Comedy Festival
Comedy awards Zoe Coombs Marr wins Barry Award
ZOE Coombs Marr has won the prestigious Barry Award for most outstanding show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Nominees talk What will you do if you win the Barry?
ALL seven comedians nominated for the prestigious Barry Award for most outstanding show at the Comedy Festival share their jitters with Mikey Cahill.
Marriage equality Comics to ‘marry’ live on stage
THEY can’t marry their partners, but they can marry each other. Barry Award nominees Rhys Nicholson and Zoe Coombs Marr will get “hitched” on Friday night in a show of support for marriage equality.
Festival roadshow Gags galore fuel comedy road trip
AFTER putting on more than 6500 shows, performers at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival are ready to take the laughs to the rest of the country.
2½ Stars Tommy Tiernan
Irish veteran puts on an epic show, but questionable content and manic performance makes it a long slog for nonbelievers.
3½ Stars 2016 Deadly Funny
It was obvious some of the finalists were not stage-ready, but those who were killed while the special guests provided a truly deadly finale.
3½ Stars 5 For 5 At 5
With a constantly shifting line-up of top-shelf drawcards, this is easily the best value for money gig at the festival
4 Stars Michael Griffiths
A hour of songs, lyrics and lashings of fun in tribute to the Queen of Pop.
3½ Stars Anthony Jeannot
As a baby-faced man in the big wild world, Anthony Jeannot explores what it means to grow up, and how hard it actually is.
4½ Stars James Acaster
Impeccably structured stand-up set from a self-hating Englishman made even more impressive by disruptive audience members.
1½ Stars Magic Steven
The spoken-word performance from this long-form anecdotalist is like a stand-up routine in reverse: slow, dull and almost totally without laughs.
3½ Stars Evan Hocking
Look up Port Douglas in the dictionary (a real one, with a cover) and you’ll find a picture of Evan Hocking. Well, he’s probably the funniest man to have lived there.
4 Stars Kyle Kinane
He may look like a slacker, but this is far from slack. Exceptionally smart and unaffected fare from one of the US’s most brilliant comic minds.
4½ Stars Zanzoop
MAYHEM ensues, madness unfolds, Weet-Bix is flung ... and that’s all in the first 30 seconds.
4 Stars Paul Culliver
Straight, young, white, male ... privileged and apologetic, but not really. Paul Culliver is naughty and nice, cheeky and charming. You could take your mum to his show, but she might want to take him home.
3 Stars David Boyle & Miles Milson
A slice of straight-up pub comedy offers a chalk-and-cheese double act that comes served with a dash of strangeness.
3½ Stars Raw Comedy 2016
The Holocaust. Concentration camps. Stalking. Mass shootings. Incest. Sexism. Racism. White guilt. Some dark ideas from this crop of newbies. Thankfully they were also bloody funny.
4 Stars Butt Kapinski
Murder, mystery and speech impediments collide in a chaotic noir-inspired romp.
3 Stars Martin Dunlop
Satirical love-story murder mystery featuring a beautiful daughter, a gardener, a beast and a breast milk pump.
MORE COMFEST NEWS
Rhys Nicholson Stand-up tips from a pro
BARRY Award-nominated funnyman Rhys Nicholson is helping his boyfriend, Triple J broadcaster Kyran Wheatley, break into the world of stand-up comedy.
Upfront Gala Women comics to bring the house down
THE Upfront Gala celebrates its 21st birthday tonight with a stellar line-up of women comics.
Sitcom success Man and puppet comedy duo hit US TV
AUSTRALIAN man and puppet duo Sammy J and Randy have sold their sitcom about life in Melbourne’s northern suburbs to US television network NBC.
Barry Awards Humphries pays tribute to top comics
COMEDY pioneer Barry Humphries has returned home to pay tribute to the new crop of stars, announcing this year’s Barry Award nominees for most outstanding show of the festival.
Comedy laughs on a budget
TIGHT-A--- Tuesday — an honoured Comedy Festival tradition — allows you to see a famous comic at a cut price. But here’s a five-step guide to stumbling over an unexpected gem.