The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the largest stand-alone comedy festival and the second-largest international

comedy festival A comedy festival is a celebration of comedy with many shows, venues, comedy performers (such as stand up comics, sketch troupes, variety performers, etc.) and is held over a specific block of time. Normally, each festival has a diverse range of c ...

in the world. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

over four weeks, typically starting in March and running through to April. The

Melbourne Town Hall Melbourne Town Hall is the central city town hall of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and is a historic building in the state of Victoria since 1867. Located in the central business district on the northeast corner of the intersection between ...

has served as the festival hub, but performances are held in many venues throughout the city. The MICF plays host to hundreds of local and international artists; in 2018 the festival listed over 550 shows, 6,700 performances (including more than 160 free performances) by 3,500 artists. Although it is mainly a vehicle for

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

acts, the festival has also included sketch shows, plays,

improvisational theatre Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

, debates, musical shows and art exhibitions. The televised Gala is one of the festival's flagship event, showcasing short performances from many headline and award-winning comics. Other popular events include The Great Debate, a televised comedy debate, the Opening Night Super Show, and Upfront, a night of performances exclusively featuring female comedians. The Festival also produces three flagship development programs:

Raw Comedy Raw Comedy is an Australian annual competition for emerging stand-up comedians held by Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It was established in 1996 and is supported by national youth radio station Triple J. In 2011, there were 1,100 conte ...

, Australia's biggest open mic competition;

Class Clowns Class Clowns is Melbourne International Comedy Festival's development program for young people around the country. Description After a competition has been held across the country, heats, semi-finals and then finals are run in each Australian s ...

, a national comedy competition for high school students; and Deadly Funny, an Indigenous comedy competition that celebrates the unique humour of Indigenous Australians. The Festival also undertakes an annual national roadshow, showcasing festival highlights in regional towns across Australia.

History

The festival was launched in 1987 at a media conference hosted by

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film prod ...

(as

Sir Les Patterson Sir Leslie Colin "Les" Patterson (born 1 April 1942) is a fictional character created and portrayed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries. Obese, lecherous and offensive, Patterson is Dame Edna Everage's exact opposite: she is female, refined, Pr ...

) and

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

. According to the festival's co-founder, John Pinder, the idea of holding an international comedy festival originated in the early 1980s. In 1986, Pinder persuaded the Victorian Tourism Commission to fund an overseas trip in order to visit other international comedy festivals and investigate the possibility of holding a festival in Melbourne. Pinder became convinced it would work, and after his return wrote a report for the state government, which they accepted. The following year, the first annual Melbourne International Comedy Festival launched. Traditionally the festival would open on or around

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which ma ...

(1 April), though it now generally begins in mid to late March and runs for roughly four weeks. Its first year, in 1987, featured 56 separate shows, including performances by the

Doug Anthony All Stars The Doug Anthony All Stars (or Doug Anthony Allstars, DAAS, D.A.A.S. or stylised as D⋆A†A☭S) were an Australian musical comedy, alternative rock and vocal group who initially performed together between 1984 and 1994. The group were an aco ...

Wogs Out of Work ''Wogs Out of Work'' is an Australian play which was written by Nick Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares, and Maria Portesi. It debuted in 1987 at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and was enormously successful, touring for a number of yea ...

Gerry Connolly Gerald Edward Connolly (born March 30, 1950) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district, first elected in 2008. The district is anchored in Fairfax County, an affluent suburban coun ...

Los Trios Ringbarkus Los Trios Ringbarkus was an Australian stand up comedy duo prominent in the 1980s, comprising Neill Gladwin (b. 1961) and Steve Kearney (b. 1961). Live act Both members were born in Melbourne, Gladwin in Essendon and Kearney in Burwood. They ...

and

Rod Quantock Rodney Edward Quantock (born 1948) is an Australian stand-up comedian and writer. Quantock is known for his pioneering style of stand-up comedy, which is often politically driven, as well as being the face of bed retailer Capt'n Snooze for m ...

. By 1999, it contained over 120 shows and was being attended by some 350,000 patrons annually. In 2010, it played host to a record (at the time) 369 shows and 4,947 performances both local and international, including artists from the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and China. In addition, it achieved an attendance of over 508,000 and its highest-ever box office revenue of A$10.9 million, ranking it as Australia's largest cultural event. Activities were originally centred around the Universal and

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

Theatres but in the early 1990s, the MICF shifted its venue to the newly refurbished Melbourne Town Hall, which has remained the festival hub. Soon after this, it spread out further to include an independently produced program at the

Melbourne Trades Hall Victorian Trades Hall is the headquarters of the Victorian Trades Hall Council. It is located on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Street, just north of the Melbourne central business district, in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, Vict ...

as well. In 2010, for the first time, the Festival also ran the Trades Hall venue. The MICF is one of the three largest international comedy festival in the world, behind

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Fringe Festival Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fre ...

and ahead of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

's Just For Laughs. Although it is mainly a vehicle for stand-up and cabaret acts, its programme has also featured sketch shows, plays, improvisational theatre, debates, musical shows and art exhibitions. There is also a tradition for experimenting with unusual comedy venues, such as Rod Quantock's "Bus" tours and the similar "Storming Mount Albert By

Tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

", which used buses and trams respectively as mobile theatres in which the audience members were also passengers. In 2006, the opening of the festival was delayed due to the Festival Melbourne that occurred as part of the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

held in Melbourne. Following the end of the festival in Melbourne various local and international comedians join the MICF Roadshow, which spends several months touring regional Australia and in 2010, Singapore. The 2020 festival was cancelled in its entirety due to concerns surrounding

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the extension of restrictions relating to efforts to stem the spread of the pandemic in Australia.

