What’s Funny?

One-woman showstopper Sarah Francis discusses being spiritual, conjuring up oddball characters to share vulnerabilities while finding magic in uncertainty, silliness and chaos. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/psycho-or-psychic/ Themes: vulnerability / uncertainty / everyday magic

Luke Rocca discusses bad backs, being talked about on the Cheap Seats and the guilty pleasure of turning the larger-than-life characters in his life into comic characters. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/spineless/ Themes: surprise / physicality / silly edge

Former bored insolvency lawyer Anthony Locascio discusses personal heartbreak, the healing power of faith and why stand-up can illuminate truths that lie hidden beneath the laughter.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/anthony-locascio-the-divine-comedy/ Themes: truth / thought / art beyond laughs

Personal revolutionary Maitreyi Karanth discusses midlife reinvention, the funny side of everyday moments and why humour doesn’t always translate between one culture and another. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What’s Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/maitriarchy/ Themes: life / reinvention / everyday humour

Lawyer, comedian and former Warner Bros executive Nick Abrahams discusses truth, career accidents and why the funniest insights are the ones everyone in the audience recognises.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/the-accidental-lawyer/ Themes: recognition / truth / palatable insight

Torres Strait Islander, ex-lawyer and Moose Award winner Leon Filewood discusses misdirection, empathy and how the best jokes often lead audiences somewhere they never expected to go. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/holding-space/ Themes: truth / misdirection / empathy

Musical theatre duo Carol Whitfield and Tayla Thomas discuss love-hate relationships, macho producers and how life can become funnier when you stop trying to control it.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/the-maiden-and-the-matron-unhinged/ Themes: everyday clowning / life / self-laughter

Bubble artiste and children’s entertainer Dr Hubble discusses comic timing, the power of surprise and the challenge of creating family entertainment that engages both children and adults. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/dr-hubble-s-brilliant-bubbles/ Themes: timing / surprise / kids & family

Mentalist and magician Tristan McLindon discusses magic tricks, audience connection and the rare moments when an entire room laughs together for the same reason. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/great-question/Themes: connection / room consensus / mentalism

Standup provocateur from New York Glace Chase discusses dark humour, transgression and the guilty pleasure of hearing the wrong thing said out loud. Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/glace-s-big-things/ Themes: wrongness / dark comedy / gasp laughter

Self-confessed Malaysian nepo-baby and cross-cultural commentator Shamaine Othman discusses truth, identity and creating a space where audiences can laugh about intimate matters they can’t openly talk about.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/who-s-that-girl/ Themes: truth / taboo / recognition

Joy-spreading musical starlet Sarah Bowers discusses happiness, optimism and the underrated skill of making people smile.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/sarahtonin/ Themes: joy / mood / shared lightness

British comedian and domestic abuse survivor James Barr discusses comedy as survival, protest and transforming painful experience into collective catharsis.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/james-barr-sorry-i-hurt-your-son-said-my-ex-to-my-mum/ Themes: survival / protest / catharsis

Child actress and musical ingénue Chloe Halley discusses ageism, expectations and why comedy sometimes begins when audiences discover their first impressions are wrong.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/little-miss-typecast/ Themes: surprise / identity / self-ownership

Transvestite comic and history buff Max Norman explores the difference between intellectual humour and the deeper laugh that bypasses the brain and goes straight to the nervous system.Presented by George Stamkoski — Roving Eye Reporter Part of the What's Funny? series recorded backstage at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/coco-the-time-travelling-tart/ Themes: surprise / body / shared shock

A special feature episode from This Week in Comedy, recorded after the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.Roving Eye Reporter George Stamkoski met Morry Morgan, Wilbur Wilde and Lily Geddes to talk about his What’s Funny? series — a collection of 22 post-show interviews captured in the raw moments just after comedians step off stage.From truth and recognition to risk, chaos, and connection, George shares what he discovered after sprinting between venues, catching performers while the adrenaline was still running, and asking one deceptively simple question:What’s funny?Featuring insights on standout acts, audience dynamics and the mechanics behind what makes comedy land — or miss.🎙 Originally recorded for This Week in Comedy🎧 More episodes: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Aq7jRGN6MwChRUvR91jpu