THE ESCAPE ROOM Comes to Melbourne International Comedy Festival

The Escape Room transforms a studio space in Melbourne's historic Nicholas Building, opposite the Melbourne Town Hall, into a custom-designed puzzle room for a dark comedy play about team-building and breaking points. The group behind award-winning comedy short, Wibble Wobble, join forces with two mathematicians (read: puzzle nerds!) to create a unique narrative mash-up combining problem-solving and comedy.

The escape room craze has been described as one of the fastest-growing entertainment trends since the rise of cinemas; there are over 80 across Victoria, with the first having opened only in 2014. Thousands of people paying good money to be locked in a room, to bicker and argue with friends and colleagues, all in the name of entertainment! As avid patrons, this show is an homage to the escape room, imagining a work team-building experience gone mad!

Alex Chilton and Daphne Do are the team behind The Escape Room. Former engineers, they both recently jumped ship to pursue creative endeavours and are keen to combine their love of puzzles, design and story on this project. Their first short film Wibble Wobble took out Third Prize at Tropfest 2017, as well as a nod for Best Screenplay, and is one of 73 films selected out of a total 8,696 entries for the world's most prestigious short film festival, Clermont-Ferrand, in 2018.

Cast Edward Chalmers, Shane Henry, David Todman, Jenni Townsend, Alexis Watt

Written, directed and produced by Alex Chilton and Daphne Do

Puzzles designed by Sean Gardiner (Sydney University) and Norm Do (Monash University)

Tickets: Adult $25 / Conc $22 / Group (6+) $20 via trybooking.com/TFND

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Sound Design - Top 3

1. Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys

36.2% of votes

2. Tony Gayle - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

10.7% of votes

3. Kai Harada - Ragtime

7.2% of votes

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