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Gender bending, total taboos and boozy cougars – our top five picks from Brisbane Comedy Festival

Gender bending, total taboos and boozy cougars – our top five picks from Brisbane Comedy Festival

Brisbane, we hope your pelvic floor muscles are ready for a workout – that’s right, from Friday February 24 the Brisbane Comedy Festival is back! Bringing together a host of professionally funny folk filling up venues like Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane City Hall and SunPAC, the festival brings three jam-packed weeks of entertainment across a huge range of genres and formats. We’ve picked our top five shows from the festival that you shouldn’t miss – from heartfelt wit to straight-up weirdos, there’s something for every taste.


The Stevenson Experience’s Spot the Difference – February 27 to March 4
There ain’t no comedy like musical comedy, and The Stevenson Experience sure knows how to deliver it. Coming to the Brisbane Comedy Festival fresh off the back of sold-out seasons at Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, these bickering identical twins are making their debut in our fair town with their show Spot the Difference. The act has been compared to the likes of Flight of the Conchords and Tim Minchin, so if you’re into weird and wonderful musical numbers you’ll love these guys.

Sam Campbell’s The Trough – February 27 to March 4
One of the best things about live comedy is that it gives true eccentrics a time to shine, which is most certainly the case for Sam Campbell. This oddball Sydney dude has been making waves and nabbing all kinds of accolades in Australian comedy, including picking up the Director’s Choice Award at Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2016. For something that will leave you in stitches but also kind of confused as to why you’re laughing so hard, Sam’s the man.

Rama Nicholas’ The Lucky Ones – March 20–25
Let’s talk about sex, baby – or more specifically, let’s talk about Rama Nicholas’ hilariously erotic show The Lucky Ones. Taking the stage at Brisbane Comedy Festival for her truly unique set, Rama will treat audiences to a whopping 17 characters (all played by her) in a genre blending, gender-bending extravaganza designed to titillate and tickle. This show is the goods, having been nominated for both the 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s highly coveted Golden Gibbo award and the 2017 Melbourne Fringe Best Comedy Award.

David Smiedt’s Finding Chemo – March 6­–11
Look, making cancer funny is a bloody hard sell – however, David Smiedt’s Finding Chemo manages to make an extremely sensitive topic not only palatable but also downright entertaining. Using his trademark wit and sensitivity, David takes his cancer diagnosis and turns it into an hour of comedy that will make you laugh, cry and think. As an added dose of awesomeness, survivors are invited to show their scars at the show and in return the show organisers will donate $5 from each ticket to the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.

Rose Callaghan’s No Way Rosé – March 20–22
They say honesty is the best policy, which is a tactic that Melbourne comic Rose Callaghan uses liberally in her hilarious sets. In No Way Rosé (if the name alone doesn’t make you want to go, who even are you?), Rose unpacks all of the good and bad decisions she has made under the influence of booze, and also explains the rationale behind rosé earning the name ‘cougar juice’. Trust us – after winning Best Comedy at the Sydney Fringe for her debut show, she just keeps blowing up.

Feel like tickling your funny bone? You can nab tickets to all of these Brisbane Comedy Festival shows (and loads more) through Brisbane Powerhouse.

To find out more about what’s on in Brisbane, head to our Event Guide.



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