FAQs for venues

Any venue in Melbourne is a potential venue for the Festival. Many venues run independently, liaising with artists and producers directly. The venue is responsible for setting up the performing space, staffing the venue, programming shows, marketing the venue, and setting up a box office space. The Festival has a ticketing service which can be used by artists at any venue if the venue does not have an existing, contracted ticketing provider. Many independent venues have existing contracts with other ticketing providers in which case sales are accessed via a link to our website. Independently programmed and run venues in past Festivals have included The Athenaeum, Comedy Republic, Malthouse Theatre, The Toff in Town, Elephant and Wheelbarrow, Morris House and many more.

NB Any agreement with an independent venue is between the artist/producer and the venue, not with Melbourne Comedy Festival. Negotiations and agreements are between these two parties. It is strongly recommended that you have the agreement in writing and that you to review the terms and conditions of the contract carefully. It’s also important to discuss any concerns or areas you do not understand with the venue before signing an agreement. Addressing any areas of concern early on can help avoid issues or misunderstandings later. The venue’s Public Liability Insurance certificate of currency will need to be supplied to Melbourne Comedy Festival.

The Festival maintains a database of all venues interested in hosting a Melbourne International Comedy Festival show. This database is accessible to producers interested in registering a show in the Festival. To express interest in being a Festival venue please fill in the form here and we will add you to our database. Festival staff will be in contact once you have filled out this form.