Comedy Fest Chat: Alex de la Rambelje

Alex de la Rambelje is one of A Modern Deception, who return to MICF with Gentlemen of Deceit. The three gents (Alex, Vyom and Luke) met at Monash university and continue to throw magic, story and theatre into a giant hat and pull out something that’s uniquely theirs. It’s also one of the few comedy festival shows with language and content safe for under-18s or the easily shocked.

What MICF shows are you most looking forward to seeing?
I’ve seen heaps of great comedians in the past year who are all coming back to the festival. A small sample includes: Luke McGregor, Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall, Pajama Party and Max and Ivan.

What makes MICF different from all the other festivals?
MICF brings thousands of people out of their homes and into the city. People who would only ever step into a theatre when it has the word ‘movie’ in front of it. Even then, they would never call it a ‘movie theatre’. These people are often traipsing into town to see the big name acts, but more often then not they are happy to give lesser-known performers a go. It’s getting such a broad cross-section of Melbourne into the city to laugh at the same thing at the same time that makes MICF such a vibrant, eclectic festival. 

What comedians/performers have influenced you the most?
Shaun Micallef, for the fact that he’ll never let narrative or logic get in the way of a good bit of linguistic trickery. He is always having fun with everything he does and his irreverent attitude reminds me of the power of play in performance.

What’s advice do you wish you’d been given before your first gigs?
Slow down, and keep it simple stupid.

Do you do still your own leafleting? Can you tell us something great or horrific that’s happened to you when leafleting?
Yes we’ve been leafleting for a few years, every year getting less and less persistent. It’s a tough gig – full cred to the performers who are out every night year after year.

What’s the best (or worst) thing a review has said about you or your show?
The lovely AMP (sic) wrote a strongly worded review of our venue in our first year. The venue owner tended to treat the performance area like an extension of his kitchen, so the restaurant orders emanated through the audience quite conspicuously. AMP wrote a strongly worded letter in her review directed to the venue owner, and conveniently he changed his ways after taking a glance at her response.

If you could invite anyone to see your show (and you know they would come), who would it be?
I would like Derren Brown (a British magician) to see the show, but then again I would be terrified at the same time.

What comedian (alive or dead) do you wish you’d seen live?
Again, Derren Brown. I need to see how his live shows play out, because the recordings of his shows are phenomenal.