The opening night of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was called off mid-show after an attendee suffered a medical emergency and died.
In a statement posted online on Wednesday night, organisers of the annual event confirmed the incident which took place at the Palais Theatre.
“Melbourne International Comedy Festival regrets to confirm that there was a medical emergency while the Opening Night Allstars Supershow was taking place this evening at the Palais Theatre,” the statement reads.
“The show was stopped and cancelled. The Festival will be in touch with all ticket holders tomorrow.”
Per The Age, some attendees noted that a man in the audience was seen receiving CPR before the lights in the venue were turned on and patrons were advised that the remainder of the show had been cancelled.
Victorian police later confirmed that the man died at the scene.
“Police will prepare a report for the Coroner following the death of a man in St Kilda on Wednesday, 26 March,” a statement given to Rolling Stone AU/NZ on Thursday morning reads.
“Emergency services were called to a theatre on Lower Esplanade about 9pm. A man, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene. The death is not being treated as suspicious.”
The 2025 edition of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is scheduled to run through to April 20th.
In what is the festival’s 39th year, over 1,000 performers will perform across 133 venues in Melbourne, with a number of high calibre local and international talent scheduled to perform including Rhys Darby, Urzila Carlson, Danny Bhoy, Wil Anderson, Guy Montgomery, Becky Lucas and Dave Hughes.
