Bright young stars emerge from comedy festival

Down Melbourne's narrow alleyways are poky bars and venues hosting stand-up royalty as part of the largest comedy festival in the Southern Hemisphere.

The city swells with excitement from March 27 to April 21 as eagle-eyed fans spot Arj Barker on the tram or David O'Doherty spruiking his shows.

"The Melbourne Comedy Festival is my favourite comedy festival in the world - it's my favourite audience to play in the world - and I'm so excited to be back," comedian Celia Pacquola said.

The 2024 festival has a bumper program featuring more than 800 performers across 650 shows during the three and a half week run.

Comedy-lovers have a buffet of stand-up, cabaret, circus and physical theatre shows to watch ranging from seasoned professionals to doe-eyed amateurs.

The broad selection means there's likely something for everyone's taste and budget.

New-comers from the vibrant British comedy scene joined the festival line-up with their show New Order running until April 21 at Melbourne Town Hall's Powder Room.

New Order showcases beloved up-and-coming comedians Josh Jones, Celya AB and Dan Tiernan as they launch their careers beyond shows such as Jimmy Carr's 8 Out of 10 Cats, QI and Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club.

The trio take turns on the microphone as they needle the audience with taunts and ad-libbed banter as well as delivering their tight 20 minutes of comedy each.

For those keen to break free of the normal constraints of stand-up, there are experimental and adventurous comedians pushing boundaries at Melbourne's annual festival.

Lucy Henderson is performing her Comedy Cluedo at Bard's Apothecary on one of the city's many bar-filled laneways.

She invites "detectives" from the audience to ask about her life in order to solve the mystery - who killed Lucy Henderson?

Tickets to all shows are available through the Melbourne Comedy Festival website.