Five Jewish laughs at Melbourne’s comedy festival

No stranger to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival – and a rising star on the international circuit – sketch comedian Josh Glanc brings his acclaimed new show Family Man to his hometown fresh from the UK.

Inspired by getting older and the human desire to settle down, Family Man picked up a nomination for the 2024 Edinburgh Comedy Award, where it was named a “stand out” show of the Edinburgh Fringe by Rolling Stone, and enjoyed a sold-out run in New York.

Glanc’s signature style means the frantic, silly and at times bizarre show leans heavily on audience participation – so expect to be whipped up on stage at any moment. Book tickets and learn more.

Jess Fuchs is debuting her show Sex Jokes For Women at this year’s comedy festival and it’s exactly as the title suggests: an hour of raucous, racy and relatable sex-chat.

The comedian wants to challenge common criticisms that female comedians only speak about relationships and that sex is an off-limits topic for women, instead by owning it and ensuring the audience knows exactly what they’ve signed up for. The show was developed around audience interaction and involves crowd work, as well as playful observations and personal anecdotes. Book tickets and learn more.

When writer and filmmaker John Safran learnt that Kanye (Ye) West was praising Adolf Hitler and publicly attacking Jews, he travelled to America to find out why. The result is his new book Squat, the surreal retelling of the week Safran spent squatting at one of Ye’s abandoned mansions in Los Angeles.

In his Melbourne International Comedy Festival special – which has released additional sessions after his first show sold out – Safran unpacks Squat as well as brand new adventures that haven’t yet been publicly discussed. Book tickets and learn more.

Told from the perspective of his 13-year-old alter ego, Promising Young Mensch reflects on Jacob Sacher’s ultra-Orthodox upbringing at a time when the Jewish community was reckoning with painful revelations surrounding the trial and conviction of principal Malka Leifer and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

“It is a comedy about trauma,” Sacher told The Jewish Independent. “I can’t avoid being Jewish. A big part of my show is that my body is Jewish – I’ve got a circumcision – but I’ve now got a foot out of the ultra-Orthodox squad.”

The daring and vulnerable show premiered at the Sydney Fringe Festival last year before moving onto Melbourne's Fringe, where it won the Judges Pick Award 2024 and was nominated for Best Comedy. Book tickets and learn more.

Jewish-American comedian, actor, writer and author Iliza Shlesinger is bringing her signature sharp stand-up down under. Shlesinger has enjoyed a successful and diverse career, releasing six Netflix comedy specials – most recently being 2022’s Hot Forever – a behind-the-scenes documentary, sketch show and a podcast, as well as several movies and books.

Shlesinger’s quick wit and authentic humour, based on her own experiences and observations, have earned her a loyal fan base and have made her a fixture on today’s international comedy scene. Book tickets and learn more.

Trailblazer Jeremy Moses is using his comedy skills to challenge the stigma associated with publicly discussing disability, grief and multiculturalism. Moses talks openly about being vision impaired – thanks to a genetic condition unique to Iraqi Jews – as well as the tragic loss of his mum at a young age. Book tickets and learn more.

Jewish cabaret icon Reuben Kaye returns to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival with two hilariously risqué shows – including the critically-acclaimed The Party’s Over, which won Adelaide Cabaret Festival’s Cabaret Icon Award 2024 and was nominated for the 2024 Edinburgh Comedy Award. Book tickets and learn more.

A fresh new Jewish voice on the comedy scene, Jake Glanc’s Teen School High: A Highschool Teen Story is a nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy about an awkward and closeted 16-year-old who has just transferred to a new school. Book tickets and learn more.

This year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival runs from 26 March to 20 April 2025.