Darwin Fringe Festival: Comedian Becky Steepe coming to the Top End in July 2025

A Victorian comedian knew she was sick, yet her doctors shrugged it off. Despite her diagnosis, she’ll soon be bringing the laughs about her experience to Darwin.

Becky Steepe’s symptoms had shown for years: blood in her faeces, unexplained fatigue and constant tiredness. Picture: Michael Reynolds

Becky Steepe’s symptoms had shown for years: blood in her faeces, unexplained fatigue and constant tiredness.

But the Melbourne-based comedian was only in her 30s – she was “too young” to have bowel cancer, her doctor said.

She was placed on a 20-month waiting list for a colonoscopy, and her doctor dismissed her symptoms as haemorrhoids.

As her condition continued to deteriorate, however, she sought a second opinion.

Her new doctor’s verdict was even blunter.

“If it was cancer, you’d be dead by now,” he told her.

When she finally got around to having a colonoscopy after being bumped up the list, she woke up to horrible news: it was Stage 4 bowel cancer and it had spread to her liver.

Steepe is known for her use of balloons in her comedy acts. Picture: Tracey Keogh

The misconception of being “too young” to have bowel cancer is unfortunately far too common, says Steepe.

Although the majority of newly diagnosed bowel cancer cases occur in people aged 50 years and over, according to Bowel Cancer Australia, 11 per cent – or 1,700 – of Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer are under the age of 50.

It was this fallacy that inspired Steepe to use her comedy platform to raise awareness of early bowel cancer, and she hopes that by doing so she can prevent people – and doctors – from ending up in similar circumstances in the future.

“I know it sounds a bit wanky, but awareness saves lives,” she said.

“Whenever something bad happens to a comedian, we always go, ‘there’s a bit in that’.”

Steepe says comedy has always been a part of her. Picture: Supplied

Steepe, known for her unique blend of stand-up comedy and balloon artistry, will perform her stand-up show, ‘Cancer Card’, as part of the Darwin Fringe Festival on July 18, 19 and 20 at Dom’s Bar and Lounge, Nightcliff.

The show draws on her experiences, she says, from the initial visits and chemotherapy treatment, all the way through to the present.

“It took a lot of work to structure the show so that I can tell the truth, but still get the laughs and not make it super depressing,” she said.

People don’t have to have had a cancer experience to enjoy the show, Steepe said, but she also hoped that those who do can find relief and connection.

“I want people to know they’re not alone,” she said. “Because there is lightness and humour even in the worst of situations.”

To purchase tickets to Steepe’s show, Cancer Card, click here: https://darwinfringe.org.au/event/cancer-card/

Originally published as Darwin Fringe Festival: Comedian Becky Steepe coming to the Top End in July 2025