Canberra Comedy Festival

What Canberra Comedy Festival does

Canberra Comedy Festival is an annual live comedy event operated by Canberra Comedy Company Pty Ltd, a privately held Australian proprietary limited company founded in 2013 to coincide with Canberra's centenary year. The festival is an event-driven business that curates and presents stand-up, improvised, and international comedy performances across a network of Canberra venues, principally The Street Theatre, with programming also extending to Canberra Theatre Centre, ANU Kambri Cultural Centre, and Canberra Institute of Technology facilities.

The company monetizes the festival almost exclusively through ticket sales, with tickets distributed through three authorized third-party ticketing providers — Canberra Ticketing, The Street Theatre, and Trybooking. Pricing is tiered by performer and day of week, with weekend premium pricing (e.g., $49 for Wil Anderson) and weekday discounting (e.g., $45). Transaction fees of approximately $4 per ticket are passed through depending on the provider, and all prices are quoted in Australian dollars inclusive of GST. There is no direct-to-consumer ticket sales channel and no disclosed subscription or recurring revenue model.

Operationally, the company runs with a small team of 5 employees and relies on a broad partnership ecosystem for venues, media, accommodation, beverage, charity, and government support (including ACT Government funding via the ACT Events Fund). The festival experienced a COVID-19-driven operational hiatus from 2020-2024 before relaunching in March 2025, with the 2026 edition scheduled for August 5-9. The business carries no disclosed technology platform, no proprietary AI/ML capabilities, and no disclosed funding history.

Name

Canberra Comedy Festival

Legal name

Canberra Comedy Company Pty Ltd

Website

https://canberracomedyfestival.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Canberra Comedy Festival is an annual live comedy event operated by Canberra Comedy Company Pty Ltd, featuring stand-up, improvised, and international comedy across multiple Canberra venues, with ticket revenue distributed through authorized third-party ticketing providers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Comedy Festival

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Comedy Festivals (MPAGACAD)

Keywords

• Live comedy performances
• Comedy festival events
• Stand-up comedy shows
• Live entertainment events
• Comedy event ticketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The primary revenue stream comes from ticket sales to comedy shows and performances. Tickets are sold through authorized third-party ticketing providers (Canberra Ticketing, The Street Theatre, Trybooking). Transaction fees may apply based on the ticketing provider used. All prices are quoted in Australian dollars and include GST.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Canberra Comedy Festival is an annual live comedy festival operating in Canberra, ACT, Australia, producing and presenting ticketed stand-up, improvised, and international comedy performances across multiple partner venues. Tickets are sold exclusively through three authorized third-party ticketing providers (Canberra Ticketing, The Street Theatre, and Trybooking), with prices in Australian dollars including GST and premium pricing for weekend performances. The festival runs over a multi-day period in 2026 scheduled for August 5-9, showcasing established and emerging Australian and international comedians.

