The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow heads to Nunawading with a stacked five-act lineup spanning three countries
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow is back on the road. Australia’s longest-running touring comedy show will stop at The Round in Nunawading on 22 April, carrying five acts from across three countries in one evening of stand-up, inviting you to laugh and let lose in the best possible way.
Leading the charge is Zoe Coombs Marr, Barry Award winner and Helpmann Award nominee, who has performed internationally from Edinburgh to New York and Mumbai. She’s joined by Carl Donnelly, Kuah Jenhan, Noah Szto, and Tarsh Jago for what shapes up as a seriously strong night of comedy.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow has been touring nationally for close to three decades, spreading the festival’s reach well beyond inner-city Melbourne to more than 80 locations around the country. Top-tier festival comedy doesn’t require a trip into the city, and the Roadshow has always known that. The 2026 edition follows the festival’s milestone 40th anniversary season and features a lineup mixing award-winning veterans with sharp newer voices.
As Melburnians rethink the cost and chaos of a night in the CBD, The Round is carving out its place as the east’s go-to for bold, high-quality live performance and entertainment.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow
- The Round, 379-399 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading
- 22 April, 8pm
- Approx two hours 20 minutes (including interval)
- Tickets: $55 full / $52 concession / $30 (30 years and under) / $49 each (groups of eight or more)
- Tickets available here
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
Headlining the Nunawading stop is UK comic Carl Donnelly, a two-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee who has performed at festivals from Montreal’s Just For Laughs to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival itself. Malaysian comedian Kuah Jenhan joins the bill, having headlined the inaugural Comedy Zone Asia at MICF and built a reputation for disarming storytelling that moves between big laughs and unexpected depth.
Noah Szto, who won the MICF Best Newcomer Award in 2024 while juggling life as a qualified medical doctor, brings his sharp timing and offbeat storytelling to the lineup. His show Med School picked up the Directors’ Choice Award at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and nominations for Best Comedy and Best Work by an Emerging Artist at Melbourne Fringe.
Proud Palawa woman Tarsh Jago, who placed second at MICF’s Deadly Funny national competition in 2023, rounds out the local contingent. A quick-witted storyteller based in Naarm, Jago intersects her queer and First Nations identities with a cheeky, charming stage presence.
Zoe Coombs Marr completes the bill. The Barry Award winner (2016) and Helpmann Award nominee has performed internationally from Edinburgh to New York and Mumbai, and picked up a Herald Angel Award for her show Bossy Bottom. She is also the creator and host of the documentary series Queerstralia, available on ABC iView.
Performances may contain coarse language, adult themes and sexual references. The show is recommended for audiences aged 15 and over.
The Round has fast become a cultural cornerstone in Melbourne’s East, a place where performing arts lovers can enjoy world-class theatre, music, comedy and cabaret without venturing into the city.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Whitehorse City Council.
