For the past couple of years, the women in my family have flocked to the preview of Ali McGregor’s Variety Night to sample bite-sized pieces of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s best, accompanied by hilarious chaise lounge-lounging and jazz-operatic renditions of 80s bangers by McGregor.

This year, McGregor’s picks for her line-up felt like a bit of an all-stars run, although I must say I missed seeing new faces as I have done in previous years. It’s always nice to see people you know, and love perform on stage, however I’ve always enjoyed this Variety-Nite Night as a way of sampling the work of comics and performers I had never come across before. Coming out of McGregor’s shows in previous years, I felt that my horizons had been broadened and my frame of reference in Australian comedy had expanded. This year, the show felt firmly within my existing horizons, although perhaps that’s a sign that I’m a faithful returning customer.

The guest appearances kicked off with Wagga Wagga comedian Dane Simpson, whose      warmth and cheekiness forced a grin onto every member of the audience. Simpson’s comedy is a perfect fit for the time crunch of the Variety-Nite Night as he lands quick quips and clever short stories in rapid succession. There’s a casualness to Simpson’s stand-up that feels easy, and after seeing him perform a few times over the years, it feels like going to a big group lunch with a very witty friend.

Ruby Slippers offered up a quick drag burlesque show that involved impressive costume changes and several glittery stick-on tassels that punctuated the dance performance. I always enjoy the diversity of performers at McGregor’s Late-Nite variety nights, especially as I never attend as many drag shows as I would like to during regular business hours. It was so much fun to watch and listen to the rest of the audience during Ruby Slippers’ show, particularly the many who didn’t occupy the regular demographic of drag show attendees. There was whooping, whistling, and the odd gasp as death drops were executed to perfection onstage. From very early in the performance it was clear that everybody got into it!

Sammy J set himself up by the piano to close the guest performances for the night. His physicality whilst playing reminded me immediately of the dad from Coraline tickling the other-ivories. As I was quite young compared to the rest of the audience members, I mainly associate Sammy J with Melbourne’s ABC Breakfast Radio program rather than stand-up. Despite this, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the feel-good musical comedy that he served up that night, particularly his song entitled “Keep it Clean”—which included more swearing than even I could imagine.

In between each of these acts, Ali McGregor and her band performed a glittering, jazzy version of an 80s pop hit, sometimes mixing some impressive opera solos into the genre-soup. The highlight of McGregor’s musical intervals was her rendition of ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ by Kylie Minogue, re-imagined as a stalker song. This was creeped-up to the max with torch-light cast by a lucky audience member/victim. She called on a woman from the front row to don a head torch and kneel before the chaise lounge, taking on the role of stalking victim and lighting manager while being forced to maintain direct eye contact with McGregor as she serenaded them. With her beaver skin top hat and her wild, spindly hand gestures, McGregor’s shadow cast by the head torch was uncanny to that of the Babadook, adding extra creepiness to the whole affair.

At the show’s close, McGregor took the time to highlight the merchandise available for purchase after the show as many performers would. But there was a twist. This was not your average artist merch. She slipped the chunky silver bracelet off her wrist and unscrewed its large crystal adornment, bringing the bangle to her lips. She took a swig from the bracelet flask. These “Gin Bracelets” were available after the show as merchandise, both a practical and highly comedic item to end the night on.

I felt that the show could have benefited from a fourth act; something to tie it all together. There was almost a gap in the line-up, as if the show was slightly incomplete without that fourth guest performer. In previous years I’ve attended the show, there was perhaps a greater variety in the variety-nite which provided a more satisfying and cohesive performance overall. I did appreciate the almost unbroken musicality of this year’s show; however, I think that a fourth performer who had a more offbeat or unexpected style of comedy to offer would have enhanced the night.

All that being said, I can’t wait to attend the show again next year for the 20^th anniversary. Low lights, chaise lounges, stand-up, jazz opera, burlesque? What more could a girl need?