Three comedians – Rhys Nicholson, Kyran Wheatley and Alex Dyson – had a dream to open a new theatre in Melbourne purpose-built for comedy. This dream, unfortunately, started to come to fruition in 2020. So Nicholson, Wheatley and Dyson decided to open a new theatre purpose-built for both comedy and social distancing; and they called it Comedy Republic.
The theatre opened during the 2020 lockdowns with a series of livestreamed comedy events. Comedy Republic now hosts plenty of in-person gigs featuring some of the nation's funniest comedians. The dedicated comedy space can fit 150 guests (keep in mind capacity will be reduced during restrictions) and also features a bar. BOB Bar to be precise, which first debuted as a pop-up bar during a previous MICF.
Keep in mind that Comedy Republic is on the second floor and has no lift. The team are working on making it into an accessible venue; in the meantime, Comedy Republic offers a number of livestreamed gigs.