Tickets are now on sale for more than 350 hilarious events with more than 130 comedians descending on Brisbane to raise the roof at iconic venues Brisbane Powerhouse, The Tivoli, The Princess Theatre and The Fortitude Music Hall.

Following its most successful year in 2023, Brisbane Comedy Festival returns with an even bigger and more diverse program than ever before.

Global headliners include British comedy master Stephen K Amos, Irish actor and comedian Ed Byrne, New Zealander Guy Montgomery, South African comic Schalk Bezuidenhout and festival favourite from the UK, Sh!t-faced Shakespeare. Scotland’s Fern Brady and Brit Adam Kay make their Brisbane and Festival debuts, alongside Tom Sainsbury, Adrian Bliss, Connor Burns.

Australia’s favourite comedic export Josh Thomas returns to Brisbane Comedy Festival for the first time since 2013, and Australia’s Crown Prince of comedy Joel Creasy steps back onto the festival circuit after four years gracing the airwaves of the country’s most popular drive radio show.

Bringing the laughs across alternative formats to stand-up are national entertainment icons Annabell Crabb, Judith Lucy and Kaz Cook, and Zan Rowe and Myf Warhurst, with storytelling and podcasts.

The diverse program continues with everything from theatre to film and music, including Murder Village, An Improvised Whodunnit which returns after a sell-out season in 2023, and from the razor-sharp pen of playwright provocateur David Finnigan comes apocalyptic rom-com theatre show 44 Sex Acts in One Week.

Brisbane Comedy Festival includes film for the first time, presenting some great Australian comedies at the Dendy Powerhouse Outdoor Cinema, and Queensland musician Eddie Ray presents Silence of the Jams with his Band of Legends bringing an epic and hilarious soundtrack to self-made independent film for one night only.

Rising stars and comedy favourites round out the laughs with Award-winning newcomer He Huang taking audiences on a hilarious global journey, Daniel Muggleton shares his bracing social commentary, and Felicity Ward returns to Brisbane as part of her first national tour in five years.

Claire Hooper hosts the much-loved Frocking Hilarious with Australia’s queens of comedy, Alexandra Hudson flips societal misconceptions about disability in Making Lemonade, and Logie Award-winning, former hairdresser Effie presents her masterclass in the art of Upyourselfness!

With razor-sharp wit and undeniable charm Are You Pulling My Leg? showcases some of Australia’s funniest and award-winning performers with a disability or chronic illness, and the

Aboriginal Comedy Allstars present some of our best First Nations comedians to deliver their top- tier comedy and storytelling.

Brisbane Comedy Festival 2024 Festival Director Phoebe Meredith said this year’s program is a true celebration of what comedy has to offer as artists from all walks of life converge on Brisbane.

“Comedians are our commentators. They are observers of our world and pull out what they think is interesting, stretching our perception on a huge range of topics. There is something for everyone in this Festival,” Meredith said.

“Across one month, the festival features a stellar line-up of 30 international acts alongside local comedians. Mixing festival favourites with fresh faces, we guarantee audiences will leave with a spring in their step. With the average Festival ticket sitting at $35, it makes for a great and affordable night out.”

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said 2024 Brisbane Comedy Festival offers a dazzling array of shows that will attract crowds throughout the five-week event.

“The Brisbane Comedy Festival team works incredibly hard to ensure a program full of variety so there is something on offer for everyone,” Cr Schrinner said.

“We invite both visitors and locals to immerse themselves in the vibrant cultural landscape of our city, while embracing local and international acts across Brisbane’s most celebrated venues.”

Brisbane Powerhouse is the home of Brisbane Comedy Festival with six stages ranging from the intimate to the epic including the 690-seat Powerhouse Theatre, Underground Theatre, Fairfax Studio, Rooftop Terrace, Park Mezzanine and Graffiti Room, and the newly added Switch Room. By the river is their alfresco venue, Pleasuredome, which transforms into a luxe outdoor comedy venue.

