With Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) 2025 now well underway, ArtsHub‘s team of intrepid reviewers are out every night seeing what the old favourites have to offer this year, while also unearthing some less familiar little jewels – the genre-benders, the clowns, the storytellers and more. We’ll be adding links to all of our reviews to this page as MICF 2025 progresses, so you may like to bookmark it to make sure you don’t miss a thing.
In descending order of star ratings, here’s everything we’ve seen so far to help you pick something to make you chuckle this week. Click on the titles (which are in alphabetical order) to go through to the full review.
We’re also including a range of related MICF stories here, including the RAW Comedy winner for 2025 and the main MICF award winners, who received their trophies on the Festival’s penultimate day.
Andrew Hamilton: Jokes About the Time I Went To Prison, Toff in the Town
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas meets Shawshank Redemption?
Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, Beckett Theatre
Brilliant, in-your-face clowning that leans heavily into the concept of enthusiastic consent.
Circus Oz: Non Stop, Main Hall, Town Hall
Circus Oz bringing us, as ever, funny, daggy, clever, exhilarating Australian circus.
Elf Lyons: Horses, Malthouse Theatre
Elf Lyons is definitely horsing around, but beneath the guise of a woman pretending to be a horse is a reflection on growing up, losing innocence and forgetting the joy of play
Gillian Cosgriff: Fresh New Worries, The Show Room
A lesson in finely crafted comedy, Cosgriff’s latest show is simply superb.
He Huang: White Man’s Burden, Portrait Room, Town Hall
An edgy, confrontational and often hilarious slap in the sociocultural face.
Jack Docherty: David Bowie & Me: Parallel Lives, The Westin
A blend of humour and heartfelt storytelling that reflects on a lifelong admiration for David Bowie.
Science Friction: Fandom Wars, Oxford Scholar
A show that delivers exactly what you’d expect – geeks arguing about geek stuff, happily pulling the audience into the mix.
Carmelo Costa: Homecoming, Coopers Inn 2
What’s it like to move back to your parents’ place when you’re in your 30s?
Charlene Kaye: Tiger Daughter, Or How I Brought My Immigrant Mother Ultimate Shame, ACMI
Kaye oozes confidence; she’s a star performer as she tells of her progression from squeaky recorder to heavy metal and hip hop.
Danny Bhoy: Dear World, Playhouse Arts Centre Melbourne
A quarter of a century later, Danny Bhoy has certainly honed his craft.
Flo and Joan: The Joan and Flo Show, Lower Town Hall
‘I Drank Too Much’ is as brilliant as ever but, happily, the seasoned comic duo have plenty more extremely funny songs up their sleeves too.
Han Arbuthnott: They/Hehe, Storyville
Not short of dad jokes, Han Arbuthnott is one of a few trans comics in this year’s MICF program.
Jenny Tian: Jenny’s Travels, Supper Room, Town Hall
Finnish-Chinese-Australian returns from London with a great new show as a souvenir.
Jessica Barton: Dirty Work, The Motley Bauhaus
Come clown around with this multitalented comedian in her debut show.
Lewis Garnham: Stream of Contentedness, Spleen Bar
Lewis Garnham shows why the world really is a strange place.
Lil Wenker: Bangtail, The Motley Bauhaus
A gun-toting, cigar-smoking drag king cowboy who rides in on an invisible horse, setting the scene for an hour of high-octane clown chaos in this western set comedy show.
Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall, The Westin
The award-winner questions the veracity of everything.
Nazeem Hussain: You Paid for This, various venues
The Sri Lankan-Australian social media and TV star delivers the provocative goods.
Pierre Novellie: Must We?, The Westin
Smooth dresser and smooth talker, a newcomer to MICF.
Rhys Darby: The Legend Returns, Athenaeum Theatre
Have you ever seen a dirty thought cling like a mad monkey to a vocal chord? Rhys Darby offers all this and more…
Rob Carlton: Willing Participant, Beckett Theatre
Simple storytelling is one of the oldest art forms there is and Rob Carlton is a master.
Ruby Wax: I’m Not As Well As I Thought I Was, Comedy Theatre
You think it’s comical being treated for severe depression? Ruby Wax can see the funny side.
Wankernomics: Just Touching Base, Athenaeum Theatre
In the rich comic vein of a Clarke and Dawe or Utopia, Wankernomics is balm for the soul for anyone ever bedevilled by the world of corporate speak.
Will Gibb: Why Am I Like This?, Backstage Room and Portrait Room, Melbourne Town Hall
Tinged with nostalgia, Will Gibb’s performance showcases both his awkward youth and his confident delivery.
Anisa Nandaula: You Can’t Say That, The Victoria Hotel and other venues
What’s it like being a black girl in Australia?
Cameron James: Broken Record, ACMI
Proof that you can mine your own life for laughs, but do so in a heartfelt fashion.
Chanel Ali: Relative Stranger, The Westin
US comedian’s Australian debut hits the ground running.
Eddie Pattison: Dad Genes, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
Pattison mixes humour with heavier themes, including sharing their experience in the early days of their transition all the while their dad is dying from prostate cancer.
