Women to watch at Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Praise the Lord, it’s that time of the year! The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has awoken from its yearlong slumber to present us with some of the best stand-up comedians and comedy shows around the globe. YAAAAASSSSS!
I can’t wait to put pen to paper – or finger to key – and review some of this year’s funniest, wet-your-pants-hilarious shows on offer. This year, you can expect the biggest headliners with the likes of Hannah Gadsby, Celia Pacquola, and Kirsty Webeck, as well as emerging stars Bronwyn Kuss, Celya AB, and Julia Masli.
If you are unsure who to watch, we’ve got you covered with a list of icons and newcomers who will be sure to have you rolling off your seats.
Let’s get straight into it then, shall we?
Anne Edmonds Why Is My Bag All Wet?
Anne Edmonds is all too familiar with shapeshifting into eccentric characters, but the most unconventional, charming of them all? Herself. Returning for a second season at MICF as the highly vivacious, down-on-her-luck funny woman, Edmonds delivers a stellar show that explores the humiliation of flooding your bag one too many times, the consequences of children’s play centres, and navigating life as a new mum.
Comedy comes naturally to Edmonds; despite stumbling on a few jokes, she swiftly turns her frazzled demeanour into another punchline in what seems like Helen Bidou, her most iconic persona, has been brought on stage. Peppered with self-deprecating stories and imitations of boomers and beauticians, Why Is My Bag All Wet? is a high-octane performance that will make you giddy with laughter.
Vibes: eccentric, relatable, motherhood
Source: Anne Edmonds Why Is My Bag All Wet? at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2024
Lara Ricote Little Tiny Wet Show (baptism)
Winner of the Best Newcomer 2022 at Edinburgh Comedy Awards and the 2021 Funny Women Stage Award, Lara Ricote is back for round two with her fabulous Little Tiny Wet Show. Ricote made her Australian debut with GRL/LATNX/DEF last year – a standout solo act that wasn’t afraid to get personal and shed light on life as a woman of colour and legally deaf. While you may not feel threatened by her sweet, cartoon-like voice (or as Ricote notes ‘Bart Simpson with a lisp’), her humour is known to balance darker jokes with one-liners that sting with wit. This year, her show continues to explore her dark humour with surrealism, focusing on what it's like to live, and what it means to care for someone if you always leave them.
Vibes: dark, symbolic, surreal, weird (but in a great way)
Source: Lara Ricote Little Tiny Wet Show (baptism) at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2024
Lizzy Hoo Hoo's That Girl?
Can you believe that Lizzy only started doing stand-up in 2017, as a way to gain more self-confidence? I couldn’t think of anything scarier than wielding words on stage to the likes of disapproving onlookers… But hey, that’s why I’m not a comedian and Lizzy is! Since 2017, Hoo has been an NSW State Finalist in the national RAW Comedy competition, performed at the Just For Laughs Festival at the Sydney Opera House, with her spot broadcast on Network Ten and Foxtel’s Comedy Channel and Channel 10, AND is also a regular guest on Have You Been Paying Attention? Now, Hoo is bringing a brand-new show about love, grief and sharing custody of her dog. Hoo’s mix of stand-up and storytelling is both earnest and dry and sometimes a little dark.
Vibes: dry, storytelling, relatable, original
Source: Lizzy Hoo Hoo's That Girl? at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2024
Urooj Ashfaq Oh No!
Winner of the Best Newcomer at Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2023, Urooj Ashfaq has come down under to share tales of her parents’ divorce, cultrual differences, and those little instances in life that you can’t help but laugh at. Urooj is one to watch. Hailing from Mumbai, she has a degree in psychology but also personal experience of her own therapy journey. In Oh No! you can expect skillful crowd work and charming autobiographical accounts from her tween diary.
Vibes: endearing, quick-thinking, crowd engaging, unique
Source: Urooj Ashfaq Oh No! at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2024
Zainab Johnson Appearing in Headliners (USA)
Zainab Johnson (series regular on UPLOAD) will be performing alongside Fire Island star Joel Kim Booster in this supersize show dedicated to Amercian comedy. A multi-talented stand-up comedian slash actress slash writer, Zainab fuses her distinct perspective defined by her upbringing in Harlem as one of 13 siblings in a black Muslim family. Her comedy is refreshingly honest, delightfully original, and undeniably hilarious, offering audiences a one-of-a-kind viewpoint that will challenge and entertain in equal measure. She has performed at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Comedy Festival first as a New Face of Comedy, then as one of Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch. Don't hesitate to catch her in action at Headliners (USA) – she's worth crossing oceans for!
Vibes: Refreshing, Muslim-American, honest
Source: Zainab Johnson Appearing in Headliners (USA) at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2024
Melbourne International Comedy Festival is running from Wednesday 27th of March to Sunday 21st of April 2024.
Over 150 venues across Melbourne and Victoria.
Tickets and show info here