Science talks & science comedy

Brisbane International Comedy Festival

Future Science Talks: Comedy Edition is debuting at the Brisbane International Comedy Festival 2024 after sold out shows across Australia. Tickets are available here.

15 scientists from Brisbane have partnered with comedians to infuse humour and laughs into scientific talks. Laugh and learn at the same time!

At each show, you’ll be hearing from Brisbane’s best and brightest young and emerging science professionals.

Each talk is on a unique topic. No two talks are the same!

Three shows will take place on 3, 4 and 5 May at the Brisbane Powerhouse.

Speaker information and their topics is below.

Tickets available here

Brisbane Comedy Festival Topics & Speakers

Friday 3 May at 6:30pm (Brisbane Powerhouse)

  • Michael Cowling, CQUniversity - Technology enhanced learning

  • Mehershad Wadia, Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland - How broken neurons regrow 

  • Belinda Moore, The Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences - Plastic additives in water

  • Alan Robertson, QIMR - Analysing DNA

  • Lily Bentley, University of Queensland - Tracking marine animals

Saturday 4 May at 6:30pm (Brisbane Powerhouse)

  • Ken Dutton-Regester, Street Science - Skin cancer genetics & sunscreen

  • Victor Gallegos-Rejas, Centre of Online Health at the University of Queensland - Telehealth

  • Rebecca McElroy, University of Southern Queensland - Supermassive black holes

  • Luis Villegas-Aguilar, Griffith University - Quantum

Sunday 5 May at 5:30pm (Brisbane Powerhouse) - this is the best of the three shows for families and children!

  • Carissa Klein, The University of Queensland - Fish & chips & why we should think twice

  • Jonny Thomson, Queensland Museum - How household items are a secret chemistry lab

  • Jacqui Barfoot, Child Health Research Centre, the University of Queensland - Emotional development & resilience for children

  • Aleesha Rodriguez, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child - How children could shape digital technologies

  • Cathryn Khoo, Torrens University Australia - Tourism & gender

What program participants say

  • "Incredibly professional and helpful. Performing was unreal. "

    Hannah Kunst

  • "Great program connecting scientists to amused audiences."

    Sally Hurst

  • "Super fun and I learned heaps! Great experience."

    Lorenzo Logi

  • "Dave is a really nice and supportive facilitator."

    Taylor Szyszka

  • "I learnt a lot and had an awesome time doing it!"

    Joel Raymond

  • "It was fun and a great way to meet diverse, intelligent people!"

    Amanda Khoury

  • "A blast! I highly recommend this program"

    Lachlan Gray

  • "A very cool way to learn some skills for future presentations."

    Zoe Xirocostas

  • "This program helped me get on the National Science Quiz!"

    Paige Erpf

  • "Very fun to present my research in this way."

    Toby Kovacs

  • "This program gave me so much! I can apply these tools to any talks."

    Inna Osmolovsky

  • "So much fun to weave jokes into my science talks."

    Faraidoon Haghdoost

  • "Such a unique experience being able to feature in a comedy show."

    Tanja Rosenqvist

  • "I really enjoyed the experience - would recommend it!

    Kovi Rose

  • "This was a lot of fun. Great way to learn some new skills."

    Jared Bergman

  • "A great way to present my science and research."

    Levi Tegg

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FAQs

  • The program is designed with a busy working professional in mind.

    Your time will be spent on working on your presentation and attending several workshops.

    There are 5 workshops of various length. They focus on different elements such as storytelling, joke writing, body posture when presenting, thinking quickly on your feet, handling nerves, and even how to hold a microphone like a pro!

  • We designed the program to be free for participants. Particularly as we are trying to generate opportunities for early to mid-career professionals.

    Unfortunately, when the program was completely free, some people signed up but then flaked out.

    We are now requesting a very small and mostly symbolic workplace contribution to ensure participants are committed. For PhD Candidates, we understand that this may be challenging and we have mechanisms to support you. It is also okay to self-fund if this is your preference.

  • Absolutely not. Well, chances are you are already funny in certain situations - such as with your good friends. We will work with you and show you techniques that will enable you to harness this side of yourself so that you shine when on stage.

    There is a science behind comedy, and we will teach this to you.

  • Not at all. Most people in our program do not have a lot of public speaking experience.

    The program is designed for those who are interested in upskilling their speaking ability.

  • It’s very easy - fill in the EOI and we will be in touch. The EOI takes about 60 seconds. We generally contact applicants on a first come, first serve basis. So we recommend you apply early.

  • Now. The EOI only takes 60 seconds. We contact applicants on a first come, first serve basis. We will contact you as soon as a Science Comedy Program opens in your area.

Supported by Inspiring Australia Queensland

We thank Inspiring Australia Queensland for their support for the Science Comedy Program in Brisbane.

Join the Science Comedy Program Now

EOI form here