Geraldine Hickey: Meander, Fairfax Studio
Seeing Hickey is like catching up with an old and genuinely beloved friend… who doesn’t happen to know north from south.
Jon & Jero: The Forgotten Tales, ACMI
Fun improv comedy for the kids.
Kate Dolan: The Critic, Bard’s Apothecary
How do you review a comedy show when it already has its own critic built in? It’s a conundrum.
Mark Watson: Before It Overtakes Us, Lower Town Hall
If you like humour that stop-starts, is convoluted and not straight-lined with an identifiable end, Watson is your man.
Rhys Mathewson: Time Trial, Chinese Museum
Rhys Mathewson is a bearded New Zealander with a very simple premise: to do a performance precisely 50 minutes long.
Sara Pascoe: I Am A Strange Gloop, Supper Room, Town Hall
Sara Pascoe got married and had children. She’s happy about that… mostly.
Stephen Hall, For the Term of His Natural Lies, DoubleTree at Hilton Melbourne
Part-film, part-voiceover and completely silly, Stephen Hall delivers a comedy festival show like no other.
Steve Porters: How to Flirt: The Ted XXX Talk, Lunch Room, Town Hall
Porters serves up a lesson in ‘how to pick up chicks’ in this tight little drag king show, which relies heavily on audience interaction.
Zoë Coombs Marr: The Splash Zone, Powder Room, Town Hall
Bemused (horrified) by the current geopolitical landscape, the always sharp Coombs Marr wants us all to keep talking to each other.
Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers, Speakeasy Theatre
One man and his instrument playing a range of popular tunes.
Chris Demos: Actually Kinda Hot, The Butterfly Club
Want to hear some cringey dating stories?
Chris Nguyen: It’s Pronounced Nguyen, Theory Bar
Please note: Nguyen’s comedy debut is not another take on migrant trauma.
Dane Simpson and Isaac Compton: Blak Holes, The Greek, Paw Paw Jump
A new comedy duo with heaps of potential…
Laura Davis: Despair is Beneath Us, The Greek – Paw Paw Jump
While despair may be an understandable emotion right now, it’s not the answer, and Laura Davis is here to explain why.
Mad C*nts, Meyers Lane
Satirising the frenetic nature of young, intense ‘bestie’ friendships, seen through the windows of communication devices.
Maddy Weeks: It’s All Good, Paul’s Place, Town Hall
A promising comic, but the structure needs polishing.
Sophie Hagen: Banglord, The Greek
The Danish comic gets close and personal.
Ting Lim: What I Really Think, QT
Cheerful comedy from a stand-up on the rise.
Asian Allstars Gala, Melbourne Town Hall
The quality was decidedly mixed in this all-sorts collection.
Best of British, Exford Hotel
If you’re after a more traditional night out of pub comedy with a revolving line-up of comics, a small stage, a bare wall and a mic, this may be your jam.
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And now we’re also sharing selected reviews from the Funny Tonners those fledgling reviewers armed with a pen and a Festival VIP pass and battling it out to be crowned this year’s winner with the best review.
Funny Tonne – part one, MICF 2025
The first batch of six reviews from Tonners Jade Smith, Anna Stewart and Ben Lamb.
Funny Tonne – part two, MICF 2025
The second batch of six reviews from Tonners Jade Smith, Anna Stewart and Ben Lamb.
Funny Tonne – part three, MICF 2025
The third and final batch of reviews from the Funny Tonne, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s fledgling reviewers for 2025.
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And because too much comedy is never enough, we’ve also published these…
Garry Starr wins Most Outstanding Show award at Melbourne International Comedy Festival
A one-man clown show about Penguin Classics has won MICF 2025’s Most Outstanding Show award; a range of other comedians were also awarded on Saturday 19 April.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2025 award nominees announced
Nine shows are in the running for MICF’s Most Outstanding Show award this year; nominations for Best Newcomer were also announced.
RAW Comedy National Grand Final 2025 winner announced
With 13 finalists selected from almost 1000 budding comedians the competition was fierce this year.
When comedians don’t give up the day job…
Heeding the advice of a million parents, these comedians all have a career to fall back on – but is that the day job or the comedy?
How podcasts help comedians find their niche
These days, it can feel like every comedian alive has a podcast and the boom shows no signs of slowing down…
The art of musical comedy
When you add music to your stand-up, you can take your shows to a whole other level…
Fingers on buzzers! The rise of the live game show
Live game shows of all flavours have swiftly proliferated across comedy and fringe festivals. What’s the attraction?
How comedians prepare for festival season
Next year’s comedy festival season may seem an age away, but for Australian comics, it’s very much begun.
Back come the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Funny Tonners…
After a great launch to the partnership last year, ArtsHub and MICF are again joining forces to bring you the best of the Funny Tonne reviews for the 2025 Festival.
Wellbeing tips for surviving a gruelling festival season Part 2: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
How do comedians, clowns, cabaret artists and festival directors juggle self-care with the rigours of MICF?
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival runs until 20 April 2025. To see the whole program.
This article is updated as new reviews and articles are published.
