The 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival is about to hit our stages for nearly a month of belly-aching performances.
Running from March 30 to April 24, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is back in a big way, taking flight through a host of internationals before spreading its comedic wings deep into the suburbs and region.
There’s the old international favourites who’ve been delighting Melbourne audiences for as long as we can remember: Arj Barker, David O’Doherty, Mark Watson, Stephen K Amos, Urzila Carlson, Jason Byrne, Jeff Green, and the Best of the Edinburgh Fest crew. They’ll all be bringing the time-honoured style we know and love, but rejuvenated through their best polished 2022 routines.
Check out Melbourne’s latest stage shows, stand-up comedy and theatrical events here.
Then you’ve got the new favourites, the acts that are top of their game and forming big reputations at the Comedy Fest and abroad. This is where the festival always pulls out a few stops each year, and this time around expect big things from the world-premiere of Phil Wang’s 2022 set The Real Hero In All This.
The Malaysian-Brit, alongside hometown heroes Ronny Chieng and Aunty Donna, is probably the biggest headliner at this year’s fest, fresh off a new Netflix special, but coming to Melbourne armed with an entirely new routine.
UK duo Flo & Joan have been a favourite of Russell Howard’s UK platforms and winning over fans (and probably making enemies) with their 2021 performances like ‘A Song for Anti-Vaxxers’. They’ll be showing off a bunch of new songs in their latest show, Sweet Release.
The musical comedy pair, (Nicola and Rosie Dempsey by day) are currently touring Sweet Release in the UK and Ireland before bringing it to Melbourne. The pair have previously been awarded winner of Musical Comedy Show 2018 at the Leicester Comedy Festival, and winner of the Music & Variety Act Chortle Awards in 2018.
Scotland’s Fern Brady sold out her shows last time she hit the Melbourne stage and she’s returning to tackle death and other issues in Autistic Bikini Queen. The former Scottish journalist is currently writing her first book, Strong Female Character, where she explores what it means to be an autistic woman. Her stand-up challenges pre-conceived notions of female stand up comics, and is one to watch if you like a relevant political-bent to your performances.
Finally among the festival’s international headliners, two-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Carl Donnelly is navigating the new normal in Keep Carl and Carry On.
A bunch of other very talented internationals are coming to town; Melanie Bracewell, Nurse Georgie Caroll, Jason Leong, John Hastings, Guy Montgomery, Showko, Takashi Wakasugi, Alyson Joyce and many more bringing fresh shows to check out.
The Gala, Comedy Allstars Supershow, and The Great Debate
Then you have the huge range of domestic legends, home-grown comedic talent that will skewer Australian culture and have your sides aching like no other. You’ll know their faces from, and undoubtedly see them strut their stuff again, on The Gala proudly supporting Oxfam, Opening Night Comedy Allstars Supershow, and The Great Debate among other TV specials.
For all the info you can handle, check out our specific articles, guides on every aspect of the festival (plus our interviews with the hottest up and coming comedians) here:
Steph Tisdell to host 2022 Comedy Festival Gala at the Palais Theatre
The best venues to check out this Melbourne International Comedy Festival
With the Melbourne comedy festival coming up, running from March 30 through April 24, there is no better time to take a look at some of the best comedy venues in town. These places run all year-round, proving that Melbourne is hilarious even outside of our month-long festival dedicated to a good LOL.
Melbourne is a breeding ground of great comedians with Anne Edmonds, Dave Hughes and Colin Lowe all coming from our great city, not to mention comedic legends Shaun Micallef and Graham Kennedy. Most of these talents got there starts in the small bars, clubs and pubs like those listed below and still frequent them to this day.
12 side-splitting Melbourne comedy clubs and stand-up venues
Best Melbourne Comedy Festival shows in the regions and the suburbs
The MICF Outta Town Tour features a taste of what’s to come at the nation’s biggest comedy festival later this year.
There’s an overwhelming amount of stand-up comedy coming to Melbourne this year, and lucky for us and our stomach muscles in Melbourne’s outer suburbs or throughout regional Victoria, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is delivering us a comic canon with a sneak peek at the festival’s best.
Comedy Festival is kicking off its Neighbourhood Sessions in Thornbury
Five stellar Comedy Festival stand-ups are coming to Thornbury
Interviews with the best emerging Comedy Festival talent
We shine the spotlight on Melbourne’s best young and established comedic talent before they take to the stage throughout the festival, with feature length Q+A’s that reveal the stories behind their new shows.
Interview with Joe White: ‘Surviving my past life has made me more fearless’
Interview: Surrealist Josh Glanc on the method behind his Comedy Festival madness
Interview: Veteran journalist Lawrence Money ‘Just A Little Prick’ at Comedy Festival
Interview: Scout Boxall returns with renewed focus and heart in ‘Buck Wild’
Interview with Hot Department: ‘What if it’s Madonna, on an iceberg, eating buckets of fish?’
‘I went shopping as Sybil’: How this Comedy Festival show captures the essence of Fawlty Towers
Interview: For ‘Industry Darling Adjacent’ Suren Jayemanne, comedy is all about the journey
Interview: Danielle Walker on the humour of ‘Nostalgia’ and how to make dark concepts funny
Interview: Sparkle Society to bring the circus style fun to this year’s Comedy Festival
Interview: Perennial outsider Haylee Deutrom launches ‘Interlopia’ at MICF
Interview: Kelly Mac and Take 3 return for a riotous Comedy Festival triple-threat
Interview: Lauren Bonner avoids the chaos in ‘Elephant’ for Comedy Festival
Some of our other top picks for Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows
Haus of Hans: Disco Spektakulär coming to Brunswick for Comedy Festival
Catch the Asian comedy showcases going down at Comedy Festival 2022
Luka Muller finds the humour in asexuality in ‘Yeah Nice’ at Comedy Festival
RAW Comedy 2022 finals
Australia’s biggest open mic comedy competition RAW Comedy returns for another attempt at finding the nation’s next belly-busting performer. It’s set to be a gut-busting weekend, with Kirsty Webeck hosting the first heat on Saturday 19 February at Howler, and then Prue Blake and Sami Shah hosting proceedings this Sunday February 20 at The Evelyn.
Every year hundreds of funny folk from across Australia sign up for their time in the spotlight as part of RAW Comedy, and this year it’s back and covering all corners of the country to lure out of hibernation the next generation of comedy superstars.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2022 reviews
If laughter is the best medicine, Comedy Festival’s Oxfam Gala is an overdose
For more information about the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and to buy tickets, visit comedyfestival.com.au
