About the project

Comedy Country mobilises the history of comedy to engage its present and future. It does so by addressing key questions:

How has comedy contributed to widening inclusion and democratisation, and how can this continue as the industry evolves?
How, in the light of current cultural, technological and industrial changes, can the nation’s rich tradition in comedy speak to the present?
How are we to address gaps in the archive such as Indigenous and LGBTQI+ voices, recognising their contribution to ‘nation making’ decolonisation and diversity?
How can Australia’s traditions of comic performance be adapted to emerging conditions?
What policies and practices will ensure their continued vitality?

Comedy Country’s chief investigators are Professor Tony Moore and Professor Steve Vizard from Monash University, Professor Anne Pender and Professor Mark Carroll from University of Adelaide and Professor Mark Gibson from RMIT University. Partner Investigators are Susan Provan AO (CEO of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival) and Steve Thomas (Creative Director of Roar Film).

The project’s partner organisations have deep connections to the history and performance of comedy in Australia, they include: the National Film and Sound Archive, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne, Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, History Trust of South Australia, State Library Victoria, State Library of South Australia and Roar Film.

The project also collaborates with the Australasian Humour Studies Network, the largest network of scholars dedicated to the study of comedy and humour in Australia; and Professor Maryrose Casey, a leading scholar of Indigenous Performance.