Melbourne International Comedy Festival

A Bold, Witty, and Unflinchingly Honest Exploration of the Human Psyche in Musical Form

14/04/2026 Aunty Kylie xo

Initial Consult: Taking diet culture to therapy Rating

★★★★★

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Charlotte Grimmer’s Initial Consult- Taking diet culture to therapy (2026 MICF) at The MC Showroom is a bold, witty, and unflinchingly honest exploration of the human psyche. Grimmer is a graduate of NIDA Acting program, a high school dance and drama teacher. Charlotte has performed this show in Edinburgh, Sydney and the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

Bursting straight through the waiting room, Charlotte Grimmer’s initial court-mandated therapy session begins-and we, the audience find ourselves cast as the therapist. This fresh and fearless musical invites us into a hilariously triggering session filled with tap, rap, dance, and masterful keyboards. Grimmer’s performance showcases her diverse vocals, sharp wit and impressive comedic skillset.

The shows engaging narrative grapples with mental health, diet culture, perfectionism and the messy nuances of how we cope. Charlotte works the packed audience brilliantly- making pointed uncomfortable and knowing eye contact with every “therapist” in the room in moments that are at once awkward, hilarious, and deeply relatable. One moment the audience squirms, triggered and defensive: the next, they erupt with applause and laughter.

The stage is set with minimalist flair: a chair, a keyboard, and a side table adorned with tissues, a plant, and a pot. By the end of the performance, it resembles the floor of a teenager’s bedroom. Each prop is purposefully placed and thoughtfully used. Grimmer’s inventive excellence is evident in every detail—every movement, and exaggerated facial expression, and lyric is meticulously placed—creating a remarkably clever and cohesive piece highlighting Grimmer’s inventive flair and keen attention to detail.

Sadly, Melbourne, Charlotte Grimmer has wrapped up her season and is heading back to Queensland. The MC Showroom is conveniently located near plenty of pubs and dining options and has a licensed bar for enjoying a drink during the performance —ideal for steadying one’s nerves before this funny therapeutic ride. Patrons should note that accessibility is limited, with 25 stairs and no all-access bathroom.

In a thoughtful touch, Grimmer acknowledges the show’s potentially triggering themes, directing audience members towards support organisations such as The Butterfly Foundation. This thought-provoking and playfully disarming performance will follow you home.

Deliciously daring, Initial Consult- Taking diet culture to therapy (2026 MICF) is the kind of performance that makes you laugh, wince, and reflect—sometimes all in the same breath. Side effects may include sore cheeks from smiling and the sudden urge to book a therapy session… or a tap class.

Love Aunty Kylie xo

To book tickets to Initial Consult: Taking diet culture to therapy, please visit https://www.themcshowroom.com/whatson/melbourne-international-comedy-festival-2026-initial-consult.

Photographer: Joel Devereux

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Australia’s Worst Journalist

12/04/2026 Emelia May🥉

Australia’s Worst Journalist Rating

★★★★★

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For years, journalist Sweeney Preston issued dating advice for a major news conglomerate while his own love life was the stuff of noncommittal nightmares. Now, at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sweeney’s comedy-turned-conference-turned-confessional ‘Australia’s Worst Journalist’ broadcasts his story in full, excruciating detail (slideshow presentation included).

I questioned what exactly I’d signed up for as a guy in chinos ushered showgoers inside a glorified pantry beneath the Motley WhereHaus known simply as ‘The Vault’, but my worries were (mostly) put to rest as said chino-wearing guy made his way onstage. It was Sweeney Preston, armed with but a microphone and a clicker. With little preamble, he dove into a gritty self-exposé delivered via PowerPoint: harrowing retellings of Tinder dates, romantic getaways for one, radio-broadcasted roasts and roasting sage when all else failed. ‘Australia’s Worst Journalist’ put Sweeney in the proverbial stockyard, exposing his own articles and the ironic stories behind them to an entire pen of onlookers. As a writer, I felt a sick sense of survivor’s guilt, but as a writer whose work wasn’t up on that screen? Couldn’t be more entertained.

Sweeney was hilarious. Highly in tune with the room, he bantered off the cuff and even finessed the audience into the material itself, but this didn’t surprise me in the least. He’s a journalist—they’ll do anything for clicks (IYGIYGI). Even when veering off on baffling tangents, his stage presence and command of the narrative brought with it complete faith that there was always a line to be punched at the end. A tightly written, cheeky hour of non-stop self-deprecation served by a natural storyteller.

‘Australia’s Worst Journalist’ toes the line between public humiliation and raw honesty to create an incredibly relatable confessional piece, not just for fellow journalists and writers but anyone ever guilty of trying. Curating the persona of ‘you’ takes trial, error and a fair amount of bullshitting first. It also means you have to keep throwing that self at the wall to see what about it sticks and what sticks isn’t always what you’re most proud (or even capable) of. For all it’s a comedy show, ‘Australia’s Worst Journalist’ gets that and that’s why it works so well.

Sweeney Preston took control of his own narrative to deliver a show that was effortlessly funny, silly as hell, and with just a dash of heart (but not too much). Brilliant work and a pleasure to watch—I expect to see many more shows in his future. Be sure to tune in to ‘Australia’s Worst Journalist’ at the Motley WhereHaus until the 19th of April.

