Shaolin Punk

A short clip from A Record or an OBE is now available on YouTube - and at around 51 seconds, it’s a sneak peak at about 2.3% of the whole show! Check it out below.

Due to an unavoidable clash with another Shaolin Punk project (to be announced shortly), six performances of A Record or an OBE for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival have been cancelled. However, we have added four more performances on Sundays during the festival, so you still have plenty of opportunity to attend! There are no changes to the Adelaide Fringe schedule.

The updated dates for the Comedy Festival season are:

March 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 29, 30 and April 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

These have been amended on the the show details page.

Dates, times and venues have all been confirmed for A Record or an OBE’s Adelaide Fringe and Comedy Festival seasons, and here are the details. Note that bookings aren’t yet open for either season; we’ll let you know when you can buy tickets! We’ll be in the Adelaide Fringe guide when it’s released on January 9, too.

Adelaide Fringe Festival

Venue: The Fridge, Fringe Factory
Address: The Old Balfours Pie Factory, Elizabeth Street (off Waymouth Street)
Dates: March 4-9, 11-16
Time: 6:00pm

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Venue: The Evatt Room, Trades Hall
Address: Corner Lygon and Victoria Streets, Melbourne
Dates: March 19-22, 25-29; April 1-5, 8-12
Time: 6:30pm

A Record or an OBE co-stars Rob Lloyd and Ben McKenzie are reunited on stage next month for theatre in decay’s The Lobotomist, a 10-minute musical presented as part of the Short and Sweet play competition.

Trainee psychiatrist Walter Freeman (Ben McKenzie) is in love with his patient, the beautiful Madeline Ashbry (Jessica Kirby). Fearful of retribution from the Medical Board, and rejection by Madeline, Walter attempts to repress his feelings. Late one night the ghost of his namesake, Walter “Icepick” Freeman (Rob Lloyd), inventor of the lobotomy, appears to him to teach him to take a chance and follow his dreams, no matter how crazy they may be. The play also features musicians Mick Cahill, Bree Hartley and writer/director Robert Reid.

The Lobotomist has been chosen as one of the Top 30 entries as an independent theatre company submission, and will be performed in Week 2 of the competition, from December 12th to 15th. Short and Sweet itself runs from December 5th to 22nd at the Fairfax Studio, Melbourne Arts Centre, St Kilda Road. Tickets are $23 - $28, with ten plays presented at each performance. Booking and other details are available on the competition’s web site.

At the Melbourne Fringe awards announced last night, A Record or an OBE was highly commended by the judges for the Comedy category! In addition, Caz Reitop’s Dirty Secrets, home to both OBE and Nicky Talacko’s excellent Cinder-effin-rella, took home the award for Best Venue! Congratulations to Zac and all the crew at Dirty Secrets; you really deserved this.

Many friends of Shaolin Punk also won awards, so congratulations to Mathew Kenneally (Best Comedy for Mathew Kenneally for Parliament), Adam J. Cass (Melbourne Dramatists Emerging Writers Award for I Love You, Bro), Vanessa Baylen (Best Special Event for Death By Chocolate) and all the other Fringe participants this year. I hope you all had a great festival!