Pandemics aren’t the only punchline in Melbourne
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival returns. Performer Sam Taunton. Photo courtesy: Grant Gibbins
April 11, 2021
For the past three weeks, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival has heralded Victoria’s return to live arts. An array of local acts and international headlines have taken to the city’s stages in one of Australia’s first international events since the start of the pandemic. Local acts like Wil Anderson, Tom Gleeson and Gen Fricker were joined by international comics freshly out of quarantine like Daniel Sloss.
For many Victorians, the festival provided the first chance to see a live performance since Victoria’s 102 day lockdown. Opening the Oxfam Gala, host Becky Lucas caused an eruption of sound as she asked the crowd who hadn’t had a big night out in the last year. Audiences flocked to buy tickets, with artists like Nina Oyama and Aaron Chen selling out early in thei