Laura Davis

Laura Davis is an award-winning, critically acclaimed Australian UK-based comedian, writer and director.

Davis has garnered a reputation as a fearless, honest and razor sharp comedian. They’re a hugely distinctive and highly respected artist who tackles dark, difficult subjects with intelligence, raw vulnerability and biting wit.

Since making their name as a national finalist in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival RAW competition, Davis has taken multiple critically acclaimed stand up shows to Melbourne.

Davis’ sixth offering, Ghost Machine, won both the  Golden Gibbo and the Melbourne Fringe Best Comedy Award in 2015.  Marco Polo, Davis’ 2016 show for MICF and the Adelaide Fringe Festival, won the prestigious  Comedy Channel Moosehead Award. Laura’s 2022 show If This Is It received a nomination for the Most Outstanding Show at MICF.

Laura has regularly performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where their shows have received huge critical acclaim. The Scotsman lauded Davis’, “considerable elan, making series points with wonderfully silly flourishes.” and The List praised Davis’ ability to have “the audience firmly in their palm, refusing to hold back.” Time Out stated: “Every – EVERY – word is vigorously crafted…this is laughter that takes power away from the darkness…Laura Davis is IT and more” and Chortle called them “inspired…sends you out into the street with your head spinning”. The Guardian identified how: “Davis’ shows are frequently existential – dealing with deep-seated and complex fears about the way society is functioning. They are also very, very funny.”

In August 2025, Laura will take their new show Despair is Beneath Us to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, following an acclaimed run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Chortle observed how Laura’s “uniquely fertile brain is a highlight of any comedy festival, and this year is no exception…fizzing with intelligence and humanity. Plenty of nuggets of comedy gold, including what’s guaranteed the best gag based on a Shakespearean sonnet you’ll hear this festival.”

Davis is an experienced comedy director, most recently having worked with James Nokise and Grace Jarvis. Davis was a writer on the seventh and eighth seasons of ABC TV’s Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell, Australia’s long-running satirical news and current affairs program, and has also performed stand-up on ABC TV’s Comedy Up Late, MICF Upfront Gala and ABC Comedy Next Gen Special plus the New Zealand Comedy Festival Gala 2020.

Davis has also been a guest on several leading podcasts, including Wilosophy Podcast with Wil Anderson, Be Honest with Jojo Sutherland and Bruce Devlin,  The Adam Buxton Podcast, The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast and The Guilty Feminist.

Nominee: Melbourne International Comedy Festival Most Outstanding Show Award 2023
Nominee: Melbourne International Comedy Festival Most Outstanding Show Award 2022
Winner: Comedy Channel Moosehead Award 2016
Winner: Melbourne International Comedy Festival Golden Gibbo Winner 2015
Winner: Melbourne Fringe Best Comedy 2015
Winner: Best Comedy WA Fringeworld 2013

Credits

TV

• MICF Upfront Gala (Performer, ABC TV, 2018)
• MICF Comedy Up Late (Performer, ABC TV 2017)
• ABC Comedy Next Gen Special (Performer, ABC TV, 2016)

Writing

• Shaun Micallef’s Mad As Hell (ABC TV, 2017-2018)

Directing

• James Nokise: Right About Now (2023)
• Grace Jarvis: This Is The Last Goldfish That I Am Going To Eat For You (2023)

Radio & Podcasts

• Wilosophy Podcast with Will Anderson (Guest, 2023)
• Be Honest with Jojo Sutherland and Bruce Devlin (Guest, 2022)
• The Gargle (Guest, 2022)
• Dating Games (Guest, 2021)
• Tea With Alice (Guest, 2020)
• Evil Genius With Russell Kane (Guest, BBC, 2020)
• The Circuit (Guest, BBC Radio 4 Extra, 2019)
• The Guilty Feminist Podcast (Guest, 2018)
• The Adam Buxton Podcast (Guest, 2018)
• The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast (Guest, 2018)
• MICF Comedy Up Late (Performer, ABC TV 2017)