Product overview

The Canberra Comedy Festival is a single unified event product—an annual comedy festival featuring stand-up, improvised, and international comedy acts. The 2026 festival runs August 5-9, showcasing headline performances including Wil Anderson's improvised show and Takashi Wakasugi's Wabi-Sabi Comedy at The Street Theatre. The festival offers a portfolio of ticketed comedy shows across multiple venue partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Canberra Comedy Festival Annual multi-day live comedy festival in Canberra featuring stand-up, improvised, and international comedy performances across multiple venue partners including The Street Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre, and ANU Kambri Cultural Centre. Open to individual adult consumers and visitors to the ACT region.
• Wil Anderson - Watchu Talkin' Bout Wil Ticketed improvised stand-up comedy show by Australian comedian Wil Anderson, performed at The Street Theatre as part of the Canberra Comedy Festival. Weekday performances (Wed/Thu/Sun) priced at $45; weekend performances (Fri/Sat) priced at $49 with premium pricing; show duration 70 minutes. For general adult audiences.
• Takashi Wakasugi - Wabi-Sabi Comedy Ticketed comedy show by award-winning Japanese comedian Takashi Wakasugi exploring wabi-sabi aesthetics in comedy, performed at The Street Theatre as part of the Canberra Comedy Festival. Standard tickets priced at $35 with a $4.00 transaction fee; show duration 60 minutes; age rating 15+ with adult themes and occasional coarse language.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACT GovernmentcoreOthersThe ACT Government supports Canberra Comedy Festival through the ACT Events Fund. The festival is held in the ACT region and receives government support as part of the territory's event portfolio.
• QT CanberracoreGTM or Marketing PartnerQT Canberra is the festival's accommodation partner. Located in the heart of New Acton, the hotel is a 10-15 minute walk to all festival venues. The hotel is also home to Capitol Bar & Grill, an ideal venue for pre or post-show dining.
• BentSpoke Brewing Co.coreOthersCanberra's homegrown craft brewery is the festival's beer and cider partner. Their award-winning products including Crankshaft, Barley Griffin, Sprocket, Morts Gold, Red Nut, and Ginger Beer will be available at all festival venues.
• Canberra Theatre CentrecoreOthersCanberra's premier performing arts venue serving as a venue partner. Provides world-class performance spaces including the Canberra Theatre (1,200 seats), The Playhouse (614 seats), and Courtyard Studio (120 seats).
• The Street TheatrecoreOthersCanberra's leading creative producer of ambitious contemporary live performance. Serves as the primary venue partner with Street One (245 seats) and Street Two (80 seats) flexible studio spaces.
• Australian National University (ANU)coreOthersANU's Kambri Cultural Centre serves as a hub for festival shows, particularly in the second week. Provides Manning Clark Hall (500 seats) and Drama Theatre (150 seats) as performance venues.
• Evolve CapabilitiesminorOthersA business management systems company providing local development support. Designs and implements systems that remove bottlenecks and optimize workforce productivity.
• The Canberra TimescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCanberra's major newspaper serving as the festival's primary media partner. Has been serving the national city for almost 100 years as the trusted source for local news.
• Contentious CharacterminorOthersAn urban winery in Fyshwick, Canberra's inner south, serving as the festival's wine supporter. Offers wine, food, and a venue experience for festival-goers.
• Her CanberraminorGTM or Marketing PartnerA local lifestyle publication covering Canberra food, lifestyle, and wellbeing. Serves as a media supporter for the festival.
• amplifyCBRminorGTM or Marketing PartnerA joint venture between Southern Cross Austereo and Australian Radio Network, home of Hit104.7 and MIX 106.3 radio stations. Provides radio broadcast media support.
• Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT)minorOthersThe ACT's public provider of vocational education and training. Supports the festival's production needs with over 18,000 course enrolments annually.
• PegasusminorOthersProvides specialized horse-facilitated therapy programs for people living with disabilities. Serves as the festival's charity partner.
• Comedy ACTcoreOthersThe home of local comedy in the ACT and surrounding regions. Comedy ACT supports and promotes the local comedy scene, complementing the festival's focus on bringing comedy to Canberra.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Adelaide Fringe: One of the world's largest fringe festivals held annually in Adelaide, featuring comedy alongside other performing arts. Comparable annual multi-venue festival model with regional government support.
• Sydney Comedy Festival: Annual comedy festival held in Sydney featuring stand-up, improv, and international acts. Directly comparable annual-event model targeting a major Australian capital city audience.
• Brisbane Comedy Festival: Annual comedy festival held in Brisbane, featuring Australian and international comedians. Directly comparable regional comedy festival competing for the same national touring acts.
• Melbourne International Comedy Festival: Australia's largest comedy festival, held annually over multiple weeks in Melbourne. Direct competitor in the same Australian comedy festival category, operating at significantly greater scale with national and international draw.
• Perth Comedy Festival: Annual comedy festival in Perth, Australia, featuring stand-up, improv, and sketch comedy. Closely analogous regional-capital comedy festival model with similar scale.

Broad incumbents

• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The world's largest arts and comedy festival held annually in Edinburgh. Same annual festival category but at vastly larger scale with global draw, often referenced as the gold standard of comedy festivals.
• Just For Laughs: Major international comedy festival and comedy brand based in Montreal with global reach. Comparable annual comedy festival business model at much larger scale with television and media extensions.

Others

• Comedy ACT: Local comedy organization supporting and promoting the ACT comedy scene. Listed as a core 'Local Comedy Scene Partner' on the CCF website, making it a directly connected ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.
• The Street Theatre: Canberra's leading venue for contemporary live performance and CCF's primary venue partner. Adjacent ecosystem player; CCF performs in their space and uses their in-house ticketing, making them a key operational dependency rather than a competitor.

Regional players

• Funny Little Shows: Australian live comedy production company whose branding appears on the CCF website footer ('A Funny Little Shows site'). Closely affiliated live comedy production outfit in the same Australian market, sharing talent and likely operational infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/canberracomedy
• Facebookfacebook.com/canberracomedyfestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/canberracomedy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/canberra-comedy-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Canberra Comedy Festival