Comedy festival doles out its awards

The Sydney Comedy Festival has announced the winners of its 2026 awards, with Reuben Kaye and Frankie McNair sharing the Best Of The Fest award.

Kaye’s show, Hard to Swallow, mixes political comedy with provocative material, while McNair's Huge Ass Mindset draws on her experiences of anxiety, complex post-traumatic stress disorder and low self-esteem. Both shows are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe this August.

The best newcomer award went to Sean Collier for Shitegeist. A lawyer who turned to stand-up, Collier covered topics ranging from societal collapse and internet culture to rugby concussions and meat pies. 

The director's choice award went to sketch duo the Burton Brothers for Tinseltown, a fast-moving show in which they played multiple roles in a send-up of Hollywood filmmaking.

Each winner received a prize of A$1,500 (£800)

James Declase, general manager of the festival, said: 'Every year, selecting the award winners is an extremely difficult task, and this year proved no different. With the festival presenting its biggest programme to date, featuring more than 400 shows, the standard has reached new heights.'

Now in its 21st year, the festival staged 411 shows with close to 1,000 performances across the city.

Published: 19 May 2026