Views on the festival

Australian comic

Peter Helliar Peter Jason Matthew Helliar (born 16 June 1975) is an Australian comedian, actor, television, radio presenter, writer, producer and director. He is best known for his work on television as a former regular co-host of '' The Project'' on Networ ...

says that performing in Melbourne is more fun for comedians because there is less pressure involved than in Edinburgh, where there is greater competition to gain an audience. Journalist Simon Fanshawe describes Melbourne as "the festival where the comedians go to play ... the most relaxed, least fevered and probably the most audience-friendly of all the festivals." Lorin Clarke, a Melbourne-based writer and director of comedy theatre, argues that shows self-produced by Australian comedians have great difficulty competing against shows featuring international comics which are produced by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Clarke argues this conflict of interest stifles creativity. The festival is geared towards supporting local artists and has an approval process and higher registration fee for non-Australian or New Zealand artists.

Special events

In addition to over 200 nightly shows which play during the festival, there are a number of special one-off events. The best-known of these is the Comedy Festival Gala, which showcases short acts from many headlines and award-winning comedians performing shows at that year's festival. It has become known as the festival's flagship event and typically sells out months in advance. It is typically hosted by well-known popular comedians. Headline acts at the Gala have included world-famous comics

Arj Barker Arjan Singh Āulakh (born 12 August 1974), known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. He was born to an engineer father a ...

Eddie Ifft Eddie Ifft (born 1974 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. Biography Ifft graduated with honors from Fox Chapel Area High School in 1990. After graduation from the University of Pittsburgh, where he ...

Adam Hills Adam Christopher Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter. In Australia, he hosted the music quiz show '' Spicks and Specks'' from 2005 to 2011, and again in 2021 onwards, and the talk show ''Adam Hi ...

Russell Kane Russell Kane (born Russell David Anthony Grineau; 19 August 1975) is an English writer, comedian, and actor. He has 4 times been nominated at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, winning the Best Comedy Show award in 2010. Although known mainly for st ...

Stephen K Amos Stephen Kehinde Amos (born 3 December 1967) is a British stand-up comedian and television personality. A regular on the international comedy circuit, he is known for including his audience members during his shows. He began his career as a c ...

Mike Wilmot Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

and Rich Hall. The Gala is filmed and broadcast at a later date during the festival on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Since 1995 the Gala has been a charity event, with all proceeds from the live performance and the screening going to

Oxfam Australia Oxfam Australia is an Australian, independent, not-for-profit, secular, community-based aid and development organization, and is an affiliate of the Oxfam International confederation. Oxfam Australia's work is divided into four broad categories co ...

. The Great Debate has been an annual event since 1989 and has been televised variously on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

and currently airs on

. The comedy debate features two teams of comedians facing off loosely in the structure of a formal debate over humorous topics such as "Laughter is Better Than Sex", "Coming First is All That Matters" and "

Food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

is better than

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

". The winning team is chosen by audience applause. Since 1994 the festival has produced Upfront, a night exclusively featuring female comedians which routinely sells out.

Awards

Each year, the MICF ends its Melbourne run by recognising the most outstanding shows and performers with a series of awards. The award for the most outstanding show of the festival was called the ''Barry Award'' until the 2019 festival, named after

. However, due to comments about transgender people Humphries' name was removed from the prize and it was renamed the ''Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award''. The '' Piece of Wood Award'' was introduced in 1998 and is the comics' choice award. ''The Best Newcomer Award'' is presented to the festival's best first-time performer as a part of its Emerging Talent Program. The winner receives a trip to the

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

comedy festival in the UK. ''The Golden Gibbo'', named in honour of Australian comedian

Lynda Gibson Lynda Jane Wiseman "Gibbo" Gibson (21 March 1956 – 2 January 2004) was an Australian comedian and actress.

, celebrates a local, independent act that "bucks trends and pursues the artist's idea more strongly than it pursues any commercial lure". ''The Directors' Choice'', has been presented since 2005 and recognises an outstanding show that missed out on any other prize. It is awarded by the MICF director, in consultation with other visiting festival directors. ''The Funny Tonne'' is awarded to the punter who sees the most shows throughout the Comedy Festival each year. ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

Critics' Award'' was presented to the best local act as selected by reviewers at the Melbourne newspaper between 2001 and 2010. A full list of all current and past Melbourne International Comedy Festival awards winners is listed on th
MICF Awards website

Advertising

From 1988 to 2018,

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

Michael Leunig Michael Leunig (born 2 June 1945), typically referred to as Leunig (his signature on his cartoons), is an Australian cartoonist. His works include ''The Curly Pyjama Letters'', cartoon books ''The Essential Leunig'', ''The Wayward Leunig'', ' ...

designed the artwork for the festival program and other materials such as advertising posters. In 2019, Leunig was replaced by

Judy Horacek Judy Horacek (born 12 November 1961) is an Australian cartoonist, artist, writer and children's book creator. She is best known for her award winning children's picture book ''Where is the Green Sheep?'' with Mem Fox, and her weekly cartoons ...

following his recent controversial works on vaccines and marriage equality. Horacek will remain as the illustrator for the festival until at least 2020.

References

External links

Official Melbourne International Comedy Festival site
{{Melbourne events Recurring events established in 1987 Comedy festivals in Australia International Comedy Festival 1987 establishments in Australia Performing arts in Melbourne