Underground Sydney Comedy Festival

Underground Sydney Comedy Festival

By Jade Morellini.

Everyone loves a good laugh on a night out and with Sydney’s biggest annual comedy festival coming up, the laughs will be endless.

Every April and May, the Sydney Comedy Festival brings comedians from around the world to entertain audiences of over 122,500 people.

But with all the big names and venues taken over, audiences often miss the hidden local gems which hold spectacular comedic shows.

Della Hyde has partnered with LaughMod to host their first ever stand-up comedy night, Down for Good Laughs, which will have a line up of all-star comedians. A spokesperson for Della Hyde said,

“We love supporting the arts & entertainment at Della Hyde, and who doesn’t love comedy?! We had a look around the area and saw there was an opportunity to host comedy nights on Wednesdays because not many others are doing it. We currently offer $1 wings on Wednesdays, which is very popular, and we thought a side of laughter would be a great way to bring more people together on a weeknight.”

They have a hilarious line-up of local talent including headliner John Cruckshank, supported by Lizzy Ho, Oliver Twist, Gavin Scott, Joe Antar (NSW RAW Finalist) and hosted by Mitch Garling (named one of Sydney Comedy Festival’s Best Emerging Comedians for 2017).

“John Cruckshank is a gifted stand-up comedian who is well-known and well-loved all over Australia in regular comedy circles. Cruckshank will have you in splits before you know it, and you will be lost in his witticisms that seem to flow freely, with every hilarious delivery,” a spokesperson for Della Hyde said. “Supporting artists are equally as entertaining, with Lizzy Hoo’s comedy serving up meaty truth sandwiches with a healthy dose of LOLs and a sprinkling of cynicism and controversy.”

Comedy doesn’t have to be for adults only, with some performances welcoming children to get involved.

You’ll Never Guess Where I Hid The Cheese is a fun show for families to engage in during the festival season.

Comedians Alicia Gonzalez and Debbie Zukerman said, “It’s a fun family show about superheroes and cheese, which of course is a classic combination. It’s full of high stakes excitement and games! Mr. Cheesehead will turn everyone into a cheesehead unless the audience can stop him. Choo Choo Troupe is what we’ve called our loose collective of comedians.”

This show is full of improvisation and depends on audience interaction in order to ensure the show is at its best.

“The audience does most of the hero work so we don’t really know what’s going to happen from one show to the next. It can be the most fun when the show derails because the audience has taken it in an unexpected direction. Giving the kidults the reins and playing along with them means the room is filled with spontaneous energy and a sense of euphoric ‘what the?!” Gonzalez and Zukerman said.

Laugh-Masters Academy (LMA) who houses Chicago style long-form improvisation and sketch comedy in Australia have also introduced their brand-new show Night Shift at the Factory Theatre where they will be showcasing monthly improv and sketch comedy.

Founder of LMA, Eran Thomson said, “Night Shift is one of four different types of shows that LMA puts on each month. With our Armondo show, what makes it unique is there’s a special guest and they take a one-word suggestion from the audience and based on that word they tell a story and then based on that story, the improviser team put on a show.”

After the show, they have a jam session where they encourage audience members to get on stage and perform for the audience.

“We invite current students and members of the community to come up on stage and perform for the audience in a more informal way and sometimes we invite audience members who feel like they want to give it a try up,” Thomson said. “We let them experience what it feels like to get up on stage and be supported by a team of experienced improvisers who are there to make sure they look good and don’t feel like they’re failing there alone.”

World Bar loves putting on comedy performances, with Laugh Mob delivering the best local and international comedy every week.

Each of these events are offering up some of the best local talent in the industry and hope audiences will pop in to see their shows.

“We want people to laugh! We’re down for good times at Della Hyde, and we want to create a fun, inviting and social atmosphere where people want to enjoy themselves & keep coming back,” a spokesperson for Della Hyde said. “We have so much incredible talent in Australia and it’s important that local establishments provide an accessible environment to showcase this talent for people to enjoy. Creating a supportive culture is key, it takes a lot of guts & skill to stand up in front of the room and make people laugh!”

“Come to the comedy festival to do something you can’t do in your living room. It’s just a fun thing to do and not because it’s something people ‘should’ feel obliged to do, like eating their vegetables (but totally eat your veggies),” Gonzalez and Zukerman said.

LMA – House Party. Apr 19. Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville. $15+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.laugh-masters.com.au

LMA – Night Shift. Oct 7. Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville. $15+b.f. Tickets & Info: http://www.factorytheatre.com.au

Down for Good Laughs. Every Wednesday. Della Hyde, 34 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst. $10-$15. Tickets & Info: www.dellahyde.com.au

You’ll Never Guess Where I Hid The Cheese. Apr 28. Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville. $25+bf. Tickets & Info: www.sydneycomedyfest.com.au

The World Bar. Every Sunday. The World Bar, 24 Bayswater Road, Potts Point. $10-$20. Tickets & Info: http://www.theworldbar.com

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