as guests! Hear an excerpt from the play and be surprised by the musical tangents onto which the boys’ interview will wander with the assistance of Casey Bennetto and the Half-Assed Three - depending on which of the episodes recorded this week will go to air.

You can tune in if you’re in Melbourne on 102.7 FM, but you can also listen via streaming audio on the RRR web site.