The Canberra Comedy Festival returns for a big year in 2025. Photo: Canberra Comedy Festival.
The Canberra Comedy Festival is back once again to have us rolling in the aisles with a killer line up of comedians performing over 75 events all over the city.
As well as bringing comedians from all over the world to Canberra, the festival provides opportunities for local comedians to get a leg-up on their career. Canberra-born comedian Kirsty Webeck has been busy selling out gigs around the country and appearing on TV shows like ABC’s Question Everything and Channel Ten’s The Project.
She’s bringing her award winning show Everything I Need to Say about Sea Creatures back to her hometown for the festival.
“I’ve been doing the Canberra Comedy Festival for years now. It’s an absolute delight, and it’s run by comedians so it’s genuinely one of the best festivals in the whole country,” she told Region.
“Canberra audiences are really supportive. Even though the majority of them don’t know me personally, they know I’m from Canberra and they’re excited to see that my shows are getting bigger and better.”
Kirsty returns to hometown Canberra with her show Everything I need to Say About Sea Creatures. Photo: Canberra Comedy Festival.
There’s a very strong showing from Aotearoa with four Kiwis putting on big shows. Melanie Bracewell, Guy Williams and Ray O’Leary all have seats available but Guy Montgomery is well and truly sold out (we can only assume Canberrans are big fans of his spelling bee). Kirsty said that the New Zealand comedy scene is “next level” supportive and we’re lucky to see a lot of excellent Kiwis come across to Australia as they develop their careers.
Other international guests include Sara Pascoe, making her first trip to the capital with her show I Am A Strange Gloop. Pascoe is well known for her appearances on TV shows like QI, Taskmaster and The Great British Sewing Bee.
When asked about what she looks for in a comedy festival program, Kirsty said that first of all she likes to support her mates and see everyone’s new shows. But she also had advice for people looking to see something a bit different.
“I love checking out the shows of people who are just starting to come through. The people who are still finding their voice and experimenting are doing really innovative and exciting things,” she said.
“There’s also lots of opportunities to see things that are outside the box: we’ve got some of the world’s best clowns in this country, and some amazing sketch groups. So I like to see a real diversity of acts.”
Sean Choolburra’s family friendly Didj and Dance show is on for the festival. Photo: Canberra Comedy Festival.
The festival also boasts diverse program of family events, like a cartoon workshop and high tea, Clean Comedy Spectacular and Sean Choolburra in his family friendly show Didj and Dance. There’s also a school aged competition Class Clowns for kids 14-18 to try out their best jokes!
Otherther acts include the award winning Geraldine Hickey, newcomer He Huang, and a solo comedy debut from Aunty Donna’s Broden Kelly.
The festival has over 75 different events at multiple venues until 23 March. Visit the Canberra Comedy Festival website to grab your tickets: they are selling fast!