The Fortitude Music Hall returns to host The Opening Gala, and The Tivoli returns as a Festival venue, with sister venue The Princess Theatre the newest addition to the mix.

Brisbane Comedy Festival runs Friday 26 April to Sunday 26 May at Brisbane Powerhouse, The Fortitude Music Hall, The Tivoli and The Princess Theatre.

Brisbane Comedy Festival is produced by Brisbane Powerhouse through the support of Brisbane City Council, and supported by B105, We Are Flip, goa, Ovolo Hotels, PixelFrame, Scenestr and Triple M.

Make the most of a month of comedy and big belly laughs by snapping up tickets and subscribing for program updates at brisbanecomedyfestival.com.

Brisbane Comedy Festival 2024
Brisbane Powerhouse, The Tivoli, The Fortitude Music Hall and The Princess Theatre
Friday 26 April to Sunday 26 May 2024
www.brisbanecomedyfestival.com

Tickets are on sale now for more than 350 gigs by over 110 comedians, including an influx of major international acts alongside returning fan favourites, with more shows announced today.

Visiting headliners include international comedy master Danny Bhoy, Northern Ireland comedy colossus Micky Bartlett, Malaysian mischief-maker Jason Leong, Irish actor and comedian Ed Byrne, Glasgow’s funniest millennial Larry Dean, dishevelled prince of the keyboard David O’Doherty, award-winning English stand-up Alfie Brown, British TV personality and podcaster Ed Gamble, BBC regular Sara Pascoe, Kiwi social media maven and comic Chris Parker and the ‘Maracas from Caracas’ – Venezuelan-born Ivan Aristeguieta.

National comedy icons and fan favourites include, three-man guitar-based singing jokester group, Tripod, lockdown saviour and content creator Nat’s What I Reckon, supreme master of stream of consciousness comedy Ross Noble, physical comedy phenomenon The Umbilical Brothers, stand-up legend Akmal, TV personalities Rhys Nicholson, Wil Anderson, Peter Helliar, Tommy Little and Rove McManus, Have You Been Paying Attention? regulars Anne Edmonds and Lloyd Langford, radio funny man Dave Hughes, former accountant Dilruk Jayasinha, and 2021 Melbourne International Comedy Festival winner Geraldine Hickey alongside Aussie import Jimeoin.

Complementing the stand-up smorgasbord is a number of theatre and music comedy experiences, including homegrown cult hit Two Man Tarantino, The Kaye Hole by genre-bending cabaret sensation Reuben Kaye, King of the Organ Barry Morgan, satirist Sammy J, the return of Shit-faced Shakespeare, improvised whodunnit Murder Village, and an evening with RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under favourite Karen From Finance.

Brisbane Comedy Festival Director Phoebe Meredith said that, despite pandemic disruptions the festival’s audience has grown 25 per cent since 2019 and welcomed more than 20,000 first-time attendees.

“It’s true that laughter is the best medicine and live comedy has proven to be the preferred antidote to recent woes,” Meredith said.

“No matter what tickles your funny bone, the Brisbane Comedy Festival team works incredibly hard to ensure that there is something on offer for everyone,” Cr Schrinner

Brisbane Comedy Festival
28 April – 28 May 2023
Brisbane Powerhouse, The Fortitude Music Hall and The Tivoli.
www.brisbanecomedyfestival.com/

This follows ARC’s two sold-out and critically acclaimed tours of The Beatles “Abbey Road” in 2019 when the band presented The Beatles masterpiece with forensic detail to rapturous applause every night.

In February 1972, Neil Young released what would become his most successful record. “Harvest” was his fourth studio album and followed on from the brilliant “After the Gold Rush” becoming the biggest selling album of 1972, giving Neil Young his first #1 album and single with ‘Heart of Gold’.

As well as ‘Heart of Gold’, the album includes a slew of Young’s classics including ‘Old Man’, ‘Alabama’, ‘A Man Needs a Maid’, ‘Words’ and the beautiful ‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ written for his friend and bandmate Danny Whitten who would later tragically die of an overdose.

