Edited by Justin Clarke
Type: One Woman, Breakup Story, Cabaret
If You Liked: Maybelline is in Her Slut Era
Native New Yorker, Ariana and the Rose, brings sass and charisma to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival stage, with a relaxed style of crowd work, electrifying synth-pop, and confidence as she explores the modern world of love, loss and finding yourself in The Breakup Variety Hour.
If you’ve just had a breakup, or trying to get over one, you may recognise each stage of a breakup represented here. Each has different style of song, from pop to gospel, and ballads that shows off Ariana’s versatility and talent, evident through her background in song writing and vocal performance – she’s a darling of the New York Cabaret scene after all!
The room of the Solidarity Hall in Melbourne’s Trades Hall felt a bit big for this particular show. It perhaps might have found a more fitting venue in an intimate cabaret room with audiences around tables with a drink in hand. Despite this, both the storytelling and the songs were strong in their own right.
Being familiar with Ariana and the Rose’s strong online presence presenting some of these songs as series of videos over covid lockdowns, I’m not entirely sure that this Variety Hour translates to the stage in its current format as strongly as the videos its based on. Although Ariana should be credited and acknowledged for managing her backing track and perfect timing in this one woman show, the lack of visual stimulation could have helped the stories move forward with a bit more context.
I found that the show stimulated an atmosphere aking to sharing of dating stories over drinks with a friend, especially after hearing two brave women come on stage to share their bad date story with Ariana. For the audience interaction element of the show, most of our audience were “loved up” or “coupled off” (gross!) so perhaps The Breakup Variety Hour works better with more shared experiences in breakups and bad dates within the show. This was where Ariana’s performance really took off and really shined.
At The Breakup Variety Hour ‘s end, a monologue reflecting the six stages of a breakfup, that initially felt like a bit of an existential crisis, morphed into an understanding of how each experience makes us stronger and helps us to understand ourselves both as an individual and part of a relationship. The show is clever, and humorous throughout, with Ariana and the Rose bringing plenty of sass and killer vocals to please those whose hearts are mending.
See our other reviews from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in the link below
Tickets and Practical Info for The Breakup Variety Hour at MICF and Sydney Comedy Festival 🎟️
Melbourne
Tickets: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/the-breakup-variety-hour/
Ticket Prices – $26 – $34 Laugh Pack
Time – 7.45pm| 6.45pm
Venue – Trades Hall – Solidarity Hall
Duration – 60 minutes
Sydney
Tickets: https://www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au/event/ariana-the-rose-the-breakup-variety-hour/
Venue: Enmore Theatre
Thursday, 23 April 2026 07:50 PM
– Admit 15 & Over: $30.00
Friday, 24 April 2026 07:50 PM
– Admit 15 & Over: $30.00
