The Canberra Comedy Festival rolls into town again from March 19-25, with shows from a whole swag of funny people at Canberra Theatre Centre, The Street Theatre, Civic Pub and ANU. Here is our pick of what not to miss at this year's comedy festival - cause there's nothing funny about missing out on the good stuff.
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Festival Square
New for this year is Festival Square, a bar and entertainment hub right in the thick of things in Civic Square (outside Canberra Theatre). It's a good spot to start or end your evening during the comedy club, complete with fake grass, drinks, food trucks and the gelato limousine. It's open from 5pm from March 20-25, and throughout the week there is a live podcast, music, DJs, trivia. You might even get to rub shoulders with some of the big acts after the shows. Free entry.
All the funny ladies
Female comedians on the touring circuit are still well and truly in the minority, but there is a smorgasbord of them to catch at the Canberra Comedy Festival - and these ladies are funny. Urzila Carlson from just across the ditch sold out quickly - and then they added a second show which also promptly sold out. Act Like a Lady, a showcase of emerging female Canberra comedians, also sold out two shows.
But you can still get your hands on tickets to Claire Hooper (March 23 and 24, 7pm) and Cal Wilson (March 23, 8.30pm) and Becky Lucas (March 22, 7pm). Funny local ladies are also well represented. Vanessa Conlin is on Wednesday night (March 21, 7pm, The Street Theatre) with Vanessa The Undressa, a show about how heartbreak led her to partner up with a fitness professional and prepare for a body sculpting competition. Chris Ryan's show Grey Matter (March 22, 7pm) has limited tickets left.
For an 'I saw them before they were famous' option, head to Look at me now Mum! by Canberrans Maddy Weeks, Betsy Bailetti, and Frances McNair (March 22 and 23, 7pm).
Try someone new
If you're heading along to one of this year's big names, like Stephen K Amos, Arj Barker, Ross Noble, Dave Hughes, Nazeem Hussain or Joel Creasey, why not mix it up with someone you haven't heard of before? Like the very funny Damien Power, three-times nominated for the Barry Award for top comedy act at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Or Malaysian comedian Douglas Lim (March 22, 7pm) who has been coined 'the king of Malaysian comedy'. Or support your fellow Canberrans, with shows from Andrew & Danny Bensley, The Stevenson Experience, Tom Gibson, and Anthony Tomic to name a few.
Not quite comedy
If you're in the mood for a laugh, but not stand-up, try Shit Faced Shakespeare (March 21, 8.30pm - only a few seats left). In Australia for the first time, the British production is an entirely serious Shakespeare play - in this case, Romeo and Juliet, but one of the actors is drunk, with a genuinely inebriated cast member chosen each night. And Pilot Season (March 23 and 24, 9.30pm) is a local 'absurd sketch show comedy' about making a TV pilot.
G-rated comedy
After selling out last year, the Clean Comedy Spectacular (March 24, 5pm) is on again, suitable for families with kids aged 12 and up. The show has some of the top festival comedians, just none of the dirty bits. Or for the younger crowd, Josh Earl's kid-friendly show My Family Is Weirder Than Your Family is on at the age-appropriate time of 1pm on March 24 and 25.
The Canberra Comedy Festival is on March 19-25. For the full program and to buy tickets, visit canberracomedyfestival.com.au.
