BY VANDAD ZOUGHI AND SAMUEL PORTER

The Victorian capital is again hosting the biggest comedy event in Australia, as the month-long Melbourne International Comedy Festival gets under way this week.

Three years after the pandemic hit hard, the 2023 Festival brings an exciting line-up of international and local comedians and artists to perform shows across a range of venues in the city.

There are more than 600 shows on offer this year. What to See? Here is a list of performances to look out for.

Mel & Sam: High Pony

Award-winning musical comedy duo Mel O'Brien and Samantha Andrew are back for the third time at Melbourne Comedy Festival, with their brand of absurd, loud and unapologetic cabaret comedy, High Pony.

The pair performed at Adelaide Fringe (February-March) and took home the award for Best Cabaret. High Pony contains original music, written and recorded by the duo; it is an observational comedy narrated through songs of various genres such as pop, techno and jazz.

O’Brien calls their show “an absolute mixed bag of everything”. She says the use of more modern music and their style of comedy can bring a Gen-Z crowd that may not usually go to comedy festivals.

She believes musical comedy has a smaller following compared to stand-up. “We are okay with the fact that it’s not for everyone," she says. "But if you are into musical comedy, we like to think we are doing a really fun and interesting job of it."

Jarryd Goundrey: Good Lord!

Jarryd Goundrey spent seven years in the Australian military and now his career is to make people laugh. Bringing into his jokes life’s big questions and his fears and thoughts about getting older, Goundrey says Good Lord! is about his journey of fulfilling a childhood dream.

“As a kid, I always wanted to be a knight… when I got older I was like: I can’t be a knight,” he says. “I bought a square metre of land in Scotland. I bought it officially to be called a lord.”

His tip on how to best enjoy the Festival is to go for a combination of famous comedians and someone you have never heard of. “Go to the theatre and see the lights and then go into the basements … because all of those people that are famous started down there," he says. "It's just an amazing way to go; see like you might stumble across something terrible and you might stumble across the next big thing and it's really fun to have those stories later in life.”

Suren Jayemanne: The Bag of Vegeta

Suren Jayemanne is a former accountant who turns his fears and dreams into jokes. With The Bag of Vegeta, his observational comedy is about anything and everything, but most of all his life and background. Jayemanne has performed across Australia and appeared on shows such as Australia Debates on ABC TV.

Lou Wall: Lou Wall vs the Internet

If you think you’d like to watch High Pony by Mel & Sam, there is a good chance you might also like Lou Wall vs the Internet. Lou Wall is an award-winning Gen-Z musical comedian, described by O'Brien as one of her favourite comedians at the Festival. In this act, Wall explores the online world through a thrilling, over-the-top and ‘kind of cringe’ style of comedy.

Michelle Brasier: Legacy

Michelle Brasier is a musical comedian who is back at the Melbourne Comedy Festival with an exciting show. Brasier is best known for her work with sketch comedy group Aunty Donna, which recently had a successful Netflix special, Aunty Donna’s Big Ol’ House of Fun. She has been touring Australia and winning awards with another of her shows, Average Bear. She is also a television writer and actor.

Reuben Kaye: Live and Intimidating

Reuben Kaye is known to be an iconic comedian in the making. He has won multiple awards and had sold-out shows in the UK and Australia. His cabaret comedy is bold, brazen and smart. Kaye's comedy is pure entertainment, with a handful of punches towards conservatism and homophobia.

Hannah Camilleri: Lolly Bag

Award-winning sketch comedian Hannah Camilleri returns to Melbourne with some new sketches and characters. A brilliant actor and comedian, Camilleri won the Golden Gibbo Award (for Pét-Nat) at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2021. You can expect a night of witty and original comedy at her show.

Ismo: Watch Your Language

Finnish comedian Ismo Leikola has been rising in popularity in recent years; you might know him from his social media clips. He has been living in California for some time and his takes on the English language and cultural differences between Finland and the United States are a key part of his shows.

Festival Program

Each year, the Festival features a month-long program of local and international comedians with a wide variety of events, from family shows to cabaret.

As in previous years, the festival hit the ground running with an opening night Comedy Allstars Supershow. Hosted by Hannah Gadsby, it brought big names from the comedy scene to the stage at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda on March 29.

Other big events include The Gala, held at the Palais on March 22, and The Great Debate, which will be hosted at Melbourne Town Hall with selected comedians on April 9 and is billed as an event “where critical thinking and comic timing collide”.

Another notable show to look out for is the fundraiser Light The Way Home, on April 12, designed to raise money to provide female, non-binary and other vulnerable performers with a safe way home from comedy venues in or around Melbourne CBD.

The Festival is also hosting Deadly Funny National Grand Final, dedicated to First Nations comedians, to be held at the Forum on April 15.

In a bid to expand the Festival’s presence beyond the CBD, The Neighbourhood Sessions will be held in more suburbs than ever - in nine suburbs including Footscray, Essendon, Caroline Springs and Werribee.

Cheapest Deals

For those on a tight budget, there are ways to see the Festival for less:

1. Get friends together and buy group tickets. The minimum number of tickets for a group varies, so check the Festival website for details.

2. Buy a laugh pack, where you get tickets for multiple shows at once - with 10% off the total cost.

3. If you are a full-time student, use your student ID to get a discount.

4. Catch one of the discounted preview shows this weekend (until April 3) and on select days throughout the Festival.

5. You can also get cheaper tickets on Tuesdays.

Check out all deals available on the Festival website.