The walls flashed with pink, blue and purple lighting, a packed audience milling about trying to find their seats, while the BTS soundtrack blared across the Melbourne Town Hall. A naked stage with only a ‘Melbourne International Comedy Festival’ statue declared boldly what this is, comedy, placing all the attention on the stars themselves.  

Hosted by energetic Takashi Wakasugi, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s second annual Asian Allstars Gala is an exuberant celebration of cross-cultural identity, that allows audiences to hilariously view Australian culture through a uniquely Asian lens.

The gala is designed in a taste-tester style, starring a line-up of 19 comedians from a range of Asian countries who are given around 10 minutes in the limelight. With such a short time-limit and with no props or stage effects to distract the audience, the power lies purely on the comedians and their ability to forge a connection with the audience.

This is made even harder by the fact that these comedians are Asian and performing comedy in front of a huge Western audience. Finding common ground that can be appreciated across cultures while still retaining a distinct Asian touch is the challenge for the night. 

Some mastered this very well. One notable example was returning Chinese comedian He Huang. While this is her second time performing at the Gala, her sketch did not lose lustre at all. Playing into familiar concepts of the One Child policy, the ‘red flags’ within Chinese homes, and the uniquely Chinese pressure for marriage, every joke and pun was succinct and on point. Almost every line triggered laughter or response from the audience who were able to connect regardless of their cultural backgrounds.  

Another noteworthy performance was Asian-Australian Harry Jun, whose joke about their culture-appropriating white ‘tiger mum’ and rarely seen Asian ‘Tasmanian tiger’ was a particular highlight for me. Indian comedian Azeem Banatwalla gave a hilariously detailed breakdown about the notorious Mumbai traffic, and how committing all traffic crimes in India will still equate to a 1000 Rupee profit in Australian standards. Banatwalla’s delivery was fused with vibrant energy and had the audience on edge.

It would be remiss not to mention Charlene Kaye and her lively white pop-girlie impersonation crash course. While telling a comedy in 10 minutes is a challenge, what I find more commendable is Kaye’s brilliant vocal skills, and their ability to fuse both singing and comedy and perform both well is a feat in itself.

With a night filled with high energy comedy fighting for the audience’s attention, my favourite performance however, was something significantly more understated. In a markedly contrasting tone, Jin Hao Li does not aim for the extravagance or flash, instead, in a soft, humorously gentle voice, Li combines two parts: life-deducing anagrams and the life-story of a plastic bag told in an almost bed-time-story vibe. Li did not scramble for attention, yet somehow seemed to be commanding the room with every word. Each intonation was perfect, comedic timing was perfect and the ridiculously unexpected twists of his story was what made Li’s sketch engaging at every turn.

Despite these commendations, the quality of the performances markedly varied. Marketed as “bringing together a massive lineup of established headliners and breakthrough talent”, the different experience levels of the comedians became more obvious when placed next to each other.

I found the presentation of the Gala was not designed to be favourable to their “breakthrough talent”. The lack of introduction of the comedians, pressures lesser known comedians to establish themselves through their sketches. 

A notable example is Grace Zhang, a first-time performer whose inexperience is clearly obvious. Zhang’s disconnected sketch, especially when sandwiched between the more experienced stage-commanding performances of Banatwalla and Singaporean comedian Sam See, failed to capture the audience and there was a noticeable dip in energy in the theatre. However, when Zhang jumped in at the last-minute before being ushered offstage to state that this was her first time performing comedy, the audience became a lot more accommodating and congratulated her effort. This is where an introduction could have greatly benefited the performance.

While the Asian Allstars Gala’s spotlight on Asian talent is a praiseworthy step of the Australian comedy sector stepping more towards inclusivity. I am reminded of Rahul Subramanian's cheeky jab, “I am part of the diversity quota,” at the Melbourne Comedy Festival to call-out on the lack of diversity at the 2025 MCF Gala. More can be done to address diversity. This includes the line-up of comedians, which seems to lean more towards Indian, Chinese, Malay and Singaporean performers. It would be good to see in future years some comedians from other Asian countries and especially less-represented South and Southeast Asian countries.

The one-night-only nature of the show packing so many performances by various Asian comedians of all experience levels into one night only points towards the lack of opportunities for Asian artists in the comedy scene. I would like to see the Asian Allstars Gala work more actively towards promoting the individual acts of the Asian comedians involved, with follow up information for audiences to stay updated on new comedians they enjoyed that night.  

All-in-all the second annual Asian Allstars Gala was a delightful performance brimming with talent and potential and I would be keen to see where the comedians end up next.