The Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day (1 April). The Melbourne Town Hall has served as the festival hub since the early 1990s, but performances are held in venues throughout the city.
The MICF plays host to hundreds of local and international artists; in 2010 its program listed over 360 shows. Although it is mainly a vehicle for stand-up and cabaret acts, the festival has also included sketch shows, plays, improvisational theatre, debates, musical shows and art exhibitions. The televised Gala is one of the festival's flagship event, showcasing short performances from many headline and award-winning comics. Other popular events include The Great Debate, a televised comedy debate, the Opening Night Super Show, and Upfront, a night of performances exclusively featuring female comedians.
The Festival also produces three flagship development programs: Raw Comedy - Australia's biggest open mic competition, Class Clowns a national comedy competition for high school students and Deadly Funny - an Indigenous comedy competition that celebrates the unique humour of Indigenous Australians. The Festival also undertakes an annual national Roadshow, showcasing Festival highlights in regional towns across Australia.
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Famous quotes containing the words comedy and/or festival:
“Unless comedy touches me as well as amuses me, it leaves me with a sense of having wasted my evening. I go to the theatre to be moved to laughter, not to be tickled or bustled into it.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Sabbath. A weekly festival having its origin in the fact that God made the world in six days and was arrested on the seventh.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)