Sydney Comedy Festival

THE SYDNEY COMEDY FESTIVAL SHOWCASE IS BACK ON THE ROAD WITH A HUGE 2016 TOUR! INTERNATIONAL HEADLINER STEVE HUGHES CONFIRMED ON THE BILL! The funniest comedians from this year’s Sydney Comedy Festival are hitting the road and bringing all-star comedy showcases to Rockhampton , Bundaberg , Toowoomba and Gladstone . Heading into Queensland next month, they’re stoked to announce that world renowned comedian Steve Hughes has been confirmed as this year’s headliner!

Back on Australian shores after selling out solo tours worldwide, Steve Hughes is a legend of the comedy game. Confronting, alarming and always hilarious, don’t miss your chance to catch him on home turf!

MC for the night is Mickey D who has returned to Australia with his boundless energy and killer wit after living in the UK where he regularly sold out his solo shows at the world famous Edinburgh Fringe and toured the States and Europe delighting audiences all over.

BOOK NOW Highlights from the showcase will include Daniel Connell ; affable, lovable and hilarious and a great emerging talent you won’t want to miss and one of Australia’s most sought after comedians for the last decade, the insatiable David Williams .

Ray Badran ( triple j, The Comedy Channel ), a regular on the Australian club and festival circuit will have you bent over in laughs with his astute observational humour and for the first time ever in Queensland, Japan’s quirkiest export, Waka Takahashi , will be on stage to win you over with this absurd brand of comedy.

So get ready Gladstone; the Showcase Tour is back on the road! Tickets are selling fast so call your pals and get in quick to secure your tickets to the funniest night of entertainment you will see all year!

“For a travelling show, the comedians all knew what they had to do to get a laugh, and had the crowd in constant stitches… the talent on show definitely left the crowd wanting more…”

– AU REVIEW, MAY 2015

Show details Gladstone Entertainment Convention Centre – 58 Goondoon St, Gladstone QLD 4680

Sunday 17 July 2016 – 7:00pm

Tickets from $36.90 | Call (07) 4972 2822 | http://gladecc.com.au/

Recommended for mature audiences 15 years and over. May contain coarse language and adult themes.

BOOK NOW Mickey D Mickey D combines his boundless energy, infectious smile and killer wit to produce worldclass comedy. He is a brilliant natural comic and amiable host. Mickey burst onto the comedy scene as a 17 year old and made an immediate impact, storming the national finals of Triple J’s Raw Comedy. Today, Mickey is recognized as a truly international comedian.

Since storming the Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2000, this multi award-winning comedian is now a veteran of well over a decade of international comedy festivals. Mickey has performed across the UK, Europe and the States and acquired an impressive list of TV and radio credits as well as sellout shows in Edinburgh.

Mickey is also the creator, producer and host of THE PHATCAVE – the massively popular, infamous, late night comedy show, born out of the Edinburgh Festival.

Further credits include The Comedy Channel, Channel 7, ABC TV and the UK’s BBC2.

“his joyous, frisky attitude creates a raucous atmosphere that nurtures unabashed laughter"

- Chortle

Ray Badran

Ray Badran has been a reg ular on the Australian club and festival circuit for the past 5 years. In this time Ray has honed his performance skills and material and is now considered at the forefront of a new generation of comedians who are both edgy and inventive. He is rapidly making a name for himself as one of the country’s finest comedian MC’s and his astute, observational style makes him a hit with any audience.

In 2014 Ray was hand-selected by the Sydney Comedy Festival Directors to host the prestigious Breakout Comedy Tour which travels to Brisbane, Perth and Sydney and showcases the brightest emerging comedians in the country. He was also selected to perform for The Comedy Channel’s ‘Best of the Fest’.

With multiple television writing credits and mounting radio and television appearances Ray is widely regarded as one of the hottest rising stars of Australian comedy.

“genuinely funny guy”

– Weekend Notes

Steve Hughes Internationally renowned stand up comedian Steve Hughes tells it like it is - confron ting, alarming and always hilarious. The convict wizard with worldly insights into the bleeding obvious comes armed with more issues than an occupy movement. The inimitable ex-heavy metal drummer has been burning up the international circuit for the past 10 years, he has toured throughout Europe, Australia, USA, Canada & New Zealand to rave reviews and mutinous laughter.

After storming stages at prestigious invite-only festivals and selling out his solo tours worldwide, Steve returned to Australia in 2014 with a brand new show “While It’s Still Legal” which sold out at comedy festivals across the land.

He is currently working on new material and a feature-length animated film.

“This is exactly what political comedy should be: intelligent, provocative, profound and topped off with good, solid gags. See him while it’s still legal.”

– Chortle UK

Daniel connell

Daniel Connell could easily be described as the ideal Aussie comedian; affable, loveable and hilarious. His observational, dry, often unanticipated comedy has seen him take to stages all over the country.

In 2012 Connell debuted his first solo stand-up show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and in 2016 he brought his brand new show Resting Face to Perth Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Sydney Comedy Festival.

One of the most active comedians in the country, Daniel can be seen sharing a stage with comedians like Jimeoin, Glenn Robbins, Denise Scott and Dave Hughes.

“After an hour in his company you’re chilled out and smiling. Damned if I know how he does it.”

– The Age

WAKA TAKASHI

Hailing all the way from Tokyo, Japan, Takashi ‘Waka’ Wakasugi, has been wowing and suprising audiences in his mother land and beyond with his quirky observational humour; becoming a featured act at one of Australia’s most prestigious comedy rooms, The Comedy Store, in Sydney.

He is as loveable as he is shocking and his warmth will win you over and his observations about our world will have you wrapped up around his little finger. There is no one else like Waka; you won’t want to miss his unique take on the world and Australia.

David Williams

David Williams has firmly established himself as one of Australia’s most sought after live comedians. A comedy veteran with over ten years experience, David has performed to rave reviews at comedy festivals worldwide and performed along side some of the world's best comedians.

David has played the Melbourne International Comedy Festival every year since 1999 with a new show each year. This stands as a testament to his writing ability. Master of any stage worldwide, David is sure to make you laugh.