Raw Comedy
Go boldly where brave comedy legends have hiked before – the ultimate comedy cliff face: RAW Comedy.
Comedy’s next big things will conquer their fears, battle foes with their funniest five minutes, and leave the competition in the dust on the way to the top of their comedy Everest.
RAW Comedy, a Melbourne International Comedy Festival initiative, has been launching the careers of countless comedians since 1996, with competitors given the chance to join the elite ranks of Australia’s comedy scene, with RAW Comedy National Finalist Alumni including: Josh Thomas, Hannah Gadsby, Celia Pacquola, Ronny Chieng, Luke McGregor, Rhys Nicholson, Anne Edmonds, Sam Simmons, Tom Ballard, Sam Campbell, Becky Lucas, Matt Okine, Danielle Walker and many, many more!
What about you?
A group of valiant comedy experts are set to scour the country in a bid to lure out humourists hiding in the offices, workplaces, classrooms, pubs and homes throughout our neighbourhoods.
Competition heats happens in every capital city in Australia and in some regional centres between January and March annually. Expect a RAWcous battle of wit and skilful tussle of tongue as courageous comics brave the stage in hope of making it to the RAW Comedy Final.
Entering RAW Comedy is easy. You enter your details and your preferred heat when registering online and perform a 5 minute spot of new, original comedy material at the heat.
Heats are compered by a professional comedian and are open to the public to attend, where the best acts from the heats progress to appropriate finals.
The best acts from the State Finals generally go onto the National Final, held in the Melbourne Town Hall as a feature event of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The National RAW Comedy winner receives a trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where they’ll be given the opportunity to compete in So You Think You’re Funny at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a competition previous National RAW Comedy winners Demi Lardner (2013), Nick Sun (2004) & Drew Rokos (2000) have gone on to claim.
RAW Comedy is open to anyone who is an Australian resident, over 17 years old and has earned less than $500 from performing in that year. Five minutes of new, original comedy material is all it takes –‐ stand– up, sketch, double and triple acts, musical comedy, are all welcome.
For those not ready and willing to get on the stage, come to the heats and hope to be one of the first to spot Australia’s upcoming comedian giants.
Venues, dates and details can be found on the Raw Comedy website (https://comedyfestival.com.au/raw/)
