Becky Steepe’s festival show might just save your life

THE 2025 Bendigo Comedy Festival is officially up and running with a rollicking array of routines scheduled for this weekend and the next.

One particular pick of the bunch will be somewhat of a homecoming for ex-Bendigonian Becky Steepe, who’s appearing at the Black Swan Hotel on Saturday evening from 6.30pm.

Steepe’s show, which was nominated for Best Comedy at this year’s Newcastle Fringe, is not your average hour of amusing anecdotes, however, as it delves into her Stage 4 bowel cancer diagnosis in 2021, her treatments and her recovery.

Cancer Card is billed as combining side-splitting humour, honest storytelling and a dash of balloon puppetry to help raise awareness of early-onset cancer and failings in the health system.

It also aims to break the stigma surrounding bowel cancer while empowering audiences with life-saving knowledge.

Steepe said she’s “really proud” of her production and it will be nice to be able to present it to her friends and family.

“I don’t know if it makes it more exciting and less scary or more scary because I want to do well, but I also know that I’ll have so much support and love in the room and they’re going to really enjoy it,” she said.

She said while the topic of cancer is difficult to traverse, just speaking about it “does have the potential to do good.”

“I don’t like saying it because it sounds quite dramatic, but the show actually could save lives,” she said.

“If I’d seen it (myself), I’d have known to have fought harder and got second opinions and I would’ve gotten diagnosed earlier.

“If my doctor had seen it, they would’ve sent me for the colonoscopy earlier and I wouldn’t have ended up with Stage 4.

“I’ve worked extremely hard (on it) because it is a difficult topic,” Steepe continued.

“It has to be carefully structured and written to get the message (across) and tell my story, yet be entertaining and really guide the audience through, instead of just slapping together my funny bits like I would normally.

“It’s brutally honest, it’s all or nothing.

“It’s worked really well and I’m glad I’ve done it because the feedback I get is amazing.”

Becky Steepe’s Cancer Card takes place at the Black Swan Hotel on Saturday evening from 6.30pm.

Tickets are available on Gotix. The live program can be found on the Bendigo Comedy Festival website.