Acclaimed Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby is gearing up to launch a new show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival next March.
The Evening Muse is described to be “like a ‘Tonight Show’, but it’s hosted by Hannah, so it probably isn’t anything like what you’d expect”.
Gadsby doesn’t venture out much these days. So they’re inviting people in. With different content each night of the week, comedy fans can join them on a mission to reconnect with the world.
Gadsby has been a comedian for nearly two decades, but it was in 2018 that the world took notice when their comedy special, Nanette, launched on Netflix and stopped the comedy world in its tracks.
Nanette earned them an Emmy, a Peabody, an AACTA, and the Most Outstanding Show awards at both the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. Since then, Gadsby has toured the world with three more solo stand-up comedy shows – selling out houses across the US, Australia, and Europe, including the Sydney Opera House, The Palladium in London’s West End, the Kennedy Center, and the Opera House at BAM in NYC.
Gadsby’s second Netflix special, Douglas, was also nominated for an Emmy Award and won an AACTA, as did their third, Something Special.
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Melbourne Comedy Festival will run from March 25th to April 19th, 2026, packed with longtime icons, exciting new voices, and international favourites. From intimate bar gigs to packed theatres and late-night antics at the Festival Club, comedy will take over every corner of Melbourne for the month.
For its 40th anniversary, next year’s programme will include a one-night-only spectacular, The Big 4-Oh will celebrate the milestone, bringing together standout comedians from this year’s program and legends from across the Festival’s four decades.
Other local legends on the bill include Denise Scott, Dilruk Jayasinha, Celia Pacquola, Alex Ward, Dave Hughes, Tom Cashman, Kitty Flanagan, Luke Kidgell, Tomy Little, Urzila Carlson, Tom Gleeson, Emma Holland, Wil Anderson, and many more.
International stars touching down include the UK’s Sam Nicoresti (who won the 2025 Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show), Ian Smith, Chloe Petts, Joe Kent-Walters, Luke McQueen, and Phil Wang, as well as Scotland’s Connor Burns, Daniel Sloss, and Larry Dean, and Ireland’s David O’Doherty and Joanne McNally.
The festival will also feature the US’ Sam Jay, Abby Govindan, and Zainab Johnson. Other international comedians include Douglas Lim (Singapore), Fadzri Rashid (Singapore), Jason Leong (Malaysia), Schalk Bezuidenhout (Sth Africa), Sofie Hagen (Dnk), Takashi Wakasugi (Japan), and Tarang Hardikar (India).
For more information and to book tickets, see here.
