CRACKIN' COMEDY FEAST
Australia’s biggest comedy festival is on the road! With a curated line-up of comedy legends and fresh faces from Australia and beyond, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow heads to Darwin and Mparntwe/Alice Springs to deliver hot and tasty comic treats.
WORDS ROSIE WILD
FOR ALMOST THREE decades, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) has been touring far and wide, bringing giggles, guffaws and good times to regions right across the continent. With a terrific line-up of talent, it’s got all your comedy bases covered in a side-splitting evening event.
“Having an amazing and mixed line-up delivered to your town is a great opportunity to catch the latest performers. It’s a sense of occasion. It’s also such a fun night out,” says MICF Artistic Director, Susan Provan.
“It brings together established artists who audiences may have seen on TV … and emerging artists that people may not have ever seen before. They all bring audiences some of the best things about comedy, which is surprise material around every corner.”
This year, David Quirk hosts the MICF roadshow. Having performed stand-up since 2002, Quirk has featured regularly on national and international line-ups, appeared in a number of television comedy series, and won or been nominated for numerous awards. He’s also known for having great wit and being unconventional, so he probably feels right at home amongst Territorians.
Included in the line-up is phenomenal breakthrough comic Kate Dolan. Her rapid-fire, highenergy, off-kilter comedy is quickly gaining her a reputation not only for being loud, weird and absurd in all the best possible ways, but also for having an irrepressible star quality. Absolutely not to be missed.
The comedy festival feast also brings you Sashi Perera. She’s known for her sharp wit, unique international tales and bizarre insights. This Sri Lankan-Australian comedian, writer and recovering lawyer is now one of Australia’s fastest-rising comedians. Perera has been nominated for best newcomer, opened for Hannah Gadsby, featured on television, and sold out shows in six countries. What a legend.
In its twists and turns of comedic tastes and treasures, the MICF Roadshow also brings you the lanky comedian with the ‘80s mo, Zack Dyer. He’s punchy, quick, fast on his feet and also wonderfully silly.
And completing the line-up is award-winning Japanese comedian, Takashi Wakasugi, also known as ‘Waka’. Dedicated to finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence and incompleteness, Waka makes comedy that makes people happy, cooking up his own special flavour of genuine joy.
“I'm Japanese but doing comedy in Australia. So it's like cooking Japanese food but using Aussie materials. I am like Aussie beef tempura, sausage roll sushi, Vegemite miso soup, tofu lamington and Matcha Tim Tam,” says Waka.
The whole evening is set to be a fabulous comedy feast, running for just over two hours, with a 20-minute interval to refresh your bevvies and talk about all the best bits.
“I often hang around in the bar at interval eavesdropping and I love hearing punters say, ‘Hey, I loved X. Never seen them before and they were great!’ They will no doubt be on TV in a year or so and everyone who saw them will be able to say, ‘I saw them when they were starting out!’,” says Provan.
The evening is a great night out for anyone, including families with teen kids, who’s alright with some cheeky, comedic material recommended for people aged 15 years or older, and potential for the laughs to be served with a side of stage effects of smoke machines or hazers.
The MICF Roadshow only comes around once a year, and the feast it brings won’t be served up again. So, it’s well worth grabbing your tickets, bringing your friends and having a great night out.
Waka definitely wants you there.
“A good chef can't cook a good dish without customers. A good doctor can't operate surgery without patients. A good teacher can't teach without students. And a good comedian can’t tell jokes without an audience. Come and let’s have a great time!”
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow 2026
WHEN WED 17 JUN | 7.30PM
AT ARALUEN ARTS CENTRE
COST $45-$57
INFO araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au
WHEN THU 18 JUN | 7.30PM
AT AANT CENTRE
COST $45-$50
INFO yourcentre.com.au
