World-class international comedians confirmed for Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2017
THE biggest names in funny business are coming to Melbourne for the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. These are the comedians you definitely won’t want to miss.
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IT’S that time of year again. The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is coming to town and bringing with it some of the best acts in the funny business.
MICF has been splitting proverbial sides for more than 30 years and, alongside Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival, is one of the largest comedy festivals in the world.
With an enviable line-up of loveable locals and top-class international comedic talents, this year is set to be bigger, bolder and better than ever.
If you like laughing till your cheeks hurt, it’s pretty much a guaranteed ticket to LOLtown.
These are some of the top international acts you won’t want to miss at this year’s LOLpalooza.
IRELAND
David O’Doherty in Big Time
March 30-April 23
The very, very low budget Enya returns to Australia with a head full of dreams, a heart full of hope and a crappy keyboard from 1986. It has been a tough year for humanity, but he’s going to fix everything. Seriously. Think of anything that’s wrong in the world or with your life at the moment. Yep, that’s one of the things he’s definitely going to fix.
For those of you who missed Irish joker’s lesson in Dangerology last year? Good news, it’s back! Discover what to do if a shark comes out of the loo or a volcano erupts underneath your house. This event will have you laughing (very safely) from start to finish.
Dara O Briain Live
April 4
One of Ireland’s funniest comedians, Dara O Briain is coming to Australia in 2017. O Briain is a stand-up comedian and television presenter, best known in the UK for hosting BBC’s Mock the Week, and Ireland’s The Panel. With a reputation for his stand-up world wide, O Briain sold out his entire run at Edinburgh comedy festival from 2002 to 2005 and was the biggest selling solo stand-up comedy show in 2005. A not-to-be-missed show.
Jimeoin in Renonsense Man
March 30-April 23
Classic nonsense from a stand-up legend. Dubbed, probably by himself, comedy of the highest order, this completely nonsense show is likely to leave you with a laughter-inducted belly ache.
Jason Byrne in Propped Up
March 30-April 23
Irish megastar Jason Byrne has been thrilling crowds with his inimitable, frenetic lunacy for 20 years. What better way to celebrate than with a night of “jaw achingly funny”, “doubled-up, gasping-for-oxygen hilarious” comedy with this loveable Irishman.
Our reviewers gave this “impossible not to like Irish comedian” four stars, writing: “If you love scatological language, lurid sexual jokes and graphic visual gags, then Byrne’s material is for you.”
UNITED KINGDOM
Daniel Sloss in So?
March 30-April 22
Don’t miss the stunning new show from Scotland’s internationally acclaimed and award-winning comedian. At just 26 Daniel has sold out nine consecutive Edinburgh Fringes and tours extensively throughout the UK, Europe, Australasia and USA.
“Nothing is off limits. From feminism and paedophilia to God and gun laws, Sloss skilfully weaves sensitive subject matter into a hilarious tapestry of politically incorrect and sexually inappropriate zingers. If Van Wilder and Stifler had a love child, Sloss would be it,” our reviewer said of his MICF debut last year.
This guy is unmissable.
Andy Zaltzman in Plan Z
March 30-April 23
Look at this planet. Plans A to Y have all failed. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PLAN Z.
Andy Zaltzman, star of the worldwide smash-hit satirical podcast ‘The Bugle’, solves all known problems with one unworkable plan, bravely bodysurfing the unending volcano of confused fury that is modern global politics.
Paul Foot in ‘Tis A Pity She’s A Piglet
March 30-April 23
The weird and truly wonderful Mr Paul Foot, aka Professor Ketchup, returns to Melbourne, joining forces with his camembert piglet to tackle the big issues such as terrorism, Kim Jong-un Kardashian, immigration X-Factor and breakfast.
“Foot is rightly compared to The Goon Show, Monty Python and Spike Milligan. If you don’t get it, that’s your problem,” entertainment guru Mikey Cahill said of his material from 2016, giving the “impish eccentric” four stars last year.
UNITED STATES
Arj Barker in Organic
March 31-April 16
Arj Barker is back by popular demand with his certified organic comedy. (This is what we thought of it last year.) As always, he starts with the finest free-range topics and nurtures them until they’re brimming with wholesome hilarity and ready for the tellin’. Remember, his cruelty-free jokes are ALWAYS tested on animals, and 100% goat-approved by the time you hear them. That’s quality you can trust.
*May contain traces of nuts
Ruby Wax in Frazzled
March 30-April 2
Drop dead gorgeous, sassy and smart, Ruby Wax brings her new one-woman show to the stage. Based on her number-one bestseller, A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled, Ruby has been honoured with the title of poster girl for mental illness. Once crazy, now less so, she gives a tour of the mind — how to use it, not lose it. Ruby graduated from Oxford three years ago so she knows her stuff.
SOUTH AFRICA
Urzila Carlson in Unacceptable
March 30-April 23
When did it became unacceptable to like meat and impossible to process gluten? And why can’t we call people out when they’re being assholes? From Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Great Debate and The Oxfam Gala, and after five sellout runs, South African/NZ Comedian Urzila Carlson makes her Festival return.
NEW ZEALAND
Cal Wilson in Things I’ve Never Said
March 30-April 23
You’ve seen her on Whose Line is it Anyway? and Have You Been Paying Attention, now you can see her on the stage at MICF. Cal’s always been a bit of a people pleader. This year that changes. She’s saying all the things she’s never said: about feminism, politics, and those brown shoes her husband won’t throw out.
Comedian’s ‘disturbing’ response to Holocaust joke
A stand-up comedian who joked about the mass murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust has doubled down on his Melbourne comedy festival gag, writing a shocking response to a Jewish audience member who had taken offence.
Comics laugh it up at comedy festival awards
A young Melbourne comic and a dry UK comedian are among the big winners at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Awards, which were tinged with controversy this year.