In a festival bursting at the seams with stand-up acts, veteran stage and screen performer Mike McLeish is boldly blazing his own trail with Pensive Like a Fox—a genre-blurring, one-man whirlwind of cabaret, comedy, and musical chaos.
Running nightly at 7pm until April 20 at The Butterfly Club as part of the 2025 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, McLeish’s show is anything but ordinary.
Blending sharp satire with eccentric musical storytelling, he covers everything from practising French on the toilet to the bittersweet comedy of ageing, the drama of long-term relationships, and even needing stitches after a pillow fight.
“Cabaret’s a different beast. It’s more theatrical and—for my money—more audience-focused,” McLeish says. “And there are songs! Cabaret is better than comedy. There, I said it.”
McLeish who famously played Paul Keating in Keating! The Musical is an actor, writer, voice artist, MC, singer, musician, song writer, one-time artistic director and full-time comedian.
More than just laughs, Pensive Like a Fox offers a dynamic, unpredictable experience. “I’m addicted to performing comedy and cabaret because we’re all in it together; the audience and the performer. It’s a genuinely shared experience; a conversation happening in the moment. And it’s different every single night.”
Tickets are available here.
