Ever been on a walking comedy tour before? I hadn’t! But I genuinely love art, going to the art gallery and after thoroughly enjoying Coco’s debut theatre show earlier in festival, I was keen to see how Coco would fair in her element, out in the wild.
In her Melbourne International Comedy Festival debut, Max Norman’s Coco the Time-Travelling Tart recently had a sold-out debut run of her Art History Comedy Highlights Tour at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria). I was lucky to attend one of these sessions and honestly, I had never experienced anything like it!
Entering the gallery after hours, we were to meet up with Ms. Coco beneath Yayoi Kusama’s Octopus. After fans had the opportunity of taking photos with Coco, we all formed a circle with our tour group, gathered our hands together for a definitive cheer, and thus the travelling with our favourite tall time-trotting tart commenced.
During our 45-minute exclusive and private guided tour with Coco, we were taken all over the NGV. While is obvious that Max had a clear path and design for us, from a patron’s perspective, it was a lot of fun having Coco lead us, darting from one room to another, with everyone wondering which painting or sculpture we’d stop at next, and furthermore, what juicy gossip she had for us.
The stories that Coco told with each painting and sculpture that we stopped at were detailed and divine. Max Norman is so convincing with his writing and delivery, you just know that this clever comedian is a genuine fan of art and history. Coco talks about each artwork and sculpture piece that she stops at with a personal connection and flourish. Sometimes, the tales would be so intricate and believable, you’re quickly brought back to reality when Coco inserts herself into the narrative, remembering that this is a comedy tour!
You’d never be with the same group of people again and with the NGV so vast, I’m certain that if Coco were to (hopefully) return, the following tour would be different. Different chosen sculptures, different paintings, but with the same brilliant and bright energy we’ve come to love from this clever character. Each tour would be unique to the energy of your group, yet filled with so much joy, your face will be hurting from laughing and smiling so much before it’s even over. Witnessing fellow attendees play along with Coco was even better. The more we got into the spirit, the more Coco gave it right back right to us tenfold.
Comfortable walking shoes are a must, as you do a lot of walking around the gallery. Coco’s instructed hops, skips and twirls are all in good measure, and whenever the diva demanded it, we happily obliged. At one point, we even catwalked and gave our best poses (and everyone our group slayed)! Photos and filming are okay, but mostly, it is important to be present and enjoy your time with Coco, before she hops, skips and jumps through time elsewhere!
Coco’s Art History Comedy Highlights Tour at the NGV was my favourite part of this year’s 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Max Norman has not only created an incredibly likable, sassy and intelligent character that everyone wants to bond with and hear all the good goss from, but the whole concept of a comedy art history tour is pure genius. Here’s hoping Coco brings back her comedy gallery tours to Australia next year.
Coco’s Art History Comedy Highlights Tour at the NGV had a total of 12 completely sold-out tours (three a day) across the dates of April 13th to April 16th, at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne as part of the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and in her comedy festival debut. For the purpose of this review, we attended the final session on April 16th at 7:30pm. Although the run was sold out an the festival is now over, please keep your eyes peeled for a return next year (fingers crossed).
For more information, visit:
https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/coco-s-art-history-comedy-highlights-tour-at-the-ngv
https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/program/cocos-art-history-comedy-highlights-tour
https://www.cocotime.world
https://www.instagram.com/coco.timetart
Photography by Jennifer Forward-Hayter.
