Must-see comedy legends with new shows at the 2019 Melbourne International Comedy Festival
They are the seasoned veterans — by no means losing steam — who have performed at Melbourne International Comedy Festival for 10 years or more and are back for another run with a new show.
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They are the seasoned veterans — by no means losing steam — who’ve fielded their fair share of heckles and worked the crowds, be it in backroom venues through to Melbourne’s biggest theatres.
These are the funnymen and women who’ve performed at the comedy festival for 10 years or more.
And they’re back for another run with a new show.
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JUDITH LUCY
If dry sarcasm were an Olympic sport, Aussie comedy royalty Judith Lucy would be letting quips fly for gold.
Celebrating or bemoaning singledom again at 50, Lucy lets the audience decide whether she should hang up her vagina for good.
Judith Lucy Vs Men is her first solo show since Ask No Questions of the Moth won the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performance in 2015.
Judith Lucy, Judith Lucy Vs Men, March 28-April 14, Arts Centre Melbourne Playhouse. Book tickets
WIL ANDERSON
The six-time People’s Choice Award winner has long held his own as one of the brightest names in Australian comedy – from his days as host of The Gruen Transfer to his current morning radio gig on Triple M.
But stand-up comedy is the Sale product’s great passion.
After selling out Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre for the past 11 years, Anderson is back with Wil-Informed, destined to be another thought-provoking offering.
Wil Anderson, Wil-Informed, March 27-April 21, Comedy Theatre. Book tickets
STEPHEN K. AMOS
Perennially popular British comic Stephen K Amos delivers a stream of his brilliant favourites combined with sharp new gags in a show he says could be his farewell.
OUR STEPHEN K. AMOS REVIEW ★★★½
The Story So Far … looks back on his past decade in stand-up and is Amos at his seamless best — taking aim at everything from Aussies to his parents.
A polished presence on stage, see Amos if you feel-good humour is your thing.
Stephen K Amos, The Story So Far …, March 28-April 7, Athenaeum Theatre. Book tickets
TOM GLEESON
Few can take on hecklers quite like the whip-smart Tom Gleeson.
The deadpan comic has elevated quiz-show hosting to new levels with his takedowns of contestants on Hard Quiz. Celebs in the Hard Chat segment hot seat have every reason to be worried about what’s around the corner with Gleeson at the helm.
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And no town or city in the country is safe from his cutting mock travel show, Go Away.
Tom Gleeson, Joy, March 27-April 7, Comedy Theatre. Book tickets
HANNAH GADSBY
Hannah Gadsby’s powerful stories of homophobia struck a chord last time round before she bid a temporary farewell on a high with a Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
OUR HANNAH GADSBY REVIEW ★★★★½
Two years after signing off on that winning note with the raw and deeply personal Nanette, the Barry Award-winning Tasmanian is back with Douglas.
Hannah Gadsby, Douglas, March 27-April 7, Hamer Hall & Arts Centre Playhouse. Book tickets
DAVE HUGHES
The laconic slow drawl is unmistakable. Dave Hughes is entrenched as a household name, a fixture on mainstream radio and television year-round, having become one of the biggest names in Australian comedy.
Since sell-out shows at last year’s comedy festival, Hughesy hasn’t had his fringe cut.
It forms the furry foundations of his newest routine. Find out if there is indeed such a thing as manopause.
Dave Hughes, Hairy, March 28-April 21, Melbourne Town Hall, Lower Town Hall. Book tickets
JIMEOIN
A household name in Australian comedy since the early ’90s when he moved here from Northern Ireland, Jimeon reckons the toughest part of the stand-up gig is not just getting people to turn up, but to ensure they switch off from their concerns and worries.
The affable master of observational humour returns to the comedy festival with his new show, Result!
Jimeoin, Result!, April 9-April 21, Athenaeum Theatre. Book tickets
Geraldine Hickey
A confident conversationalist, the cheeky and deadpan Geraldine Hickey can be heard every morning as co-host of 3RRRFM’s Breakfasters.
OUR GERALDINE HICKEY Q&A AND REVIEW ★★★★
Since finishing runner-up in the RAW Comedy Festival contest 16 years ago, Hickey has gone on to become a regular of the club and pub comedy circuit.