To book tickets to Australia’s Worst Journalist, please visit https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/australia-s-worst-journalist/.

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Daddy Daycare

11/04/2026 Caitren Sheather-Reid🥉

Daddy Daycare Rating

★★★★★

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Imagine: you walk into the Motley Bauhaus Theatrette (a place well renowned for its indie theatre) to the tune of the Playschool theme song, as well as other childhood classics like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Lion Sleeps Tonight. In front of you sits a cosy children’s set complete with plastic kids teapot and painted field back drops. That’s right, it’s Daddy Daycare time, a place where lost daddies go to get their working with womens check whilst discussing consent, anatomy and having fun all at the same time!

After sitting down, what followed was an hour of the most raucous children’s entertainment I have ever seen! Not only was our host (Steph Crothers) beyond hilarious, energetic and devilishly suggestive, but she also really, ah, took care of us, if you catch my drift.

Now heads up, this is a show that features a lot of audience participation. But if you are happy to moan, yell ‘YES MUMMY’ and sing songs about the more delicate parts of a woman’s physique, then you are in the right place. And as part of the audience, it was hard not to get swept up in the energy of it all. Crothers perfectly breached the line between suggestion and play, bringing forward act after act that had myself and the viewers around me gasping for breath in between laughter. Her skills with clowning and comedic timing left even me (one trained in such skills) a little bit speechless!

The tech of the show also strongly enhanced the whole experience. When things were light and playful, so was the sound. When things got darker, so did the lights. And the prerecorded sounds used in the show perfectly complemented what was happening on stage. It was a master class in not too complex tech and how it can truly bring a show together. Thematically, this show also explores that intersection between child and adult, taking me back to a nostalgic period with an adult twist. And boy, would I visit there again!

In total, this is a show that is great fun, but it has more substance than just this. It does bring up real questions of the consent culture within our society. And it did make me think afterwards, but I also just had a really excellent time with it. And my stomach and mouth hurt from smiling and laughing which is never a bad thing.

But look at that, it’s time on the rocket clock for this review to end! As a general rule, do go see this show, bring your friends (especially those of the sheltered persuasion just to watch their little minds be blown) and get up on stage! This is a show that deserves a whole lot of love.

To book tickets to Daddy Daycare, please visit https://www.eventfinda.com.au/2026/daddy-daycare/melbourne/carlton.

Photographer: Nick Robertson

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If You’re Hearing This

11/04/202610/04/2026 Melinda Keyte

If You’re Hearing This Rating

★★★★★

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Ally Morgan is a new kind of supernova performer. In her 2026, Melbourne Comedy Festival show, If You’re Hearing This, she swoops us up and takes us on a whirlwind tour for the ages.

Morgan starts her show with a burst of optimism and the idea that things out there can be really, really good, even when they are clearly not that good at all on home soil. She’s fashion forward in a suit that is halfway between a NASA 1950’s one and something that the babes from Wet Leg might wear, showing her preparedness to get down and rock her world with some serious songwriting and lyrical talent. Morgan’s departure from earth is on a fast paced countdown. She’s on a do it yourself mission to save herself from Armageddon. Planet Earth is in a right pickle so the logical thing to do is eject herself into the atmosphere and take a chance — interplanetary Survivor style.

There, in the outer limits of space Morgan finds she has a lot of time on her hands so what better way to keep her sanity and her cool zeitgeist narrative alive than by doing an up to the minute broadcast over the space airwaves — even if no one’s listening. Her set is simple but effective. She knows how to transform a space. Musical instruments, a keyboard, a DIY screen, a squishy gold helmet and she’s away.

The brilliant songs allow Morgan to address all sorts of crisis points and her talent and skill in nailing where we all are right now lies in leaving no stone unturned. She pans manosphere podcasters, references the lost innocence of the early 2000’s, and employs visual gags from major film makers to billionaire asshats, as well as giving us a running commentary on news and politics. Morgan sings folk tinged songs that Joan Baez would be proud of. Her songs are at once poignant, hilarious, urgent and ironic. Her transitions from mother earth guardian, to digital information purveyor includes themes on life and death; the point of relationships and human connection; the vagaries of big C, Capitalism; tales from her youth and neurodivergent ways of being.

She calls out the force with which man tries to destroy everything good and calls out her own ambivalence when called to action as well. If anything the themes are so wide reaching and profound that maybe a slight edit would serve the overall project? But Morgan sings, moves and delivers ballads as sweet as The Sundays juxtaposed with political fight-the-power style black and white documentary narration that nevertheless ignites us all. She asks us to think deeper about how we got to a time when a girl who just wanted to have fun lost all that in the Black Mirror-esque way we live our lives now.

Morgan shows us that even though innocence has been washed away by a zillion screen time hours and the “encyclopaedia” of ChatGPT use, that in fact, love is still what humans want. It’s a very savvy well written show filled with modern day ennui. But is anybody really listening? Is Morgan just screaming into the void? Will she ever be saved? Her teabags and fuel are running low and she’s scared and utterly alone…well, for a while at least.

To book tickets to If You’re Hearing This, please visit https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/if-you-re-hearing-this/.

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