The Global Financial Crisis getting you down? Can’t afford to pay your mortgage? Fed up with the high price of petrol and the overseas holiday is sinking faster than the Australia dollar?

Don’t worry there is still one blue chip bargain if you know where look - the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Nothing All Ords about the 2009 Melbourne Comedy Festival with over 300 shows, international and local 1200 performers and an average ticket price of $22. The Comedy Festival is the perfect place to laugh off those economic blues.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival will take over the city from 1 April –26 April 2009 with audiences flocking to see theatre, stand up, music, visual arts, kids’ shows, and cabaret, all with a humorous bent.

With more than 455,000 people attending Comedy Festival events in 2008, it is one of the three largest Comedy Festivals in the world along with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival.

Festival Director, Susan Provan said: “It is the best time to be in Melbourne. Our tickets and packages deals enable people to fully experience the Festival. They can see the best in overseas performers and discover the superstars of
tomorrow without melting the credit card.”

Scores of the world’s funniest people, including overseas guest artists and our much-loved local acts are currently joining list of performers in the 2009 Comedy Festival.

International guests at the Festival in 2009 include:
Jason Byrne, Mark Watson, David O'Doherty, Rich Hall, Nina Conti, Reginald D Hunter, Mike Wilmot, Des Bishop, Mike Wilmot, Russell Kane, Sarah Millican, Andrew Lawrence, Jamie Kilstein, Neil Delamere, Arj Barker, Steven K Amos and the Pyjama Men.

Along with popular local performers including:
Dave Hughes, Adam Hills, Peter Hellier, Tripod, Fiona O'Loughlin, The Kransky Sisters, Judith Lucy and Wil Anderson.

Other local stars appearing at the 2009 Festival are:
Rod Quantock, Justin Hamilton, Tom Gleeson, Sam Simmons, Denise Scott, Kent Valentine, Josh Thomas, Charlie Pickering, Geraldine Quinn, Gerard McCulloch, Michael Chamberlin, Harley Breen, Kitty Flanagan, Claire Hooper and Tommy Dean.

It’s not only Melbournians who get to giggle at the Comedy Festival. Around the country, millions watch the opening night Comedy Festival Gala on Network 10. Fresh, new comics participate in heats in every Australian capital city and many regional centres in Raw Comedy, the nation-wide search for Australia’s hottest comic geniuses, and Aussie High School kids also get in on the act with Class Clowns. The indigenous comedy competition, Deadly Funny also promises to be even deadlier in 2009.

www.comedyfestival.com.au

Tags: Adam Hills, Dave Hughes, Fiona O'Loughlin, Judith Lucy, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Peter Hellier, Tripod, Wil Anderson