OBSERVER: Comedy Republic


October marks a major milestone for Kyran Nicholson and Alex Dyson as Comedy Republic celebrates its first month ever open every single night of the week. The friends, who met while broadcasting on Triple J, went out on a limb alongside Kyran’s husband and Drag Race Down Under star Rhys Nicholson to open a comedy venue in the heart of Melbourne.
With pandemic restrictions it initially didn’t go great, with a total audience of 24 people in June, 2020, then came more lockdowns.
During the venue’s first year of business they sold a few hundred tickets in total, but over the last 12 months they’ve welcomed over 47,000 laughing punters and are still growing. Melburnians seeking to immerse themselves in stand-up culture have helped Comedy Republic put Melbourne on the global map.
October highlights at Comedy Republic include:
Solo Shows: Ify Nwadiwe (Comedy Bang Bang) and Guy Montgomery (Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee).
Special Tapings: Rising stars Sashi Perera and Blake Pavey filming specials.
Work in Progress Shows: Rhys Nicholson working out new material on stage with friends (aka other comedians)
Intimate Concepts: Unique nights like Dinner Stories with Damien Callinan and Yeah Sure, Why Not with the indie crew from Club Club.
“The fact that we have all of these shows running makes me extremely proud,” says Alex Dyson. “Comedy is alive and well in Melbourne.”
The schedule is available at comedyrepublic.com.au/
Cheryl Threadgold