Meet our Comedy Zoners!
- 17 March 2026
- · Festival News
Introducing our 2026 Comedy Zoners: Peter Josip, Bahaa Dabbagh, Stella Wu, Jack Knight, and Kushi Venkatesh. For 26 years, Comedy Zone has been unearthing new comedy gold, and this year is no different! Get to know our cast and come along for a showcase of the electrifying next generation stand-up superstars!
Comedy Zone, proudly supported by Lancemore Crossley St, has performances running from Thu 26 Mar - Sun 19 Apr.
Peter Josip (VIC)
Peter Josip is a stand-up comedian from Melbourne who frequents Northcote Plaza. In 2025, He won RAW Comedy at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was a finalist in So You Think You’re Funny? at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, much to the chagrin of his multiple nemesis'. Since Edinburgh last August, he's been gigging in Toronto and around Canada, performing at the top comedy clubs in North America. He's performed at major comedy festivals in Australia and internationally, and has been featured on SBS, ABC, and in The Guardian. His Greek-Cypriot and Italian background makes a great backdrop for his comedy and he hopes to one day be able to achieve his dream of being the mean judge on a Got Talent TV show.
Your comedy in three words?
Summer of Pete!
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
Running a full marathon every day leading up to MICF.
What's your comedy career goal?
To be the mean judge on a Got Talent TV show, I want to tell a contortionist on national television that they have no talent as they unravel themselves from a tennis racquet.
What's your favourite dad joke?
What do you call a no eye deer? No eye deer
Bahaa Dabbagh (VIC)
Hailing all the way from Syria, Bahaa's worst fear is bombing on stage, and not just because he's a comedian! His comedy style is so dark, it gets "randomly" selected for inspection all the time.
His comedy is sharp, dark, and unapologetically honest, drawing on themes of displacement, racism, cultural identity, and survival. Bahaa is the creator of Refugee Thoughts, a digital initiative that uses humour, articles, and podcasts to challenge public narratives about refugees. He is also a 2025 RAW Comedy Victoria State Semi-Finalist and regularly performs across Melbourne’s comedy and arts stages. His debut solo hour, My Refugee Disorder, premiered at the 2025 Melbourne Fringe Festival.
Your comedy in three words?
Observational, storytelling, dark.
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
Testing punchlines on my refugee cat. She’s a tough critic!
When Sasha is too busy running between naps, I traumatise the Australian public in comedy rooms all around Melbourne.
What's your comedy career goal?
To make people laugh so hard they accidentally question their politics.
What's your ideal breakfast?
Hummus, bread, and the tears of racists.
Stella Wu (NSW)
Stella Wu is a Hong Kong born, Sydney based comedian known for sharp, playful stand‑up and a globally informed point of view. A 2024 RAW Comedy National Finalist, she’s performed across Australia and New Zealand, blending cultural observations, immigrant experiences, and bold storytelling. After leaving a corporate banking career following a personal turning point, she committed fully to comedy and quickly built a reputation for confident delivery and incisive social commentary. With a multilingual background and a fast‑growing following, she’s carving out a distinctive place in the Australian comedy scene.
Describe your comedy in three words?
Fun, funny, funnier.
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
Through rigorous training, pure determination, never giving up and One-Punch Man training routine.
What's your comedy career goal?
Rule the world with my Asian accent
What was your first word?
Me love you long time
Jack Knight (QLD)
Jack Knight tells jokes like a hammer negotiates; swift, brutal, blunt force trauma to the cranium. Many a comedian have made an attempt, over time, to become likeable or relatable - he has made no such efforts. Jack hasn't made eye contact with anyone in 8 years, and conducts himself like a 40-year-old divorcee busting up a pallet. He is known to ASIO. Jack "lives" in Queensland.
Describe your comedy in three words?
Blunt force trauma.
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone?
I have been drinking longnecks of stout in the tub, lights off, no music, staring at the wall til it gives.
What's your comedy career goal?
I have no real desire to succeed or be beloved, but there's a long list of people who's skin I'd like to get under.
What is your favourite shape and why?
I'd say cheese and bacon. Many people will say pizza or barbecue, but these people will say absolutely anything to be accepted.
Kushi Venkatesh (SA)
Kushi Venkatesh is a student who has been granted permission by her parents to pursue comedy strictly as a hobby. She’s a content creator, TV reporter, and is one of Australia’s youngest emerging comedic voices. She was a Class Clowns National Grand Finalist, and in 2025, she had the honour of being a nominee for the SA Young Australian of the Year Awards.
Your comedy in three words?
Mostly about Mum.
How will you be preparing for Comedy Zone
Lowkey tryna smash out as many uni assignments as I can before the shows start. I don’t want to be mid-set thinking about whether I forgot to hand something in.
What's your comedy career goal?
My comedy career goal? To be on Taskmaster lol. Me doing stand-up is honestly just admin.
Who would win: a giraffe-sized duck, or a duck-sized giraffe??
I'm a self diagnosed dyslexic so I’m not gonna lie, I don't understand this question. But I'll back the giraffe sized duck.
