Here's How You Can Perform At Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Do you think you have what it takes to get on the big stage and show what you’ve got at Melbourne International Comedy Festival?

Well, this is the sign you might need to take that chance, as artist registrations for the 2024 edition of the famed festival are now open and close on Wednesday, 22 November. You can find more information for performers here and register to perform here.

The 2024 edition of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival will take place from 27 March to 21 April.

This year’s event was a true bounce back to form following years of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions in Victoria.

The festival racked up a whopping 639 shows comprising 7,418 individual performances, 735,857 attendees (according to an analysis undertaken by Deloitte Access Economics, paid attendance exceeded pre-pandemic levels and saw an uptick of 23% on the 2022 festival), sold 638,100 tickets, and hit $22.2 million at the Box Office, which was an increase of 19% on the 2022 festival sales and 13% above pre-pandemic levels.

The 2023 festival added $31.3 million to the economy of the Greater Melbourne Area and supported hundreds of jobs, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival team, venue, production and hospitality staff.

“The Comedy Festival continues to prove itself one of Melbourne’s most dynamic cultural assets,” Melbourne International Comedy Festival CEO and Festival Director Susan Provan commented in a press release.

“Huge audiences come out to support our artists, and visitors are prepared to travel from all over Australia and the world to soak up an enormous range of the best in contemporary comedy in our venues. They fill our bars and restaurants while they’re here for one of the city’s busiest months of the year.”

Minister for Creative Industries, The Hon. Colin Brooks MP, added, “Proving comedy brings much more than laughs, this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival filled the city with crowds, broke box office records, created hundreds of local jobs and generated $31.3 million for our economy. For these reasons and more, the Allan Labor Government is a proud festival partner and supporter.”

The Music attended the 2021 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, with reviewer Joe Dolan writing about Jude Perl’s Participation show, “Opening with a brilliantly scathing take on the foundation of the education system, Perl proceeds to lead her punters through an hour of clever comedy, pointed satire and damn catchy tunes.

“If she wasn’t so damn funny, she could’ve milked the music industry for all its worth years ago.”