Category: Comedy

★★★★☆ Jeff Green returns to the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival with his newest crowd-pleaser, Jeff Jokes! After cutting his teeth on the UK comedy circuit in the late eighties, Green famously left a lucrative engineering career for stand-up. He went on to become a familiar face on British television,…

★★★★☆ Mark Watson toasts his twentieth year at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with 20 Years Of Doing My Absolute Bloody Best. This is a show that doubles as both celebration and hilarious self-interrogation.  While Watson has spent plenty of time gracing comedy stages around the world, he’s perhaps best known…

Melbourne-based company Soothplayers returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for their 10th year, marking a decade of their signature improvised Shakespearean comedy. Over that time, they have created more than 200 original works and been a launching ground for notable former Players, including Scout Boxall and Vidya Rajan. While…

★★★★☆ Fresh from a breakout, award-winning run at the Edinburgh Fringe, expectations for Sam Nicoresti’s Melbourne Comedy Festival debut Baby Doomer are high. And they more than meet them. Baby Doomer took out the 2025 Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, a prestigious prize that’s previously gone to Hannah Gadbsy,…

★★★★★ Emma Holland returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with her latest work, The Dog Dies At The Start. It takes a very special artist to draw so much laughter from such a profound emotional loss. But somehow, Holland manages it. Perhaps it’s the 92.93 ATAR. Holland has been gracing…

★★★★☆ Effortlessly funny and quietly masterful, award-winning comedian, presenter, and writer Melanie Bracewell’s latest offering at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is a reminder of just how satisfying great storytelling comedy can be. Melanie sparkles and shines with the kind of radiance only a comedian who knows exactly who they…

★★★★½ Hannah Gadsby returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with their newest offering, The Evening Muse. Described as “a talk show wrapped in a comedy show wrapped in an existential crisis,” Gadsby’s performance is chaotic and self-aware, blending razor-edged wit with disarming vulnerability. Few comics mine discomfort, intellect and…

Shaun Micallef returns to Melbourne’s literary scene in 2026 with his latest release, De’Ath Takes A Holiday. To mark the occasion, Micallef die-hards gathered at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre for an event that blended book launch, comedy performance, and a sharp, Parkinson–style interview into one engaging evening, expertly hosted by ABC’s Jacinta Parsons. …

★★★★☆ There’s something immediately disarming about Triple J Weekend Breakfast host Jordan Barr’s Choir Girl. The show feels like you’ve just sat down for a slightly unhinged catch-up with a friend, rather than a formal performance. Jordan is charming, sharp, and just outrageous enough to keep you both captivated and mildly…

Katrina Mathers returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival after a 23-year hiatus with Anything But the Dyson and Other Excellent Monologues. Relaying how her long absence came about may be comical, but there’s raw courage in the way she survived cancer, twice, and then chose to branch out as…

★★★★★ Celia Pacquola returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year with her latest work, Gift Horse. As a woman hurtling towards her forties, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so seen! It was a muggy, will-it-or-won’t-it-rain kind of day in Melbourne’s CBD. After wandering past all of the…

Jude Perl has been hitting all the right notes (and punchlines) for years, with favourite shows like Participation Award and Roommates: The Musical. Her comedy is sharply tuned to real life: awkward, honest, and hilariously relatable. Now she’s back with a brand-new hour at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival; Jude…

Julian O’Shea has built a name for himself online, with over 90k followers on Instagram and 125k YouTube subscribers tuning in for his quirky, passionate takes on design, cities, and Melbourne life. His videos are smart, enthusiastic, and full of genuine curiosity – and now, he’s brought that same energy…

Dan Rath has been steadily making a name for himself over the past few years. He’s popped up on Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Bee and has become a regular at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. His offbeat delivery and fresh take on the world have won him a loyal…

Lou Wall has been a staple of the stage and screen for a number of years now, with their 2024 show being nominated for Most Outstanding Show at the Comedy Festival and popping up on ABC shows like Fisk and WTFAQ. One of their most notable moments of Lou’s stand-up was…

Homegrown comedy duo Mel O’Brien and Sam Andrew’s latest offering, No Hat, No Play! The Cabaret is an explosive cabaret of fun and nostalgia that sees them dive into life as a typical Australian primary school kid. There are lots of niche Aussie jokes that are easy to laugh along with, especially…

Jordan Barr’s Dog Why is a must-see from the Triple J Weekend Breakfast host, delivering sharp, hilarious insights for all the Melbourne girlies. As Jordan says, her show is a cheeky ode to us, the Nietzsche girls, trying to have a Brat summer. Jordan says exactly what we’ve all been…