Nicholas J Johnson: Today Tonight, Tomorrow the World
Australia's Honest Con Man Entertainment
2 April 2003
Comedy on Collins
to 21 April
My unexpected hit of MICF (so far) is Nicholas J Johnson's Today Tonight, Tomorrow the World.
It's about his experience of being invited to appear on channel 7's 6.30 pm muckhole Today Tonight. This is easily the worst show on Australian television for its fear mongering, exploitation and outright lying. At its best, it's embarrassing and at its usual, it exploits more than the exploiters it tries to exposes. But what really upsets me is that people watch it and believe it.
As a magician who exposes cons as Australia's Honest Con Man, Nicholas was invited onto the program to show how easy it is to be conned. He took the nice cheque and was flown to Sydney to make a segment.
Josh Thomas: Douchebag
Token Events
31 March 1013
Melbourne Town Hall
to 21 April
I'm not Josh Thomas's demographic; he's one of those performers who I knew about and have seen bits of, but wasn't compelled to spend an hour with. This changed because I loved Please Like Me, the tv show he wrote that's just finished on the ABC.
I adored it. It's refreshing and funny and full of the kind of heart, honesty and empathy that brings us back each week. And I so loved the generational mix of characters. People don't become dull or grown up as they get older; we just get greyer and flabbier. ABC, please give him a second season.
Live Josh is delightfully affable and sweet, but I don't think that's the adjectives he wants for with his show.
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Ruby Wax: Out of Her Mind
MICF
29 March 2013
Forum Theatre
to 5 April
I love Ruby Wax. I love her for every Ruby Wax Meets interview, because she script edited Absolutely Fabulous (great writers need great script editors – and I love script editing), and because she asks if anyone knows how to behave like an adult.
I've been an adult for a long time now and I've still got no idea how to behave.
Out of Her Mind is Ruby's story about finally being diagnosed with clinical depression and being so ill that she was institutionalised. That's still such a horrible word. I wanted to tone it down with the less-stigmatised "hospitalised", but is isn't the same. Institutionalised implies being shut away for being nuts, bonkers, crazy, mental; that you have a mental illness. That you have a mental illness. Ruby's show stresses how one in four people suffer from mental illness and how far too many in four still don't see mental illness as an illness.