Things must be going well if she does things such as mushroom hunting these days, despite not really eating them.
Geraldine Hickey, Things Are Going Well, March 27-April 20, Imperial Hotel, Hooper Room. Book tickets
Jeff Green
“I first came to Melbourne comedy festival in 1996 — so this is my 23rd year,” the Brit-turned-Aussie proclaims.
“Yes, no international has performed at more festivals than me.” Green’s endearing new show, Letters Home, takes on the format of 10 letters, delivered as monologues to his family back home.
It is a homage to the 10-pound Poms and reflects on his own experience of packing up shop and moving Down Under a decade ago.
Jeff Green, Letters Home, March 28-April 21, Swiss Club & Melbourne Town Hall. Book tickets
DAVE O’NEIL
One of the nation’s most recognised stand-up comics, this will be Dave O’Neil’s 17th Melbourne comedy festival.
With “former bass guitarist” on his CV, it’s little wonder he notched more than 50 appearances on ABC TV’s hugely popular Spicks & Specks.
The stand-up legend even channelled his life into a sitcom pilot last year, the aptly named Dave.
Dave O’Neil’s Fairfield Funhouse, March 29-April 21. Book tickets
ROSS NOBLE
The master of improvisational stand-up, Ross Noble is a regular on these shores, consistently selling out even in regional corners of the country.
What happens when pure comedy takes human form? What happens when a creature is created and bred to do stand-up? Nobody knows because it isn’t a thing.
Noble is back with his latest show, Humournoid, for two days only.
Ross Noble, Humournoid, March 29 and 30. Palais Theatre. Book tickets
DANNY BHOY
“Nothing reminds you how many bad films were made last year than a long-haul flight.”
Such was Scottish favourite Danny Bhoy’s realisation en route to his Melbourne International Comedy Festival return.
Since making his debut Down Under in 2003, the Scot has gone on to sellout tours across the globe.
He is back with his distinct knack for observational storytelling in Age of Fools.
Danny Bhoy, Age of Fools, March 27-April 7, Hamer Hall. Book tickets
DAVE THORNTON
Once deemed a quintessentially Australian comedian, Dave Thornton has become a comedy festival regular amid intermittent TV appearances.
His latest show celebrates – or is it commiserates? – the last year of his 30s.
It’s an age at which he feels he may just be getting his s---t together, despite being time poor, juggling a mortgage and two young children.
Dave Thornton, Lean Into It, March 28-April 21, Max Watt’s & Melbourne Town Hall, Supper Room. Book tickets
DAVID O’DOHERTY
It’s all about the little plastic keyboard for the hairy Enya, David O’Doherty.
He was given it for his First Confirmation and in 2019, the Irish favourite returns with his finest keyboard-backed talking tales in Ultrasound.
The multi-award winning funnyman was nominated for the festival’s Barry Award in 2016 and the Edinburgh Award for Best Show in 2008 and is bound to bring the goods again.
David O’Doherty, Ultrasound, March 28-April 21. The Forum Upstairs. Book tickets
BOB FRANKLIN
London-born and Welsh raised, Bob Franklin has called these shores home for 30 years.
His routines always tilt heavily to the dark side, and his latest show sees him portray Sir Robert Franklin, the star of several Hammer horror films.
For TV viewers, Franklin’s recent credits include a recurring role in Josh Thomas’s second and third series of Please Like Me.
Bob Franklin, Sir Robert’s History of Horror, March 28-April 21. Book tickets
MONICA DULLARD
It’s fair to say Melbourne’s Monica Dullard has been around the traps as a stand-up veteran of 21 years.
That makes it a significant-number milestone, time for a 21st birthday party in Fancy That! When Dullard’s not working the stage, she’s working a photocopier as a part-time librarian at a public library. Maybe she can do both at once.
Monica Dullard, Fancy That!, March 28-April 16, The Clyde Hotel. Book tickets
STAY TUNED FOR OUR REVIEWS ON THE HOTTEST SHOWS AT THIS YEAR’S COMEDY FESTIVAL.
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