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A little more than a week has passed since the tragic mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando and it would seem the world is ready to laugh again with the announcement that Melbourne’s comedy community will rally to stage a variety benefit 4 Orlando.
Hosted by comedian Joel Creasey and Chrissy Swan, the event is testament to the capacity of the LGBTQ+ community for boundless love and support in the face of systemic, historic adversity. As Creasey has phrased it, “We’ve been fighting the good fight since the dawn of time and we’re once again here to prove that nothing can break our spirit”; or, as I saw it put on Twitter last week:
FYI: The gay agenda has always been “enjoy every moment you can before a hateful person takes it away.”
— Solomon Georgio (@solomongeorgio) June 12, 2016
The lineup includes Melburnian comedy mainstays Julia Morris, Judith Lucy, Magda Szubanski, Jane Turner, Marg Downey, Em Rusciano, Carrie Bickmore, Jeff Green, absurdist trio Aunty Donna, cabaret icon Trevor Ashley, Hugh Sheridan, Nazeem Hussain, Peter Helliar, and, perhaps most hilariously, the cast of The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
All profits raised from the event will be disbursed directly amongst the survivors, the victims and the families of the shooting with the help of Equality Florida’s Pulse Victims’ Fund, with the assistance of the National Centre for Victims of Crime and the City of Orlando. The fund has so far raised over $5,600,000 at the time of writing.
Should you wish to, you can make a donation to the fund here.
Tickets for the variety show on July 9 go on sale from midday today, June 21. You can find all the ticketing information you could ever need here.
Cover image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
