If you’ve been keeping a low profile, like me, trying to avoid Covid, you’ll be glad to hear that the Perth Comedy Festival starts just as the numbers drop. I couldn’t think of a better way to reward myself than walking into a theater and having a good old belly laugh. With 50 comedy shows between April 29 and May 15, I better start working my stomach now. Here are some examples of what you can expect.

The Festival will see more than 50 shows take place on the stages of the Regal Theater (Subiaco), Astor Theater (Mt Lawley), Rechabite (Northbridge) and Freo Social (Fremantle) from April 29 to May 15.

The gala

The first thing I always put on my agenda is a Gala evening which serves as a tasting plate of what’s going on. This year there are two galas at the Regal Theater on the 4^and and 11^and of the month of May, as well as showcases at the Freo Social on the 5^and and 12^and of May.

The Greatest Comedy Show on Earth

This popular late-night comedy airs on The Rechabite this year; it’s like speed dating with comedians and features a huge range of comics performing short back-to-back sets. Erase one of these dates to check it out – Thursday 5th, Friday 6th, Saturday 7th, Thursday 12th and Friday 13th May.

Tried and tested

There’s a group of comedians that I just can’t get past. I can attest that these guys always give me a good night out: Floyd Alexander-Hunt, Aaron Chen, Luke Heggie, Jeff Green, Dilruk Jayasinha, Nazeem Hussain, Becky Lucas, Rhys Nicholson and Marty Sheargold.

Add someone you haven’t seen

Every year I like to add someone new to my list. This year, it’s the New Zealand comedian, actress and screenwriter Melanie Bracewell. Melanie has appeared on quite a few Australian shows lately. You may have seen her do an impression of the Prime Minister of New Zealand. I’ve never seen her live so I can’t wait to see her show Oh dear on Saturday, May 7 at the Regal Theatre.

Someone else I haven’t seen yet but want is Australia’s favorite iso cook and mental health advocate Nat is what i think.

Other flagship shows

A few key shows to watch are:

• David O’Doherty (ANGER). Two performances at the Regal Theater on Friday April 29 and Saturday April 30. Fans can expect plenty of talk, apology and song over a glued-on plastic keyboard from 1986 as part of his show. wow it’s me.
• Alfred Adrian (RSA) present Another South African on Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14 at the Astor Theater – a very relatable and slightly nostalgic show that recounts his time spent during the lockout.
• Alfie Brown (UK) present sensitive man the same nights at Alfred around the corner at The Rechabite – an all-new show in which the thoughtful social satirist asks, “does emotion help us make moral judgments?”
• American History Podcast The spoonfulpresented by actors David Anthony (United States) and Gareth Reynolds (USA), is making a long-awaited return to Australia for Downstairs 6 – which follows multiple sold-out tours in the United States, Canada and Europe; Tuesday, May 3 at the Astor Theater.
• Hilarious frocking performs for the first time in Perth on Friday May 15 at Rechabite. The dazzling, fierce and fabulous all-female lineup has been a huge hit at recent East Coast comedy festivals. All proceeds from ticket sales will support Action Aid’s work to empower women on the front lines of injustice to work together to transform their communities.
• The beloved Australian drag queen Finance Karen
• The MD calls himself ‘Malaysia’s funniest comedian’ Doctor Jason Leon.

Other home made talents include; Michelle Brasier, Harley Breen, Sam Campbell, Nick Cody, Alice Fraser, Andrew Hansen, Ivan Aristigueta, Emma Holland, Christian Hull, Cameron James; Anthony Locasio, Daniel Muggleton, My Cousin Vlad, Mystery Flight with Elouise Eftos and Ruby Teys, Chris Ryan, Sami Shah, Brodi Snook, Oliver Twist, Danielle Walker, Kirsty Webeck.

The people of Perth Daniel Delby, Colin Ebsworth, Grant Mushet, Simone Springer, Matt Storer, Fabian Woods and Jez Watts also bring the goods in what promises to be a fine comedy fortnight.

For more information, visit the Perth Comedy Festival