2024 Tours

FOLLOW THE FUNNY – INTERSTATE TOURS AND EVENTS

Melbourne International Comedy Festival is presenting some of the biggest international names at festivals and events around Australia and New Zealand. Check out who’s on tour with us below, and follow the funny around the country!

JUMP TO:  CARL DONNELLY  |  CATHERINE BOHART  |  CHLOE PETTS  |  DAVID O'DOHERTY  |  FERN BRADY  |  KANAN GILL  |  LARA RICOTE  |  SARAH KEYWORTH 

Ready, Steady, DAVID O'DOHERTY (IRE)

The David O’Doherty of comedy is back! Having trained his body and mind to the point of peak perfection, he has used a very nice pen (€10/$16) to write a new concert of talking and songs. Now it’s time to say it out loud. He’s got fresh batteries for his keyboard and a splendid new hat for his head. He is ready. Are you?

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
Thu 28 Mar - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 6.45pm, Sun 5.45pm
Capitol Theatre

NEW ZEALAND COMEDY FESTIVAL - Wellington
Tue 23 Apr @ 7pm
Te Auaha

NEW ZEALAND COMEDY FESTIVAL - Auckland
Wed 24 Apr @ 7pm
Q Theatre

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Fri 26 Apr @ 7.15pm
Enmore Theatre

BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL
Sat 27 Apr @ 6pm
Sun 28 Apr @ 5pm
Powerhouse Theatre

PERTH COMEDY FESTIVAL
Tue 30 April @ 7pm
Regal Theatre

FERN BRADY (UK)
I Gave You Milk To Drink

Scotland’s queen of comedy Fern Brady (Taskmaster UK, Live At The Apollo, Roast Battle, Russell Howard, The Last Leg) is back in Australia with a brand-new show.

What happens when you get everything you want and it’s not enough? What if you want to run a small goat farm in rural Greece instead? This is a great show to come and see if you are a fan of the Scottish comedian Fern Brady.

'She’s absolutely fearless – there’s nowhere she won’t go and nothing she won’t say on stage and she’ll switch from snarling and menacing to sweet and girlish in an instant. It’s a killer combination.' ★★★★ The Scotsman (UK)

ADELAIDE FRINGE
Tue 5 - Sun 17 Mar @ 7pm
The Garden of Unearthly Delights

GOLD COAST LAUGHS
Thu 21 Mar @ 7pm
HOTA

CANBERRA COMEDY FESTIVAL
Mon 18 Mar @ 7pm EXTRA SHOW
The Street Theatre

Fri 22 & Sat 23 Mar @ 8pm 
Canberra Theatre Centre

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 
Thu 28 Mar - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 9.15pm, Sun 8.15pm
Rydges Melbourne

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Wed 24 Apr @ 9pm
Thu 25 Apr @ 7pm EXTRA SHOW
Factory Theatre

BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL
Fri 26 - Sun 28 Apr
Fri & Sat 8.30pm, Sun 7.30pm
Brisbane Powerhouse

PERTH COMEDY FESTIVAL
Tue 30 Apr @ 7pm & 8.30pm
Rechabite Hall

NEW ZEALAND COMEDY FESTIVAL - Auckland
Sat 4 & Sun 5 May @ 7pm
Q Theatre

CARL DONNELLY (UK)
Glow Up

UK Comedian Carl Donnelly returns to Melbourne looking and feeling great – which is surprising considering he’s officially hit middle age and has had a tough couple of years.

Previously nominated for Best Newcomer and Best Show at the Edinburgh Fringe, join Carl for an all-new show about ageing, intrusive thoughts, becoming an unofficial Australian and much more!

'Intelligently hilarious… right up there with the best.' ★★★★ Herald Sun

'A bringer of delight.' ★★★★ The Scotsman

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 
Thu 28 Mar - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 7.50pm, Sun 6.50pm
Victoria Hotel

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Thu 25 & Fri 26 Apr @ 9.30pm
Enmore Theatre

CHLOE PETTS (UK)
If You Can't Say Anything Nice

Fresh from her smash hit Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre seasons, Chloe Petts returns to Melbourne with her solo debut. She’s charmed audiences with her polite take on big issues, and now she's cashing in those points and plans on being really rude. It’s no more Mr Nice Chloe. Expect routines on wedding dancefloors, the footie and calling you all a bunch of virgins.  

