What’s Funny?

Award-winning writer and performer Em Barrett introduces Johann — her self-proclaimed artist, incompetent anarchist and grape-loving alter ego — and discusses creative failure, glorious self-belief and why watching someone fall flat on their face can be so funny. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded at Melbourne Fringe 2026. https://www.melb...

Camp Kiwi cabaret provocateur Marshall Lorenzo discusses finding the absurd in serious politics, the “posh bastard” in the audience, and the involuntary comic moments when we accidentally reveal our true selves.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au...

Self-described “human cartoon character” Mr Snotbottom discusses physical absurdity, the importance of surprise and the comic power of taking silly ideas completely seriously.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/p-gee/   Themes: Absur...

Self-confessed fraudulent gold trader Mark Silcox discusses truths about the gold market, on-stage authenticity and the peculiar territory where complete sincerity becomes unexpectedly funny.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/mark-s...

Openly “on-the-spectrum” stand-up muso George Rigden discusses what happens when truth meets shame and the importance of being fully present in the room when comic improv takes an unexpected turn.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/g...

Kids entertainer, freestyle basketball maestro and self-proclaimed superhero Basketball Man discusses family fun, physical comedy and why children often find the greatest joy when things go gloriously wrong.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/bro...

Chris Marlton, whose alter ego Desmond Little steals the stand-up spotlight, discusses the art of risk-taking improvisation, trusting instinct, and why comedy remains one of the few art forms that defies formula.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.a...

San Francisco-based Italian clown and priest performer Andrea Barello discusses the funny side of religion, audience confessions and rediscovering the creative freedom many of us leave behind in Childhood.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International ComedyFestival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse...

One-woman showstopper Sarah Francis discusses being spiritual, conjuring up oddball characters to share vulnerabilities while finding magic in uncertainty, silliness and chaos.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/psycho-or-psychic/   Th...

Luke Rocca discusses bad backs, being talked about on the Cheap Seats and the guilty pleasure of turning the larger-than-life characters in his life into comic characters.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/spineless/   Themes: surpr...

Former bored insolvency lawyer Anthony Locascio discusses personal heartbreak, the healing power of faith and why stand-up can illuminate truths that lie hidden beneath the laughter. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/anthony-locascio-...

Personal revolutionary Maitreyi Karanth discusses midlife reinvention, the funny side of everyday moments and why humour doesn’t always translate between one culture and another.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/maitriarchy/   Them...

Lawyer, comedian and former Warner Bros executive Nick Abrahams discusses truth, career accidents and why the funniest insights are the ones everyone in the audience recognises. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/the-accidental-law...

Torres Strait Islander, ex-lawyer and Moose Award winner Leon Filewood discusses misdirection, empathy and how the best jokes often lead audiences somewhere they never expected to go.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/holding-sp...

Musical theatre duo Carol Whitfield and Tayla Thomas discuss love-hate relationships, macho producers and how life can become funnier when you stop trying to control it. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/the-maiden-and-the-matron-un...

Bubble artiste and children’s entertainer Dr Hubble discusses comic timing, the power of surprise and the challenge of creating family entertainment that engages both children and adults.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.  www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/dr-hubb...

Mentalist and magician Tristan McLindon discusses magic tricks, audience connection and the rare moments when an entire room laughs together for the same reason.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.  www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/great-question/ Themes: connectio...

Standup provocateur from New York Glace Chase discusses dark humour, transgression and the guilty pleasure of hearing the wrong thing said out loud.   Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.   www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/glace-s-big-things/   Themes: wrongness / dar...

Self-confessed Malaysian nepo-baby and cross-cultural commentator Shamaine Othman discusses truth, identity and creating a space where audiences can laugh about intimate matters they can’t openly talk about. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/bro...

Joy-spreading musical starlet Sarah Bowers discusses happiness, optimism and the underrated skill of making people smile. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/sarahtonin/   Themes: joy / mood / shared lightness

British comedian and domestic abuse survivor James Barr discusses comedy as survival, protest and transforming painful experience into collective catharsis. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/james-barr-sorry-i-hurt-your-son-said-my-...

Child actress and musical ingénue Chloe Halley discusses ageism, expectations and why comedy sometimes begins when audiences discover their first impressions are wrong. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/little-miss-typecast/   Theme...

Transvestite comic and history buff Max Norman explores the difference between intellectual humour and the deeper laugh that bypasses the brain and goes straight to the nervous system. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter   Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/coco-the-time...

A special feature episode from This Week in Comedy , recorded after the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Roving Eye Reporter George Stamkoski met Morry Morgan, Wilbur Wilde and Lily Geddes to talk about his What’s Funny? series — a collection of 22 post-show interviews captured in the raw moments just after comedians step off stage. From truth and recognition to risk, chaos, and conne...