Comedy to command your attention in 2026

If laughter is the best medicine, Geelong Arts Centre’s 2026 comedy program is basically a 12-month prescription — filled by some of the biggest names in the world, the sharpest new award-winners, and Australia’s most adored comedy heavyweights. It’s bold, bright, a bit unhinged, and proudly eclectic. Think comedy tapas: a little international spice, a lot of local flavour, and every bite absolutely delicious.

The laughs kick off with a global punchline as one of the UK’s most notorious joke machines, Jimmy Carr, blitzes Costa Hall with Laughs Funny across four shows on 5 & 6 March. He’s internationally infamous for a reason: the man delivers more jokes in an hour than most of us do in a year. No topic is safe, no punchline is gentle, and no seats will be left by the time these shows roll around. This is your big glitzy international act, and he’s arriving at full-speed.

Then the spotlight swings decisively home — first to the brilliantly frazzled, award-winning chaos engine Bron Lewis, who arrives at The Open House on 26 June with Chaos. Between three kids, a needy puppy, a past life as a high-school teacher, and a swirl of life misadventures, Lewis turns a relatable meltdown into razor-sharp comedy. She’s one of Australia’s most exciting comedic voices right now, and this show is equal parts confession, catharsis and “wait, is that my life too?”

The next night, rising star and 2025 Best Newcomer nominee Anisa Nandaula takes centre stage with No Small Talk (27 June). Fierce, clever and utterly magnetic, Nandaula unpacks neighbour feuds, workplace insanity and a giant, laughter-filled return to Africa after a decade away. She’s widely tipped as one of Australia’s next big things — funny, fiery, and impossible not to love.

The program shifts to the procrastination queen of the southern hemisphere: Melanie Bracewell. Fresh off rave reviews across Australia and New Zealand, Mel brings Dilly Dallying to The Play House on July 10. Her bio insists she’ll write something more profound later — once she finishes her sudoku — but truly: she’s a multi-award-winning, critically adored storyteller who can spin everyday mishaps into comedic gold.

Just a week later on 17 July, the big-name energy continues with Australian powerhouse Nazeem Hussain and his brand-new show I’d Like To Tell You About Some Jokes. Hussain just wrapped his biggest tour yet across Australia, New Zealand and London, and he’s returning with that signature mix of cultural commentary, larger-than-life characters, and absolutely zero filter. If you’ve ever seen him bring a house down, you know how huge this will be.

Wrapping things up on 18 July, the wonderfully strange, cult-favourite comic Ray O’Leary returns to Geelong with I Can See O’Leary Now The Ray Has Gone. Deadpan, surreal and sharper than he looks in that oversized suit, O’Leary serves up a uniquely offbeat style beloved across Taskmaster NZ, Have You Been Paying Attention? and comedy festivals nationwide. It’s dry. It’s weird. It’s brilliant.

What makes this year so juicy is how wide the net is cast — international stars, household Aussie favourites, and award-winning rising voices all stitched together into one seamless program. 

It’s the kind of lineup you’d expect at a major capital city festival, not spread luxuriously across Geelong’s year.

It’s comedy for every taste: the dark, the chaotic, the political, the absurd, the confessional, the family-fried, the procrastination-fuelled, and the magnificently unfiltered. Instead of choosing just one flavour… Why not sample all of them?

It sinks in brilliantly to the overarching Season 2026 offering, bringing comedy that is a bit brazen, definitely boisterous, and brilliantly bright. If you leave with a stomach ache from laughing, even better!

In short: this season isn’t just funny.
It’s seriously funny.