This year’s Comedy Festival has a new location for acts to perform in. Tucked away in Collingwood is Trainscendence – a multi-leveled venue with various spaces including a couple of train carriages on the roof. Not that you have to climb onto the roof to find the good stuff, with no shortage of exceptional work being presented on the ground floor – starting with Anything But The Dyson and Other Excellent Monologues.
Performed by Katrina Mathers, her show is a hilarious mix of stand-up comedy, autobiography, and – as it says on the poster – other excellent monologues. Katrina unpacks various medical maladies and her own journey into menopause – a topic still burdened with a level of taboo for a lot of people. It’s a burden Katrina dispels in many entertaining ways, through parody, comedy, dramatic performance, and most effectively, honesty.
The black box stage at Trainscendence was made glorious thanks to a blush-coloured rug under bubblegum-coloured set pieces, holding all manner of taffy, ballet slipper, and magenta-coloured props – ie. it’s pink, with Katrina resplendent at its centre in magnificent fushcia-coloured attire.
Those excellent monologues, written by Katrina and other female authors, gently tell a story that so many of us share aspects of – whether it’s being buffeted by hormonal changes in adolescence vs. being buffeted by them in middle age, finding genuine moments of connection with someone, embracing change and new adventures, or acknowledging your old vacuum cleaner did a much better job and this over-priced Dyson is an annoying, useless piece of sh*t.
Whether her own words, or others, what shines through is Katrina’s authentic voice. Unique and genuine, hilarious and entertaining, Anything But The Dyson is more than worth a visit this Comedy Festival.
Anything But The Dyson and Other Excellent Monologues
Trainscendence (Black Box Theatre), 5/48 Easey Street, Collingwood
Performance: Monday 30 March 2026
Season continues to 19 April 2026
Information and Bookings: www.comedyfestival.com.au
Image: Katrina Mathers – photo by Brent Lukey
Review: June Collins