‘Excellent new show… It’s a hoot watching her’ ★★★★ Time Out

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 
Thu 28 Mar - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 8.50pm, Sun 7.50pm
The Westin

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Thu 25 & Fri 26 Apr @ 8.10pm
Enmore Theatre

CATHERINE BOHART (IRE)
Again, With Feelings

Ireland’s Catherine Bohart is back and older than ever… and adulthood, frankly, isn’t living up to her expectations!

Join this ‘effortless’ (Chortle) ‘star in the making’ (The Skinny) performer, for an hilariously twisted second coming of age saga as she reckons with death-obsessed parents, living in a share house when you have OCD, and queer reproduction in her thirties.

'A show that’s worth holding onto.'  ★★★★ Guardian (UK)

'Pretty much the perfect comedy package.’ ★★★★ Beyond The Joke (UK)

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 
Thu 28 Mar - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 7.25pm, Sun 6.25pm
The Westin

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Wed 24 - Sun 28 Apr
Wed - Sat 6.45pm, Sun 5.45pm  
Factory Theatre

SARAH KEYWORTH (UK)
My Eyes Are Up Here

In their highly anticipated return to Melbourne, the charismatic Sarah Keyworth debuts a joyous new show about family, acceptance, and a pair of big (well, not super big) losses.

In 2023 Sarah turned thirty, got diagnosed with ADHD and had top surgery, but possibly the biggest thing to come out of the year was the revelation that maybe their mum was right all along?

An acclaimed stand-up comedian, podcast host and writer, Sarah is brilliantly funny, insightful, authentic, and one of the most exciting and distinctive voices in UK comedy.

'Achingly funny' ★★★★★ The Herald (UK)

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 
Thu 4 - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 7.30pm, Sun 6.30pm
Melbourne Town Hall

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL

Wed 24 Apr, 9.40pm & Sat 27 Apr, 8.20pm 
Comedy Store

KANAN GILL (India)
What Is This?

Kanan is just as tired as you of all his existential whingeing – Why are we here? What does it mean? [Yuck!] Who cares? How many TV specials do you have to do to try to dissect the fundamental nature of the human experience? Enough, right? [Let’s party!]

Indian stand-up superstar Kanan Gill brings the world premiere of his new show to Melbourne. Off the back of his smash-hit Netflix special Yours Sincerely, Kanan’s new show will delight long-term fans and no doubt win a whole new legion of followers.

‘Gill likes to infuse his standup routines with dollops of existentialism… His jokes land profoundly.’ Vogue India

‘Edgy and polished.’ Herald Sun

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL 
Thu 28 Mar - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 9.15pm, Sun 8.15pm
Melbourne Town Hall

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Sat 27 Apr @ 7pm 
Factory Theatre

BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL
Sun 28 Apr @ 4pm
Brisbane Powerhouse

LARA RICOTE (Mexico)
What Is This?

Winner Best Newcomer 2022 Edinburgh Comedy Awards

Winner 2021 Funny Women Stage Award

A surreal, partially interactive, dark (like silly dark, not edge lord dark...or is it?) and moving comedy show about what it's like to live, and what it means to care for someone if you always leave them.

The multi-award-winner, legally deaf and master story-teller Lara Ricote brings her signature ‘razor-sharp goofball’ skills, guiding audiences through intricate webs of ridiculousness with a touch of political ambiguity. Lara’s blend of Mexican, American, Dutch and Venezuelan life-experience, brings a refreshingly diverse perspective. Sold-out debut shows at the 2023 Melbourne Comedy Festival, Lara’s Sydney debut promises to be another hit!

‘Her mile a minute set certainly lived up to the hype.’ ★★★★★ Time Out

‘This is adult humour of the best kind.’ ★★★★½ The Age

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
Thu 28 Mar - Sun 21 Apr
Tue - Sat 7.30pm, Sun 6.30pm
ACMI

SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL
Thu 25 - Sat 27 Apr @ 8.15pm
Comedy Store