Asian Allstars Gala
It was a packed Melbourne Town Hall that saw the event of the Asian Allstars Gala, possibly because these comics were only on for one night only – well, in this particular cluster anyway. A number of them appear elsewhere in MICF 2025 with their own shows.
There are pluses and minuses with these aggregate shows: with the number of people programmed you get a taster-test, an hors d’oeuvre of sample comedy from a variety of styles and content delivery – which is great if you have a short attention span, but it also means that each comedian only has a limited moment in the limelight (about 10 minutes) each to ply their craft. And, on this night, some seemed to be just warming up before their time was done; their material wasn’t as strong as it could have been. The quality was decidedly mixed in this all-sorts collection.
Hosted by Japanese comedian Takashi Wakasugi, the night showcased comedians from India, Singapore, China and Malaysia, and featured names such He Huang, Urooj Ashfaq, Jacky Ng and Fadzri Rashid.
Note to the organisers for next year: please ensure each comedian’s name is articulated in a clear fashion before welcoming them up the stage. Too many times, their names were garbled by Wakasugi – maybe consider projecting them up in the background? With so many on the list (over 15), it was hard to keep up and does a disservice to the comedians if you were planning to check them out in their individual shows.
Asian Allstars Gala performed for one night only on 5 April 2025 at the Melbourne Town Hall as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025).
Cameron James: Broken Record
Cameron James comes aboard wearing sunglasses (at night) like a rock star at the ‘Fed Square arena’ at ACMI. He’ll continue to wear different coloured pairs throughout the evening as he regales us with stories of his personal life interspersed with various musical numbers. There’s a small screen helpfully printing out the lyrics and video snippets while James and his guitars belt out reggae, Country and Western, hip hop and ballads.
Read: Comedy review: Best of British, Exford Hotel, MICF 2025
He has an engaging stage presence, easily vibing with the audience, and his songs explore what it means to be male in contemporary society. It’s pretty hilarious, as he takes a satirical swipe at self-professed alpha dudes and white guy problems. Love in all its guises is explored: self-love, robot love, bromances and a particularly unusual tale about how his dog needed surgery. Broken Record is proof that you can mine your own life for laughs but do so in a heartfelt fashion.
Cameron James: Broken Record will be performed at ACMI until 15 April 2025 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF 2025).
