As part of ArtsHub‘s partnership with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025) this year, we will again be sharing round-ups of some of the best reviews from the 2025 Funny Tonners.
As we did in 2024, this year the ArtsHub team will be judging the very best of all those reviews, as well as publishing selected entries here. So welcome to the three Funny Tonners for 2025, Jade Smith, Anna Stewart and Ben Lamb and here’s the next batch of reviews from them:
Tony Lyall: Not Another New Zealand Comedian
We love a Kiwi comic here in Aus. Tony’s trying to grab on their coattails on the ride to the top, but it’s not working, and that’s why he’s playing to 30 people in a bar in a back alley, he jokes.
Tony’s one of the best to do it; from the second he steps on stage, it’s a nonstop assault of jokes, whether it’s reacting to someone in the crowd or throwing in a few ad-libs, he comes loaded up, and it pays off.
While some experiences in life, career comedian or not, seem rife with comedic value, others come and go without hanging around. But Tony’s a pro at mining magic out of the mundane. Highlights come with jokes about buying a bed and going to a butcher, both expertly crafted stories that have you hooked like you are listening to a true crime podcast.
While the show has the right amount of stuff you’d expect, it’s always a joy when a comedian throws in a few jokes for themselves – a few jokes don’t get much reaction, but are placed in the set for Tony’s benefit only, which helps to give an interesting extra dimension to it all.
Reviewed by Ben Lamb
Nish Kumar: Don’t Kill My Vibe
Nish Kumar whacks you in the face with his professionalism. Not to say there aren’t some brilliantly silly moments in his show – like when he walks onstage to a version of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe’ that substitutes ‘Nish’ for ‘Bitch’. But the audience knows they’re in the hands of a consummate comedian from the moment his mile-a-minute monologue begins.
Kumar is impressively well-versed in all things Australian. He is not merely paying lip service to our politics when he talks election with us; he understands the history that created our current context. Beyond politics, he knows that the name ‘Bryan Johnson’ – different spelling notwithstanding – will make most Australians think of AC/DC rather than the anti-ageing American entrepreneur to whom Kumar is actually referring.
These details reveal the empathy underscoring Kumar’s furious tirades. Covering the inexcusably bad behaviour of figures like Jordan Peterson, Ricky Gervais and Boris Johnson, Kumar maintains an angered frenzy throughout the show, but his determination to make everything relatable demonstrates considerable care for his audience amid thought-provoking and hilarious political commentary.
Reviewed by Anna Stewart
Jett Bond & Thom Heim: No Show
No Show is an experimental comedy by Jett Bond and Thom Heim, based on the premise of a stand-up show where the comedian doesn’t turn up. The two performers inhabit the roles of the venue tech and an audience member, and from that: anything can happen.
This is a show that will never be the same two nights in a row. On the night I went: some Irish businessmen bought shots for the crowd, and we ended up watching YouTube videos of baby monkeys on 2x speed. I’ve heard whispers that on other nights, plane tickets were purchased and waffles cooked.
No Show is absolutely ridiculous and unpredictable. My experience was almost bacchanalian, a party-like atmosphere completely overtaking the bounds of regular theatre-going etiquette. Bond and Heim keep the wheels on, but only just. This is some of the most authentic fun possible. In an earlier review I said that Jett Bond’s Bunker was the hardest I’d laughed during this Festival. That title has now been awarded to No Show.
There’s an undeniable bravery to presenting a work like this. There will be walk-outs. There will be people who hate it. It’s impossible to experience No Show without feeling something strongly towards it – whether that feeling is love or hate. And isn’t that wonderful?
No Show might just be the best thing at this year’s Comedy Festival.
Reviewed by Jade Smith
Becky Lucas: Things have changed, but the essence remains
Becky’s back and she’s got some stories. It’s been a busy couple of years for the comedian. She had a baby, and hosted a failed network show, but she’s finding the humour in it all in a way only she knows how.
Becky’s a pro at building up a story; each word is carefully thought out, you can sense she is really in her element once she has dived in.
Anytime we had some crowd work, or a quick punchline here or there, there seemed to be a little bit of an energy dip; sometimes audience responses didn’t go anywhere in the context of the set, but Becky always expertly brought the focus back to a story and had us all laughing again.
Becky’s 2025 hour treks into some emotionally challenging waters at points, but thanks to Becky’s well-constructed retelling and perfectly timed jokes, we are never stuck out there for too long.
Reviewed by Ben Lamb
Scout Boxall: God’s Favourite
In sparkling contradiction, Scout Boxall’s new show God’s Favourite sets out to prove that you’re only the main character in your own story. The show follows Boxall through a haunting brush with antidepressant withdrawal, on what was supposed to be a very special day for them – performing an integral role at a LARP wedding.
Boxall is relatable and revealing in their exploration of how medieval times – despite being an inarguably cruel period, particularly for the AFAB community – hold a certain je ne sais quoi in their aura of simplicity for those alive in 2025.
Beyond Boxall’s immaculate performance, which somehow straddles deadpan and operatic vocal registers simultaneously, the show’s sound design is equally brilliant. From The Doors to cathedral organs, this soundtrack has it all – and it goes a long way towards creating the eerie confession booth-atmosphere that so enhances this show.
Reviewed by Anna Stewart
Guy Montgomery: I’ve Noticed So Many Things, It’d Be Unfair To Keep Them To Myself
Guy Montgomery is a comedian who my mum likes. Guy Montgomery is very conscious about the fact that he’s a comedian everyone’s mum likes.
This is a tight hour of stand-up, and is exactly the kind of show that you’d expect to pack out the Athenaeum Theatre on a Wednesday night. Montgomery is a master of call-backs: he’s quick, clever and distinctly pleasant. He also proves that you can make ‘edgy’ jokes without being offensive. In this show, there are jokes about accents, tits and slurs. But I promise you: none of these jokes happen in the way you’d expect. I almost feel compelled to call his comedy kind.
I’ve Noticed So Many Things, It’d Be Unfair To Keep Them To Myself is a solidly funny show. I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t leave the theatre smiling.
Reviewed by Jade Smith