Live

• The Edit (Creator and Co Host, Regular gig in Edinburgh) 
• Well Don’t Just Stand There Dancing (Edinburgh Festival Fringe & Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2023)
• If This Is It (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Soho Theatre London & Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2022)
• Better Dead Than A Coward (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2019)
• Ghost Machine (Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival & Soho Theatre London, 2015, 2018-2019)
• Cake in the Rain (Edinburgh Fringe Festival & Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2017)
• Marco Polo (Melbourne International Comedy Festival & Adelaide Fringe, 2016-2017)
• Pillow of Strength (Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2014)
• Look Out, It’s A Trap (Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2013)
• Notes From Birds (Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2012)
• The Dog in the Ink (Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2011)
• Ant’s Don’t Sleep (Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2010)
• MICF Comedy Zone (2009)
• MICF RAW Comedy National Finalist (2008)

Press

It’s anarchic and the audience is with her all the way. The Age ★★★★ (on Laura Davis: Well Don’t Just Stand There Dancing)

Inspired… sends you out into the street with your head spinning. Chortle ★★★★ (on Laura Davis: Well Don’t Just Stand There Dancing)

Sincere depth of feeling growls from her. Yet her dense, joke-packed diatribe is delivered with the knowing, unhinged glint of her apocalyptic woodswoman experience, as if she has nothing to lose while laying almost everything bare. The Scotsman ★★★★ (on Laura Davis: If This Is It)

She had the audience firmly in her palm, refusing to hold back….Her likeability is unquestionable (it’s clear to see why she has scooped some major comedy awards)” The List (on Laura Davis: If This Is It)

Every – EVERY – word is vigorously crafted…this is laughter that takes power away from the darkness…Laura Davis is IT and more.
Time Out ★★★★ (on Laura Davis: If This is It)

The laughs are loud and don’t let up…an impressive show, assured to leave an impact felt long after its finale.” The Skinny ★★★★ (on Laura Davis: If This Is It)

This Is It is bold and ambitious – and also very funny…An exciting, urgent and relevant comedian.
Chortle ★★★★ (on Laura Davis: If This Is It)

Decidedly defiant and damn funny. The inimitable Davis might despair, but the good news is she will not be stopped.
The Age ★★★★ (on Laura Davis: If This Is It)

Davis has devised a blistering powerhouse of a show that gives stand up a sense of urgency and significance that it doesn’t always have. Above all else, it is back-breakingly funny, with the award-winning comedian ensuring their audience are laughing maniacally by the time the curtain comes down on a sensational hour of comedy…For a performance of such apparent and gleeful chaos, it has structure and purpose. The gags, stories and quips come thick and fast but never without a point…An achingly funny show that dares you to find value in yourself.” ★★★★★ The Wee Review

A different kind of provocative… Smart, challenging, ambitious, playful and funny.
Chortle.co.uk ★★★★

Genuinely brilliant stand-up.
Comedy.co.uk

An hour with Laura Davis leaves you feeling uplifted, somewhat bewildered and utterly amazed by such blistering talent.
Time Out ★★★★

An ingeniously constructed shaggy dog story which, for all its playful nonsense, will be best remembered for its unexpected moments of emotional clarity.
Fest Magazine (ref. Better Dead Than A Coward) ★★★★

A lot of laughs from this rising stand-up star.
The List ★★★★

A beautiful, expressive show.
Fest Magazine (ref. Ghost Machine) ★★★★

…extraordinary stand-up that squeezes your heart until you feel the blood surging through your body.
The Age ★★★★.5

Impossible not to laugh. Everyone left on a high.
Herald Sun ★★★★★

This is when the real magic begins; Davis flexes her improv muscles and comfortably lets things loosen up before bringing things home with genuine heart. Last year, Davis earned her status as a cult favourite; this year shows why she won’t remain an underground name for much longer.
Time Out ★★★★

The performance itself is an act of defiance…one of the more fascinating shows at the festival.
Chortle.co.uk

This is more than straight stand up. This is a performance. This is an experience. A bloody spectacular one… Davis doesn’t own the stage. She owns the room.
Illegitimate Theatre