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Comedy audiences love good ventriloquist acts, and Melbourne gets a regular dose, usually led by a male such as David Strassman. We do not often have the opportunity to discover a female who can hold her own with a range of characters and voices. Enter Nina Conti!

Hailing from the UK, this ever-smiling comic force walks on stage with literally her bags of tricks - about five canvass sports/shopping bags - and you are immediately aware that this will not be a high-tech, whizz-bang presentation. But yes there will be puppets and yes there will be audience participation.

The first to appear is the loveable, foul-mouthed Monkey who plays with and taunts both Nina and the audience. Word association games and storytelling with key words from vocal patrons all contribute to a bizarre and humourous tale.

Monkey goes back into his bag and we are introduced to Owl who enjoys writing poetry.

Soon however Granny from Scotland appears, clearly dominating proceedings, and providing some comic delights which include a phone chat with a hotel clerk in Sydney and clever interaction with a member of the audience.

When Lidia appears however, the vocal dexterity of Ms Conti shines and the challenge of finding different accents to suit the puppet have hilarious results. Ms Conti continues to roll out some serious tricks of the trade including drinking (and talking at the same time).

When the drunken Lidia is finally tucked away, it all seems like the act is closing, but no, there's more. Out come some facial masks and onto the faces of two lucky audience members. The masks cover the lower half of the face and the mouth is manipulated by Nina.

The puppets were amusing, but this turns out to be screamingly funny as Nina's voice now plays with her human puppets.

An hour with this talented performer flies by in a flash and you are left wondering just how she manages some of the tricks and how much set-up has occurred. By the end you know that you have probably been partly conned, but it really does not matter - Nina Conti has proven that she can be funny, quick-thinking and extremely inventive. The only warning: don't sit in the front row - unless you have a desire to be part of the act.


Melbourne International Comedy Festival presents
Talk To The Hand
Nina Conti

Created with Bill Dare

Venue: Melbourne Town Hall, Supper Room | Cnr Swanston & Collins Sts, Melbourne
Dates: 25 March - 18 April, 2010
Times: Tue - Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: Full Fri & Sat $33, Full Wed-Thu & Sun $29, Conc $25 (N/A Sat), Tightarse Tuesday $25.50
Bookings: Ticketmaster 1300 660 013 | at the door