The XL month of LOLs returns to Brisbane this coming April/May, in the form of Brisbane Comedy Festival.
Brisbane Comedy Festival will take over Brisbane Powerhouse, The Fortitude Music Hall, The Tivoli and The Princess Theatre, for a city-wide celebration of comedy and all things tickling the funny bone.
2026 marks the event’s 17th year. This year’s proceedings drew more than 90,000 attendees across more than 420 performances. Next year promises to be the biggest yet, loaded up with overseas comedy heroes, local legends, and fresh talents.
Things will of course kick off with the Brisbane Comedy Festival Opening Gala at Fortitude Music Hall – it’s a one-night-only showcase of big punchlines and even bigger personalities from across the 2026 programme.
After more than a decade away from solo performance, beloved Aussie icon Denise Scott will make her triumphant return with ‘Tickety Boo’, her most personal work yet. Plus, one of the most celebrated voices in comedy, Melanie Bracewell, has been ‘Dilly Dallying’, delivering her trademark chaos in a show about procrastination.
From Scotland comes Connor Burns, returns with new show ‘Gallus’, promising to be equal parts sharp, and lightning fast. Our very own Dave Hughes joins the ranks, in a brutally honest new show called ‘Cooked’.
Brisbane fave Anisa Nandaula dives headfirst into ‘No Small Talk’, while nurse-turned-comedian Georgie Carroll regales healthcare absurdities in ‘Infectious’, while the side-splitting ‘Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare’ presents ‘Hamlet’.
South Africa’s Schalk Bezuidenhout lays it all bare in ‘Hey Hey Divorcé’, Ray O’Leary returns in ‘I Can See O’Leary Now the Ray Has Gone’, and Tom Cashman presents ‘NPC (Nearly Proficient Comedian)’.
Brisbane Comedy Festival 2026 First Acts
Denise ScottMelanie Bracewell
The Umbilical Brothers
Connor Burns
Dave Hughes
Anisa Nanduala
Georgie Carroll
Schalk Bezuidenhout
Ray O’Leary
Tom Cashman
Marty Sheargold
Shitfaced Shakespeare
Bron Lewis
Guy Williams
Chris Parker
Joanne Mcnally
Colin Mochrie (Hyprov: Comedy Under Hypnosis)
Jack Ansett
