Comedy 101 - Open Mic Comedy Competition 2026

Sydney's newest stand-up comedy competition — and the first run entirely by independent comedy producers.

iD Comedy and Kookaburras Comedy are teaming up to find Sydney's best new comedians, and we're doing it the way we wish someone had done it for us:
- real prize money
- real footage
- a real path to getting booked afterwards

Whether you're stepping on stage for the very first time or you've been grinding open mics for a few years, this one's for you.
Four Friday nights at Carousel Bar & Ballroom on Oxford Street, Darlinghurst — three heats and a grand final!

UP FOR GRABS:
1st place — $1,000 cash
2nd place — $500 cash
3rd place — $250 cash
+ One-on-one writing session with a professional comedian
+ Guaranteed monthly spots in iD Comedy and Kookaburras shows
+ Professional headshots, paid for

How it works
Sets are up to five minutes. Every performance is filmed and professionally edited, so you walk away with footage you can actually use — for bookers, for socials, for your reel — whether or not you take the trophy.

Heat 1 — Friday 28 August 2026
Heat 2 — Friday 4 September 2026
Heat 3 — Friday 11 September 2026

Grand Final — Friday 25 September 2026

Why we're doing it:
Getting noticed is the hardest part of starting out in comedy.
Rooms are competitive, footage is expensive, and the people who book shows are hard to get in front of.
This competition is our attempt to fix a bit of that — put new comedians in front of a real Friday-night crowd, hand them the footage to prove it, and keep booking the ones who impress us long after the final.

Coming to watch?
You'll see Sydney's newest comedians doing their sharpest five minutes on a room of up to 200 — the kind of night where you spot someone early and get to say you were there.
Tickets available for every heat and the final.