ARC will be presenting “Harvest” in its entirety before the returning to the stage in the second half of the night to present a selection of Neil Young classics from the career of one of rock music’s true masters.

Neil Young’s Harvest Live 50th Anniversary presented by ARC
10 February – 12 February 2022
The Fortitude Music Hall, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
www.thefortitude.com.au

The Brisbane Comedy Festival returns with a star-studded line-up hitting the river city for three huge weeks of laughs and live gigs from 16 July to 8 August 2021.

Warm-up your winter with a packed program of sizzling highlights featuring homegrown heroes repeat offenders and fan favourites playing three big Brisbane venues: Brisbane Powerhouse, The Tivoli, and The Fortitude Music Hall.

In time-honoured fashion, the Brisbane Comedy Festival Opening Gala kicks off the 24-day event on 16 July with a spectacular line-up of comedians at The Fortitude Music Hall, hosted by Tommy Little.

Playing Brisbane Powerhouse is straight-talking YouTube star and lockdown legend Nat’s What I Reckon, performing his new show On Purpose from 17-18 July.

Australia’s beloved comedic import, Ross Noble, launches his post-COVID 2021 Comeback Special and brings his spontaneous stand-up and flights of fantasy to Brisbane Powerhouse from 27 July to 8 August.

Also emerging from lockdown with fresh material is Effie (Mary Coustas) whose trademark honest wit punctuates her new show, Better Out Than In from 17-18 July.

Brisbane Powerhouse trains the spotlight on a diverse schedule of acts including Christian Hull in his solo stand-up debut, seasoned entertainer Paul McDermott,
Mel Buttle, Kevin Kropinyeri, Jimeon, Cal Wilson, Aboriginal Allstars, Nikki Osbourne, and Tom Ballard.

Brisbane comedy couple Stav and Kat Davidson present an encore season of He Said, She Said on 7-8 August with all-new fresh and funny life-in-lockdown material.

The Tivoli sets the table for the Brisbane Comedy Festival Sunday Roast on July 25 then serves up a feast of guest acts including Fiona O’Loughlin, Peter Helliar, Anne Edmonds & Lloyd Langford, Rosie Waterland, Dave Thornton, and Geraldine Hickey.

Karen from Finance (RuPaul’s Drag Race) is heading Out of Office and bringing her high-camp one-woman show to Brisbane from 29-31 July.

International sensations The Naked Magicians leave Las Vegas and return to play the Festival that kickstarted their careers in their Home-Coming Tour at The Tivoli from 5-7 August.

The average ticket price for the 2021 Brisbane Comedy Festival is just $35 and all performances are already on sale.

Check out the full program and buy tickets at brisbanecomedyfestival.com.

The festival runs from 16 July to 8 August 2021.

“We’re as excited as hell to have Architects be one of the first acts to scorch the stage of Fortitude Music Hall. The venue is going to be open to an incredibly diverse array of programming. Already we’re in talks with some of Australia & the world’s largest touring acts, as well as comedy, children’s shows & some very cool surprises,” says head booker Mark Gibbons.

The Fortitude Music Hall offers a music or event space for 3300, with flexible flooring and seating for variations of concerts for 1200 and 2000, with a smaller upstairs ‘bar-style’ venue for about 300.

“If you go and play in Sydney, Melbourne or across the world there are beautiful old theatres you can play in. There’s the Olympia in Dublin, or the Apollo in London. Just these beautiful theatres and we just don’t have any. The idea is to create that sort of feeling,” says venue director John Collins.

For your chance to win tickets for you and three mates to see Architects at The Fortitude Music Hall in August, sign up to the newsletter here: thefortitude.com.au You will be the first to hear news about the official opening night and all shows coming to the venue and exclusive giveaways.

The Fortitude Music Hall is a joint venture with Secret Sounds, Live Nation and the Triffid team and is due to open mid-2019.

Architects Brisbane Show
The Fortitude Music Hall
8 August 2019
www.thefortitude.com.au