COVIDSafe Festival

Comedy at The Espy

Updated 12pm, 2 September 2021

Due to current COVIDSafe measures in place across Victoria the Sunday 12 September performance of Comedy at The Espy has been cancelled. All ticketholders will be refunded. For any enquiries please contact ticketing@comedyfestival.com.au.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow

Updated 2pm, 13 August 2021

Due to recent COVIDSafe measures put in place across Victoria the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow performances in Wangaratta (Thursday 29 July), Wodonga (Friday 30 July), Mansfield (Saturday 31 July), Warrnambool (Friday 13 August), Dunkeld (Saturday 14 August) and Portland (Sunday 15 August), have once again been postponed - check the Roadshow page for new dates more details.

Due to COVIDSafe measures put in place across Victoria the rescheduled Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow performance in Shepparton (Sunday 8 August) has been cancelled. For any ticket refunds or enquiries please contact Riverlinks Eastbank.

All Victorian Roadshow performances from May/June/July 2021 cancelled due to Victorian COVIDSafe Settings have now been rescheduled - check the Roadshow page for new dates more details.

All NSW Roadshow performance from June/July cancelled due to Greater Sydney Stay At Home restrictions have now been rescheduled - check the Roadshow page for new dates and info.

Due to COVIDSafe measures in place across Australia the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow performance in Mount Gambier on Saturday 21 August has been cancelled. For any ticket refunds or enquiries please contact Sir Robert Helpman Theatre.

For any ticket refunds or enquiries please contact the relevant venue (check the Roadshow page for details). We apologise for the inconvenience to our audience and hope to see you very soon.

RAW Comedy

Updated 5pm, 30 August 2021

Due to NSW Covid restrictions, we are sorry to announce that all RAW Comedy Sydney heats at The Comedy Store, Wollongong heat at Wollongong Town Hall and Newcastle heat at Civic Theatre Newcastle have been postponed. Heats will be rescheduled when health advice indicates that it is safe to do so - check the RAW website for new dates and more info.

Due to Victorian Government COVIDSafe settings, we are sorry to announce that the RAW Comedy Melbourne heats (from 7 August onwards) at The Evelyn and Howler and the RAW Comedy Ballarat heat (23 July) at the George Hotel have been postponed. Heats will be rescheduled when health advice indicates that it is safe to do so - check the RAW website for new dates and more info.

Check the RAW Comedy website for more details and rescheduled dates.

For any ticket refunds or enquiries please contact the relevant venue (check the RAW Comedy site for details). We apologise for the inconvenience and hope to see you very soon.

CovidSafe Comedy

We’re delighted to welcome audiences back to venues across the country for Melbourne International Comedy Festival presented shows. The safety and wellbeing of all artists, audiences and staff is our number one priority so we ask that all visitors to Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows follow the COVIDSafe practices described on this page.

The Festival is following Chief Health Officer guidance and information relevant to the state or territory of the performance.

Stay at home if you are unwell

The big one! You must not attend a performance if you are:

• feeling unwell
• showing symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19)
• awaiting a coronavirus (COVID-19) test result
• have otherwise been directed to self-isolate or quarantine

Click here to view the Festival’s Ticketing Terms & Conditions. Please note that Terms & Conditions may vary depending on the ticketing provider so it is important to check the relevant T&C’s when purchasing your tickets.

If you begin to feel unwell while at an event, please contact a venue staff member immediately.

How to be COVIDSafe

Every venue presenting a Melbourne International Comedy Festival show will have a COVIDSafe Plan with specific COVIDSafe practices and conditions you need to be aware of. Venue specific information can be found on the Venue’s website.

General COVIDSafe practices that you should follow at any venue include:

• Maintain physical distancing of 1.5m from other attendees in queues, foyers and bars
• Carry a face mask with you at all times and wear as instructed by venue staff
• Make frequent use of the hand sanitiser and washing facilities at the venue
• Listen to and comply with instructions given by venue staff
• Stay up to date with the latest information from relevant government bodies:
  • NSW: nsw.gov.au/covid-19
  • Victoria: coronavirus.vic.gov.au
  • Queensland: qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19
  • SA: covid-19.sa.gov.au
  • WA: wa.gov.au/government/covid-19-coronavirus
  • Tasmania: coronavirus.tas.gov.au
  • NT: coronavirus.nt.gov.au
  • ACT: covid19.act.gov.au

2021 Melbourne International Comedy Festival (Mar-Apr) COVIDSafe Specific Information

The health of our audience, artists and staff is of the highest importance. Some of the protective measures to expect when you attend a Festival performance include:

• Paperless ticketing and cashless box offices
• More time between shows so audiences coming out do not mix with audiences waiting to go in
• Greatly reduced crowding in foyers and hallways
• Regular cleaning and sanitising of our venues and public areas
• Availability of hand sanitiser at all venues
• Signage in venues to help maintain physical distancing, one-way only entry and exits wherever possible
• Seating in venues that complies with current state government requirements
• Increased website features and digital versions of our venue map, program and all key Festival info at comedyfestival.com.au
• Collection of patron information at entry of all Comedy Festival venues to facilitate rapid contact tracing. Information will be collected according to state government requirements including the storage of patron names and email addresses.

COVIDSafe Plans

Below you can find a link to the Festival's COVIDSafe Plan. Every venue participating in the Festival will also have a specific COVIDSafe Plan too, you can find this information on the event's show page under the COVID-19 venue safety information tab. This information will be updated regularly to ensure currency. Please read and make sure you are aware of the COVID-specific conditions of entry required by each venue for audiences attending Festival performances.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s full COVIDSafe Plan is available to read HERE.