Scary Strangers Launch Inaugural Blue Mountains Comedy Festival
From 15 to 18 October 2026, the inaugural dedicated comedy festival in the Blue Mountains, NSW, will be held at Wentworth Falls School of Arts, spearheaded by the comedic team Scary Strangers, consisting of Tom Stevenson and Ru Halwala. With the backing of a grant from the Blue Mountains City of the Arts Trust, the festival seeks to cultivate a thriving regional comedy landscape. After relocating to the Blue Mountains in March 2025, Stevenson and Halwala dedicated 18 months to advocating for this event. The lineup features performances, workshops, and community activities with stand-up acts like Fady Casab, Ian Mu, and Keeley Willis, along with the musical group Unplanned Melodies, focusing on fair compensation for artists and year-round themed festivals in Sydney and Bathurst.
Key facts
- Scary Strangers Comedy Festival runs from 15 to 18 October 2026 at Wentworth Falls School of Arts in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
- Tom Stevenson and Ru Halwala formed Scary Strangers in 2021 and moved to the Blue Mountains in March 2025.
- The festival is supported by a Blue Mountains City of the Arts Trust Grant.
- The pair spent about 18 months lobbying and building networks to launch the festival.
- An eight-week improvisation course will culminate in a festival performance and form the area's first improv ensemble troupe.
- Stand-up comedians Fady Casab, Ian Mu, and Keeley Willis, all RAW Comedy veterans, are part of the lineup.
- The STEAM Room, with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, trained scientists in stand-up and toured nationally for two years.
- Stevenson and Halwala are exploring a model of standalone festival days spread across the year instead of a single annual event.
Entities
Artists
- Tom Stevenson
- Ru Halwala
- Fady Casab
- Ian Mu
- Keeley Willis
- Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
- Alannah Sue
Institutions
- Scary Strangers
- Blue Mountains City of the Arts Trust
- RAW Comedy
- Unplanned Melodies
- The STEAM Room
- Wentworth Falls School of Arts
- Blue Mountains Writers Festival
- Superposition
- ArtsHub
- ScreenHub
- Creative Hubs Group
- Time Out Sydney
- Sydney Opera House
- Belvoir
- Sydney Fringe Reviewer Lab
- Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels
Locations
- Blue Mountains
- New South Wales
- Australia
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Katoomba
- Bathurst
- Brisbane