Melbourne International Comedy Festival and ABC Radio Melbourne will co-present a series of special events as part of the Festival’s 2017 program, providing listeners and audiences with multiple opportunities to immerse themselves in comedy in March and April.
This exciting partnership builds on a longstanding relationship, with ABC Radio Melbourne having presented the live-to-air broadcast Comedy Bites for over 15 years.
For 2017, Comedy Bites will be joined by a Radio-in-Residency at Melbourne Town Hall from Friday 31 March to Sunday 2 April, plus a live Conversation Hour with East India Allstars Comedy: Bengaluru from the Famous Spiegeltent at Arts Centre Melbourne on Wednesday 19 April.
“We are delighted to continue one of the Festival’s longest standing media partnership with ABC Radio Melbourne,” said Melbourne Comedy Festival Director, Susan Provan. “The Comedy Bites live radio gala has become an institution for ABC Radio Melbourne listeners with deliciously funny bite-sized tastes of the Festival broadcast far and wide.”
“We’re thrilled to extend the funnies with Radio-in-Residence setting up shop in Melbourne Town Hall across our opening weekend because really, who DOESN’T want Red Symons in their venue at 5.00am after a late night out. Hosting all the Radio Melbourne crew across three whole days will be an opportunity for hours of extra fun!”
“When something funny happens to this city, ABC Radio Melbourne will make sure audiences know about it,” said ABC Local Manager, Melbourne, Warwick Tiernan. “Comedy Bites always puts a smile on the dial of our audiences, and we can’t think of a better reason to pull up stumps from our home studios and take up residence in the Town Hall, the centre of funny business at festival time. We’re very proud of our longstanding partnership with the Comedy Festival, bigger this year than ever before.”
Comedy Bites
ABC Melbourne’s exclusive pre-festival live broadcast, from the Comedy Theatre on Tuesday 28 March. Evenings presenter Lindy Burns and co-host Sami Shah present a live-to-air broadcast that includes special backstage reports from the Green Room by the Friday Revue Team, Richelle Hunt and Brian Nankervis.
A radio Gala, it showcases over 20 performers in bite size chunks of the best of the Festival. Comedy Bites can be heard on ABC Radio Melbourne and Victoria on air and online live on Tuesday 28 March from 7.00pm – 10.00pm.
Radio-in-Residence at the Comedy Festival
ABC Radio Melbourne is taking up residence at the Melbourne Town Hall, broadcasting live on the Festival’s opening weekend from Friday 31 March to Sunday 2 April, with listeners encouraged to experience the broadcast live and free.
The immersive experience begins with Red Symon’s on Breakfast, followed by Jon Faine’s Mornings Program and Conversation Hour, the Friday Revue hosted by Richelle Hunt and Brian Nankervis, and then Raf Epstein’s Drive program wraps up the day-long live radio set.
On Saturday morning Hilary Harper will showcase some of the Comedy Club for kids acts, then the champions and stalwarts of Saturday morning footy talk the Coodabeens Champions. On Sunday morning Libbi Gorr broadcasts live from the Peter Cook Bar.
Friday 31 March
5.30 – 7.45am: Red Symons, Breakfast
8.30 – 11.00am: Jon Faine, Mornings
11.00am – 12noon: The Conversation Hour, with Jon Faine
1.00 – 3.00pm: The Friday Revue, with Richelle Hunt & Brian Nankervis
3.00 – 6.00pm: Raf Epstein, Drive
Saturday 1 April
8.30 – 10.00am: Hilary Harper, Saturday Mornings
10.00am – 12noon: The Coodabeen Champions
Sunday 2 April
10.00am – 12noon: Libbi Gorr, Sundays
Bengaluru Comedy Festival Showcase: Conversation Hour
Bengaluru is India’s premiere comedy festival at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the first time in 2017 – representing the finest from India’s burgeoning comedy scene. New Delhi jokers Sumit Anand and Neeti Palta, Goa’s political dynamo Daniel Fernandes and Mumbai’s star of East India Comedy (with 80 million YouTube views) Sapan Verma will join Jon Faine on The Conversation Hour from the Famous Spiegeltent at Arts Centre Melbourne on Wednesday 19 April at 11.00am.
The 2017 Melbourne International Comedy Festival runs 29 March – 23 April. For more information, visit: www.comedyfestival.com.au for details.
Image: courtesy of Melbourne International Comedy Festival