Comedy Fest roster the greatest ever

THE lineup for the fifth edition of the Bendigo Comedy Festival has been announced, with a bunch of new venues on board and an expanded cohort of world-class comedians to boot.

This year’s extravaganza of laughs, which runs from Tuesday 15 October to Sunday 20 October, will feature 25 shows across seven locations.

Some of Australia’s biggest names in comedy are coming, including Geraldine Hickey, Claire Hooper, Dave Hughes, Damian Callinan, Nick Capper and Kirsty Webeck.

Producer Luke Morris said the fest has matured into a streamlined operation over the past five years, with a unique attribute being the intimate nature of the venues.

“All the acts know that they can come here to Bendigo and everyone’s going to have a good time,” he said. “They want to come here and enjoy themselves.

“Piano Bar, the Cambrian, McKenzie Quarters, they’re not going to be big empty rooms, they’re going to be more like fun clubs. They’re all 50 to 100 seats, so shows will sell out.”

Mr Morris explained that right from its inception, the comedy festival has had a mindset to help audiences discover that comedy is not entirely about standup.

“I think that’s one of the things that we do best, because as small as we are, we do focus on trying to have a diversity in styles,” he said.

“Every year we’ve tried to make it a bit different. This year we’re showing The Emu War movie, and there’s a show called The Introvert’s Guide to Extroverts, which is effectively a one-person play. “Then there’s Aaron Gocs in Gocsy Tonight for the Sunday session. That’s going to be a mock tonight show, where basically anything can happen.”

Further information is available at bendigocomedyfestival.com.au.