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It’s a Saturday night in Melbourne. It’s almost unbearably cold and you’re looking for something to do that doesn’t involve being outside in the winter air.
What better than a good, hearty laugh-fest at the Butterfly Club, mulled wine in hand, listening to three of Melbourne’s emerging comedians tell their best jokes to a sold-out room of punters?
That is exactly how 70 or so people decided to spend their Saturday evening this weekend, as 3 Course Comedy presented a meal of hilarity which was certainly capable of satisfying a hunger for laughter. Sam Taunton, Michael Shafar and Tim Hewitt each shared the spotlight to deliver some solid comedic material, resulting in a fun hour of stand-up entertainment.
Sam Taunton opened the show with a casual set that covered some popular comedian setlist topics including alcohol, the differences between Melbourne and Sydney, and sharehouse living. His relaxed stage presence engaged the audience from the moment he stepped into the room, and he effortlessly moved from one joke to another while maintaining a conversational tone. He has an air of charismatic arrogance about him that somehow makes him even more likeable, and the audience eagerly lapped up every word he spoke.
While much of Taunton’s opening material explored content that most of Melbourne’s comedy scene has probably covered at one point or another, his killer punchlines and impeccable timing is what sets him apart from everyone else. It is no surprise that he made it to the national finals at this year’s RAW Comedy competition.
Michael Shafar acted as the main course of this three-course spread, and he did not disappoint. His set included many jokes about life as a Jew and some interesting Jewish beliefs, which were received extremely well, and he delivered a perfectly-portioned combination of punchy one-liners, detailed anecdotes and imaginative hypotheticals. The crowd on this particular night were quite rowdy and not afraid to laugh loudly in response to decent jokes, and Shafar used this to his advantage, expressing a range of well-timed puzzled expressions in response to some unique cackles. Hilarious and endearingly awkward, Shafar was definitely a crowd favourite.
Following on from Shafar, and after several more jokes from Taunton about his arts degree and his opinions on drugs, Tim Hewitt burst onto the stage full of wild energy and wearing a contagious grin. Originally from Brisbane, Hewitt launched into a classic Melbourne-versus-hometown comedy piece, which included some brilliantly accurate bogan impersonations. He threw a remarkable amount of enthusiasm into a short skit about V8 utes, and his stories about his childhood were amusing, particularly his description of a poor attempt to trash a house at a teenage party.
Hewitt had some great jokes, but his lack of confidence and preparation did let him down a little. His energy fell quite dramatically halfway through his set.
Overall, 3 Course Comedy was a delicious feast of laugh-out-loud material, presented by three up-and-coming Melbourne-based comics. It’s a pity it was only a one-off show, however these guys will no doubt be hitting up more Australian stages shortly, so keep a sharp eye out.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3 Course Comedy
Performed by Sam Taunton, Michael Shafar and Tim Hewitt
The Butterfly Club
July 18
