Melbourne, Ep. 3

19 June, 2024 — Literary Death Match returned to Melbourne for a thrilling night at Fringe Common Rooms at Trades Hall that saw Van Badham outduel Guido Melo in a breathtaking battle of One Star Wonder that won Badham the LDM Melbourne, Ep. 3 and literary immortality to go with it. 

Here's the full lineup from the night of: 

ALL-STAR JUDGES

Literary Merit: Ben Russell, award-winning comedian (he won Melbourne International Comedy Festival's 2024 Director's Choice Award), improviser and actor for Thank God You're Here and Aunty Donna, and the series creator/writer of Hug the Sun

Performance: Alex Hines, multi-award-winning comedian, she's won the 2024 Moosehead Award, Best Independent Theatre Performer 2023 Green Room Awards, the Golden Gibbo 2022 from Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Best Cabaret Production 2022 Green Room Awards 

Intangibles: Reuben Kaye, multi-award winning Australian comedian, singer and writer, he's won the prestigious Offie Award for Best Cabaret in London, Green Room Awards for Best Artist & Best Cabaret Production, and Adelaide Fringe Award for Best Cabaret twice (plus he's a TikTok sensation)

ALL-STAR READERS:

Round 1: 
* Isabelle Oderberg, journalist and author of Hard to Bear, she's worked for newswires across Europe and Asia, and as Australia's first social media editor at Melbourne’s Herald Sun. Her work's appeared in The Age/SMH, Guardian, ABC, Meanjin and elsewhere

* Guido Melo, Afro-Brazilian-Latinx, multilingual author whose words can be found in Overland Magazine, Meanjin Quarterly, Kill Your Darlings, ABC, SBS Voices, and in the books Growing Up African in Australia and Racism: Stories on Fear, Hate & Bigotry

Round 2:
* Van Badham, theatre-maker, author of QAnon And On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults. An occasional broadcaster, critic and trade union feminist, she writes columns for the Guardian and lives in Melbourne.

* Jonathan O'Brien, writer, software developer, and housing advocate, described as "a fresh and exciting voice" by The Guardian Australia. He's the recipient of a Queensland Literary Award, a Brisbane Lord Mayor's Young and Emerging Artists Fellowship, and the State Library of Queensland Young Writers Award. 

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga (author of the award-nominated novel Collision Theory)

Produced by Kate Cameron producer/theatre-maker/photographer

Where: Fringe Common Rooms (Trades Hall), 54 Victoria St, Carlton VIC 3053 (map)
When: Show at 8pm sharp; doors at 7pm; dance party at 9:30pm
Cost: $20; $10 Mob Tix (click to buy now!)

Supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants