Records tumble as Newcastle Comedy Festival hits new heights

The Advertiser

16-07-2025

With record-breaking ticket sales and a surprise late-night performance by Jimeoin, this year's Newcastle Comedy Festival is a game-changer for Andrew Milos.
The festival, now in its eighth year, features a few "firsts" and an all-star line-up that includes Luke Heggie, Nazeem Hussain, Melanie Bracewell, Elouise Eftos, Guy Williams, Sammy J, Michael Hing, Cam Knight and Becky Lucas.
Jimeoin wasn't on the line-up but thrilled the audience when he unexpectedly strolled onto the stage on Friday night for Late Night Laughs at Newcastle Comedy Club.
"I was trying to gently prod people to buy tickets beforehand - I knew who the special guest was going to be, but I couldn't tell anyone," Mr Milos said.
"We ended up having close to 50 people there, which is pretty good considering it's late for most people ... well, it's very late for me.
"Daniel Muggleton popped in and so did Guy Williams, because they had already done solo shows, plus locals Eddy Rockafella and Brandon Duff, and Cameron James was the emcee. It was like a mini Gala, in a way."
Late Night Laughs is a new addition to the festival's schedule, kicking off at 10pm each Friday at 1a Darby Street. This week's show will feature another mystery guest.
Staging two sold-out Gala shows at the Civic Theatre was another festival first.
"I think the matinee had even more energy than the evening show," Mr Milos said.
"A lot of people have said Timberlina was their favourite part of the matinee, even though she's not even a traditional stand-up comedian! She just went nuts, she did a dancing routine and did about four minutes of ad-lib crowd-work, which is unheard of, because an event like that is very structured and planned out.
"But there she was, talking to people, and she blew the roof off. She was giving Becky Lucas a bit of shit as well [laughs]."
Yet another festival first is Quick Takes, presented by Newcastle Film School and sponsored by FilmInk and Paramount Pictures. It's a 44-hour short film competition open to creatives of all backgrounds and experience levels, and it's happening the final weekend of the festival (July 25 to 27).
Teams will receive a mystery prompt on the Friday night and have exactly 44 hours to write, shoot and deliver a finished short film. No experience? No problem. No fancy gear? You're still welcome.
The finalists will be celebrated on the big screen at the Quick Takes showcase and party on Sunday, July 27, at Newcastle Comedy Club, forming part of Newcastle Comedy Festival's closing night festivities.
Entry is free, making it accessible for anyone keen to test their storytelling skills under pressure, and there are prizes to be won. You can sign up online at quicktakes.info.
"I'm going to try to do a short movie myself, actually. I've got Becky Lucas, Cameron James and Broden Kelly at the Conservatorium, so I'll be roping them in," Mr Milos said.
"I honestly couldn't be happier with how the festival is going. It has broken all records, with over 4500 sales for the first week, and this week every show is pretty much sold out.
"Tickets to next week's shows are 55 per cent to 95 per cent sold."
And, in a final festival first, Big Dog Comedy (also founded by Mr Milos), returns to its spiritual home, The Happy Wombat, on Saturday, July 19, for a night of side-splitting stand-up from a secret line-up.
With record-breaking ticket sales and a surprise late-night performance by Jimeoin, this year's Newcastle Comedy Festival is a game-changer for Andrew Milos.
The festival, now in its eighth year, features a few "firsts" and an all-star line-up that includes Luke Heggie, Nazeem Hussain, Melanie Bracewell, Elouise Eftos, Guy Williams, Sammy J, Michael Hing, Cam Knight and Becky Lucas.
Jimeoin wasn't on the line-up but thrilled the audience when he unexpectedly strolled onto the stage on Friday night for Late Night Laughs at Newcastle Comedy Club.
"I was trying to gently prod people to buy tickets beforehand - I knew who the special guest was going to be, but I couldn't tell anyone," Mr Milos said.
"We ended up having close to 50 people there, which is pretty good considering it's late for most people ... well, it's very late for me.
"Daniel Muggleton popped in and so did Guy Williams, because they had already done solo shows, plus locals Eddy Rockafella and Brandon Duff, and Cameron James was the emcee. It was like a mini Gala, in a way."
Late Night Laughs is a new addition to the festival's schedule, kicking off at 10pm each Friday at 1a Darby Street. This week's show will feature another mystery guest.
Staging two sold-out Gala shows at the Civic Theatre was another festival first.
"I think the matinee had even more energy than the evening show," Mr Milos said.
"A lot of people have said Timberlina was their favourite part of the matinee, even though she's not even a traditional stand-up comedian! She just went nuts, she did a dancing routine and did about four minutes of ad-lib crowd-work, which is unheard of, because an event like that is very structured and planned out.
"But there she was, talking to people, and she blew the roof off. She was giving Becky Lucas a bit of shit as well [laughs]."
Yet another festival first is Quick Takes, presented by Newcastle Film School and sponsored by FilmInk and Paramount Pictures. It's a 44-hour short film competition open to creatives of all backgrounds and experience levels, and it's happening the final weekend of the festival (July 25 to 27).
Teams will receive a mystery prompt on the Friday night and have exactly 44 hours to write, shoot and deliver a finished short film. No experience? No problem. No fancy gear? You're still welcome.
The finalists will be celebrated on the big screen at the Quick Takes showcase and party on Sunday, July 27, at Newcastle Comedy Club, forming part of Newcastle Comedy Festival's closing night festivities.
Entry is free, making it accessible for anyone keen to test their storytelling skills under pressure, and there are prizes to be won. You can sign up online at quicktakes.info.
"I'm going to try to do a short movie myself, actually. I've got Becky Lucas, Cameron James and Broden Kelly at the Conservatorium, so I'll be roping them in," Mr Milos said.
"I honestly couldn't be happier with how the festival is going. It has broken all records, with over 4500 sales for the first week, and this week every show is pretty much sold out.
"Tickets to next week's shows are 55 per cent to 95 per cent sold."
And, in a final festival first, Big Dog Comedy (also founded by Mr Milos), returns to its spiritual home, The Happy Wombat, on Saturday, July 19, for a night of side-splitting stand-up from a secret line-up.
With record-breaking ticket sales and a surprise late-night performance by Jimeoin, this year's Newcastle Comedy Festival is a game-changer for Andrew Milos.
The festival, now in its eighth year, features a few "firsts" and an all-star line-up that includes Luke Heggie, Nazeem Hussain, Melanie Bracewell, Elouise Eftos, Guy Williams, Sammy J, Michael Hing, Cam Knight and Becky Lucas.
Jimeoin wasn't on the line-up but thrilled the audience when he unexpectedly strolled onto the stage on Friday night for Late Night Laughs at Newcastle Comedy Club.
"I was trying to gently prod people to buy tickets beforehand - I knew who the special guest was going to be, but I couldn't tell anyone," Mr Milos said.
"We ended up having close to 50 people there, which is pretty good considering it's late for most people ... well, it's very late for me.
"Daniel Muggleton popped in and so did Guy Williams, because they had already done solo shows, plus locals Eddy Rockafella and Brandon Duff, and Cameron James was the emcee. It was like a mini Gala, in a way."
Late Night Laughs is a new addition to the festival's schedule, kicking off at 10pm each Friday at 1a Darby Street. This week's show will feature another mystery guest.
Staging two sold-out Gala shows at the Civic Theatre was another festival first.
"I think the matinee had even more energy than the evening show," Mr Milos said.
"A lot of people have said Timberlina was their favourite part of the matinee, even though she's not even a traditional stand-up comedian! She just went nuts, she did a dancing routine and did about four minutes of ad-lib crowd-work, which is unheard of, because an event like that is very structured and planned out.
"But there she was, talking to people, and she blew the roof off. She was giving Becky Lucas a bit of shit as well [laughs]."
Yet another festival first is Quick Takes, presented by Newcastle Film School and sponsored by FilmInk and Paramount Pictures. It's a 44-hour short film competition open to creatives of all backgrounds and experience levels, and it's happening the final weekend of the festival (July 25 to 27).
Teams will receive a mystery prompt on the Friday night and have exactly 44 hours to write, shoot and deliver a finished short film. No experience? No problem. No fancy gear? You're still welcome.
The finalists will be celebrated on the big screen at the Quick Takes showcase and party on Sunday, July 27, at Newcastle Comedy Club, forming part of Newcastle Comedy Festival's closing night festivities.
Entry is free, making it accessible for anyone keen to test their storytelling skills under pressure, and there are prizes to be won. You can sign up online at quicktakes.info.
"I'm going to try to do a short movie myself, actually. I've got Becky Lucas, Cameron James and Broden Kelly at the Conservatorium, so I'll be roping them in," Mr Milos said.
"I honestly couldn't be happier with how the festival is going. It has broken all records, with over 4500 sales for the first week, and this week every show is pretty much sold out.
"Tickets to next week's shows are 55 per cent to 95 per cent sold."
And, in a final festival first, Big Dog Comedy (also founded by Mr Milos), returns to its spiritual home, The Happy Wombat, on Saturday, July 19, for a night of side-splitting stand-up from a secret line-up.
With record-breaking ticket sales and a surprise late-night performance by Jimeoin, this year's Newcastle Comedy Festival is a game-changer for Andrew Milos.
The festival, now in its eighth year, features a few "firsts" and an all-star line-up that includes Luke Heggie, Nazeem Hussain, Melanie Bracewell, Elouise Eftos, Guy Williams, Sammy J, Michael Hing, Cam Knight and Becky Lucas.
Jimeoin wasn't on the line-up but thrilled the audience when he unexpectedly strolled onto the stage on Friday night for Late Night Laughs at Newcastle Comedy Club.
"I was trying to gently prod people to buy tickets beforehand - I knew who the special guest was going to be, but I couldn't tell anyone," Mr Milos said.
"We ended up having close to 50 people there, which is pretty good considering it's late for most people ... well, it's very late for me.
"Daniel Muggleton popped in and so did Guy Williams, because they had already done solo shows, plus locals Eddy Rockafella and Brandon Duff, and Cameron James was the emcee. It was like a mini Gala, in a way."
Late Night Laughs is a new addition to the festival's schedule, kicking off at 10pm each Friday at 1a Darby Street. This week's show will feature another mystery guest.
Staging two sold-out Gala shows at the Civic Theatre was another festival first.
"I think the matinee had even more energy than the evening show," Mr Milos said.
"A lot of people have said Timberlina was their favourite part of the matinee, even though she's not even a traditional stand-up comedian! She just went nuts, she did a dancing routine and did about four minutes of ad-lib crowd-work, which is unheard of, because an event like that is very structured and planned out.
"But there she was, talking to people, and she blew the roof off. She was giving Becky Lucas a bit of shit as well [laughs]."
Yet another festival first is Quick Takes, presented by Newcastle Film School and sponsored by FilmInk and Paramount Pictures. It's a 44-hour short film competition open to creatives of all backgrounds and experience levels, and it's happening the final weekend of the festival (July 25 to 27).
Teams will receive a mystery prompt on the Friday night and have exactly 44 hours to write, shoot and deliver a finished short film. No experience? No problem. No fancy gear? You're still welcome.
The finalists will be celebrated on the big screen at the Quick Takes showcase and party on Sunday, July 27, at Newcastle Comedy Club, forming part of Newcastle Comedy Festival's closing night festivities.
Entry is free, making it accessible for anyone keen to test their storytelling skills under pressure, and there are prizes to be won. You can sign up online at quicktakes.info.
"I'm going to try to do a short movie myself, actually. I've got Becky Lucas, Cameron James and Broden Kelly at the Conservatorium, so I'll be roping them in," Mr Milos said.
"I honestly couldn't be happier with how the festival is going. It has broken all records, with over 4500 sales for the first week, and this week every show is pretty much sold out.
"Tickets to next week's shows are 55 per cent to 95 per cent sold."
And, in a final festival first, Big Dog Comedy (also founded by Mr Milos), returns to its spiritual home, The Happy Wombat, on Saturday, July 19, for a night of side-splitting stand-up from a secret line-up.