Melbourne International Comedy Festival Unveils Huge 2017 Program

The annual mecca of mirth that is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival has mostly taken shaped for 2017, with the lion's share of this year's expansive program now announced.

Leading the charge of drawcard humorists on this year's bill includes transatlantic MICF alumni Ruby Wax and Jenny Eclair as well as award-winning comedian Richard Gadd, globally renowned improv group Abandoman, British satirist Andy Zaltzman and a trio of shows from acclaimed UK stand-up James Acaster.

Veritable festival fixture Paul Foot will also be returning this year, as will beloved English comic Josie Long, while fellow Brit Kieran Hodgson will make his debut appearance Down Under at the 2017 event. There will additionally be appearances from stalwart Glaswegian comic Larry Dean, a bunch of new faces under the New Order banner (Ahir Shah, Brennan Reece, Emma Sidi and Steve Bugeja), a dash of South African humour from acclaimed comedian Loyiso Gola and the second-ever appearance from Canada's Mae Martin, who makes her way back to Melbourne after a broadly acclaimed debut in 2016.

Also on the cards are performances from esteemed funnypeople such as Sumit Anand, Neeti Palta, Daniel Fernandes and Sapan Verma — all appearing as part of the festival's nascent Bengaluru Comedy Festival Showcase program — as well as evergreen Irish favourite David O'Doherty plus faves such as Jason Byrne, Judith Lucy, Tom Ballard, Wil Anderson, Urzila Carlson, Larry Dean, Demi Lardner, Aunty Donna and more, including hubs such as Headliners (featuring Alice Wetterlund, Jak Knight, Liza Treyger, Ryan Hamilton, Fortune Feimster, Janelle James, Joe DeRosa and Orlando Baxter) and Comedy Zone Asia (featuring Rizal van Geyzel, Neeti Palta, Douglas Lim, Jinx Yeo and Sumit Anand).

The MICF returns in 2017 from 29 March to 23 April.

The entire program is a bit of an eye-popper in all the best ways; head over to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival website to get amongst it.