Overview
Sport. Seafood. Think about Petrie Terrace's Caxton Street and one of the two, if not both, always comes to mind. The inner-city Brisbane roadway is the home of Lang Park. It's also long been synonymous with festivals celebrating the ocean's finest. Come October 2024, it'll now add another type of fest to its roster of events, with Good Chat Comedy Club launching the inaugural Caxton Street Comedy Festival for a jam-packed Saturday overflowing with laughs.
Already a place go get giggling inside Caxton Street Brewing Company — which was previously Fritzenberger, and also Casablanca before that — Good Chat is sharing its sense of humour with its base venue, plus Lefty's Music Hall, Alfie's at The Lord Alfred and The Haunt upstairs at The Caxton Hotel. Each spot will host a feast of shows, with more than 20 on the lineup across the full day. And that date? Saturday, October 19.
Boasting a program featuring talents both local and from further afield, the fest will get patrons splitting their sides thanks to Lloyd Langford, Michael Hing, Geraldine Hickey, Chris Ryan, Luke Heggie, Nick Cody, Damien Power, Amy Hetherington, Emma Zammit and more. The Death by Birding podcast will record live, as will Who Knew It with Matt Stewart — so whether you like watching avian life or comedians answering quizzes, it's on the bill.
For those keen to see multiple comedians at once, The Caxton Street Comedy Festival All-Star Gala will get you guffawing at a hefty roster taking to the Lefty's stage, while The Gong Show at The Haunt will enlist more than ten comedians to bust out their best in three-minute slots — and attempt to avoid being gonged off.
Another certain highlight: Game On Mole Live!, which hails from Not on Your Rider and Isolation Trivia's Aimon Clark. Yes, it's another game show, but this time there's a sabotaging twist. Alongside Ian 'Dicko' Dickson, two groups of comedians face off; however, one player's entire job is to undermine their team. You'll watch. You'll laugh. You'll attempt to pick who is bad at answering questions and who is doing it on purpose.
Caxton Street Comedy Festival will take its hilarity outdoors as well via streetside entertainment, and sling tins of its own Tight Five beer, which Caxton Street Brewing Company is making just for the occasion.
Forget the sounds of crowds cheering at soccer or NRL, or at whichever major concert has popped up at Suncorp Stadium — aka the usual din echoing through Petrie Terrace and Paddington — because this day is replacing that soundtrack with hearty chuckles.
Caxton Street Comedy Festival takes place on Saturday, October 19 at Caxton Street Brewing Co, Lefty's Music Hall, Alfie's and The Haunt, Caxton Street, Petrie Terrace. Head to the fest's website for tickets and further information.