Melbourne International Comedy Festival wraps up over Easter, offering one final chance to catch the best stand-up, sketch and improv the city has to offer. Skip the chocolate hunt this weekend and treat yourself to the sweeter satisfaction of side-splitting comedy.
Still haven’t had a chance to check out this year’s Comedy Festival? Well, the clock is ticking buddy! But don’t worry, there are still plenty of laughs to be had as the festival reaches its final week, and what better excuse than a long weekend?
Get the kids all hopped up on sugar, then leave them with the babysitter while you go enjoy yourself. You deserve it! Here’s a rundown of the special events you can still look forward to.
Moosehead Benefit
View this post on Instagram
- April 20
- Melbourne Town Hall
The finale of all finales. The final showdown. The last hurrah. This absolute must-see event features a curated lineup of some of the season’s top performers and is always a highlight of the season. Expect to see more than a few familiar faces in the crowd as comedians and fans alike come together to bid the festival adieu until next year.
The (Very) Big Laugh Out
View this post on Instagram
- April 18
- Fed Square
School holidays sorted. Let the kids loose on Fed Square, where host Tash York will wrangle a stellar lineup featuring comedy heavyweights Josh Glanc, Clara Cupcakes and Kirsty Webeck, alongside physical comedy wizards Polite Mammals and the mind-bending Bubble Laboratory. The free-for-all family fun also showcases Nat Harris & Hannah Camilleri, plus Dane Simpson’s killer comedy chops and DJ Monski Mouse on the decks.
Festival Club
View this post on Instagram
- Until April 19
- Max Watt’s
Comedy Festival’s raunchy, debaucherous, late-night club spot wraps up on April 19. Good Friday’s lineup will feature acts including Chris Parker, Hayley Sproull, Lizzy Hoo and more, then after the standup, the lip sync grand final will go down, crowing this year’s champion. On Saturday, standups include Stu Daulman, Charlene Kaye and Chloe Petts and afterwards, DJ Gay Dad takes to the decks for a final boogie.
Feature shows
Many comedians are kicking on all the way until April 20, so if there are any acts you’ve been meaning to see, get in while you can! A few of the shows the Beat team has had the pleasure of checking out this year include the hilariously posh Tom Allen, Russia’s finest Olga Koch, the man, myth and legend Danny Bhoy, Kiwi goofball Rhys Darby and the introverted icon Luke Morris.
Some other stand-out acts this year have been the UK’s Rosie Jones (of Sex Education fame), Chloe Petts, fresh from Edinburgh Fringe and Chanel Ali from the US, whose show Relative Stranger documents her stranger-than-fiction of growing up in foster care, then discovering later in life that her real father was a cop.
One benefit of coming in late in the season is that the award nominations have already been announced. This year’s nominees for Most Outstanding Show include One Man Musical by Flo & Joan starring George Fouracres, Ahir Shah’s Ends, Brett Blake’s Little Turd and Lou Wall’s Breaking the 5th Wall.
Some of the 2025 Best Newcomers nominees are Meg Jager, Robyn Reynolds and Evan Cavanagh. 
To grab tickets to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, head here.
