Ten comedians have been nominated for the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) Award for Most Outstanding Show, in this, the festival’s 40th year.
The nominees were announced today (Wednesday 15 April), together with the seven comedians nominated for Best Newcomer, awarded annually to an Australian or New Zealand comedian presenting their first full-length solo show at the MICF.
MICF award nominees – quick links
MICF Outstanding Show Award
The MICF Outstanding Show Award is one of the most prestigious awards in the comedy industry internationally, second only to the Edinburgh Fringe Best Comedy Award.
Nominations for the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award for Most Outstanding Show are:
- Abby Wambaugh (USA/Denmark) – The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows
- Cassie Workman (AUS) – You Are Here
- Celia Pacquloa (AUS) – Gift Horse
- Dan Tiernan (UK) – Quartz and All
- Emmanuel Sonubi (UK) – Life After Near Death
- Frankie McNair (AUS) – Huge Ass Mindset
- Kitty Flanagan (AUS) – Glad Game
- Lara Ricote (Mexico/USA) – Inkling
- Reuben Kaye – Hard to Swallow
- Sam Nicoresti (UK) – Baby Doomer
Pacquola and Flanagan are Australian comedy industry veterans but are yet to win MICF’s Outstanding Show Award.
Nicoresti’s Baby Doomer won the Best Comedy Award at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe; like Workman, who has been living and working in the USA for the past two years until recently returning to Australia, Nicoresti is trans.
McNair won the MICF’s Best Newcomer Award in 2022; her new show explores child sexual abuse and comes with a considerable list of trigger warnings, as well as numerous resources for audiences seeking support.
With the exception of Ricote, the comedians nominated for Most Outstanding Show are all still playing the festival; Ricote’s Melbourne season closed on Tuesday 14 April.
A list of previous award winners is available here.
MICF Best Newcomer Award
The nominees for Best Newcomer are:
- Caitlin Duff – Freidah Will See You Now
- Barney Pollock – King of the Pigs 2
- Dana Mitchell – The Lady Will Have
- Elliot Wood – Mrs Lovett’s Famous Meat Pies Grand Reopening Extravaganza
- Jo Gowda (Australia/India) – Don’t Deport the Fun
- Nathan Chin – Chinese Comedy Party
- Tarsh Jago – Cherub
All nominated Newcomers this year are Australian. Gowda’s Indian-Australian identity plays a central role in her stand-up material while Jago is a queer Palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal) performer whose material explores the contradictions of being Blak and queer.
Clowning (such as Duff’s playfully grotesque psychopomp Freidah) and character comedy (in the cases of Pollock, Mitchell and Wood) dominate the Newcomers shortlist.
Additional awards
Several additional awards will be presented alongside the Outstanding Show and Newcomer awards this Saturday 18 April, including the Piece of Wood Award (awarded annually by a panel of comedians, all past winners of the award, to one of their peers for ‘doin’ good stuff ‘n’ that’), the Director’s Choice Award, (presented by Festival Director Susan Provan AO in consultation with festival programming colleagues to a show they think deserves to be celebrated), and the Funny Tonne award for emerging reviewers.
The winner of the 2026 Golden Gibbo Award, honouring the memory of the late Lynda Gibson and recognising shows that are independent, local, adventurous, and original, will also be presented.
This year’s Golden Gibbo nominees, announced on Monday 13 April, are:
- Andy Balloch – Welcome to Hell
- Caitlin Duff – Freidah Will See You Now
- Kate Denhart – Echo
- Katrina Mathers – Anything But The Dyson and Other Excellent Monologues
- Laura Davis – Swag
- Sunny Youngsmith – Cabin Pressure
A newly created VicScreen Greenlight Award will be awarded to a show with standout screen potential for the first time this Saturday.
