Andrew Milos is a true believer when it comes to comedy.
There is no other way to explain his persistence during COVID in creating and putting on a unique Newcastle Comedy Festival for seven years on his own.
Now, on the cusp of the annual Newcastle Comedy Festival, he's beginning to see effort pay off: great comedians and great crowds.
"I've been running the festival for seven years," he says. "This is by far the best it's been selling and the most amount of shows I've put on and the biggest talent.
But I'm more nervous about this than I've ever been.
"It's all happening."
The festival, with the City of Newcastle as its major sponsor, runs June 28 to July 21 across several Newcastle venues, featuring more than a dozen top comedians, including Mel Buttle, Luke McGregor, Hazeem Hussain, Melanie Bracewell, Cameron James, Jenny Tian, Luke Heggie, Michelle Brasier, Kristy Webeck, Brett Blake, Nick Capper, Daniel Muggleton, He Huang and Andrew Hamilton.
There are 24 shows, all up.
"I've got such a high standard for the Newcastle comedy festival," Milos says. "And it's really become a staple on the Australian comedy scene now. But I'm only a one-man operation based here in Newcastle."
The launch party on Friday, June 28, at Earp Distilling in Carrington is sold out. The festival gala on Saturday, June 29, at the Civic Theatre is sold out, too.
"The gala holds 1500 at the Civic. That sold out months ago, which is incredible. That's never happened before," Milos says. "It's always scrambling to the last minute to fill it. The majority of them have sold out each year, but this one absolutely went crazy with sales.
"The first week of shows is completely sold out."
NEWCASTLE SUCCESS
Perhaps the high level of interest isn't surprising. International comedians frequently include Newcastle on their touring schedule - Urzila Carlson is here next week, Jim Jefferies is here in August, Bill Bailey is coming in November. The Newcastle Comedy Club on Darby Street stands as a flagship to local and national comedians plying their trade in the city.
Nevertheless, advance ticket sales are defying a difficult economy. Milos estimated he had sold more than 4000 of a 6000 possible tickets to the Newcastle festival.
"Comedy is so accessible. You've got TikTok and Instagram, and YouTube - a lot of comics are releasing their specials on YouTube for free now just to get their name out there," Milos says.
"But there is nothing like going to see a live show, watching a show and having that synergy between the audio and the performer.
"The thing I always bang on about Newcastle, and I don't even have my rose-tinted glasses on, the shows that people see in Newcastle [at the festival] are the best iterations of that comedian's new tour.
"So when they come here they've already done Perth Fringe, Perth Comedy Festival. They've already done Adelaide Fringe, already done Melbourne Comedy Festival, already done Sydney Comedy Festival. And Brisbane just finished up the other week.
"So when they come here, they've performed this show 50 to 70 times in this iteration, so it's such a well-oiled machine by that point.
"I tell everyone, if you go to see a show in Sydney, just wait until they come to Newcastle, because the venues we've got here are awesome. And also, you're seeing the best possible show that these comedians put on."
THE VENUES
The venues this year may be the best combination yet.
Earp Distilling, which can ticket 300, is running showcases where audiences are exposed to short sets by several comedians, theoretically encouraging audience members to buy tickets to the solo shows of those comedians during the festival.
The Newcastle Conservatorium of Music is hosting comedy for the first time ever during the festival. It also seats about 330, and will be ideal for acts with multimedia.
The Gal in Hamilton is an intimate room (upstairs). And the Newcastle Comedy Club is perfect for smaller shows, holding 70 to 80.
"The whole goal of gala and showcases are that once you see them for a 5-10-15-minute spot, then you go see their whole one-hour show," Milos says. "That's the whole purpose of it. That way their profile rises. The great thing about the solo shows is they are already getting sold with the gala sold out.
"There will be some people who miss out tickets to the solo shows and the gala, so they won't be able to see their favourite comedian.
"But that's' why I put it on sale in January and let them know - one show only."
HOME-GROWN COMEDY STAR
For Milos, he's looking forward to Cameron James's show. The two are mates, both graduating together from Year 12 at St Francis High School.
"This is the biggest show he's ever done," Milos says. "I'm his biggest supporter. I saw his show in Melbourne and Sydney, this iteration. I've seen it evolve. And he won most outstanding show the Melbourne Comedy Festival and also the Sydney Comedy Festival's director's choice, for his last show, in 2022.
"He's been working on this show now for two years."
James's show revolves around Newcastle stories from his life.
"It's going to be so meta," Milos says, "because he's said it in Melbourne, he's said it in Adelaide, said it in Sydney. And now he's bringing it home to Newcastle in a huge 300-seat conservatorium, his biggest show. I think it's going to be layers of jokes people didn't get in other cities, but they'll get it when they're here."
THE STARS
Mel Buttle She's a star found everywhere on Australian TV comedies as well as a long-touring professional comedian. "Mel Buttle has a knack for finding the hilarious in the mundane. The minor irritations of life that can snowball into a personal existential crisis," Lisa Rockman of the Newcastle Herald said in a profile piece.
Luke McGregor With more than a decade of success, the Tasmanian is a familiar figure on our TV screens. He's been in Utopia (ABC), Legally Brown (SBS), Time Of Our Lives (ABC1), Please Like Me (ABC/Pivot), It's A Date (ABC1), Dirty Laundry (ABC2) and Rosehaven, which he created.
Cameron James He's a Newcastle boy moving up the comedy ladder of fame. "I'm totally going to sully the reputation of the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music," he says. "I have one song about drinking too much and a song about my penis size, so it's going to be an interesting decline for that place."
Luke Heggie He is known for his deadpan style and ability to deliver a new killer comedy show year after year. He gigs relentlessly six or seven nights a week, and tours the biggest comedy and arts festivals in Australia and New Zealand to sell-out crowds and rave reviews. Luke also has a fan base in UK by taking his harsh but fair shows about idiots to crowds at London's Soho Theatre.
Andrew Hamilton It's been two years since Hamilton was released from prison (after selling psychedelic drugs for more than a decade). He thought if he stopped breaking the law, he'd become a better person. He didn't. Shit Bloke is the follow-up show to Andrew's smash-hit debut Jokes About The Time I Went To Prison.
Melanie Bracewell She's one of the hottest properties in comedy right now. She is the 2023 winner of Taskmaster NZ, and a long-time writer with Wellington Paranormal. This is her first, and only appearance in Newcastle.
He Huang As featured on Australia's Got Talent, Thank God You're Here, Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala and Just For Laughs, the breakout comedy star of 2023 is back with a new show, Tiger Daughter.
Nazeem Hussain He's touring his Totally Normal show in Newcastle for the first time. He's had a Netflix special, Public Frenemy. He has performed around the globe, including sell-out seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, London's Soho Theatre, New Zealand, Paris, Belgium, China, Singapore, Malaysia, the US and a homecoming show of sorts in Sri Lanka
Kirsty Webeck Her TV appearances include Tonightly with Tom Ballard, Metrosexual, How To Stay Married, SBS' Celebrity Letters and Numbers, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering, The ABC's Question Everything Seasons 2 and 3, Channel 10's Just For Laughs, The Project and Today Extra. Her first stand-up comedy special, Silver Linings, was released on Paramount Plus in November 2022.
Michelle Brasier Actor, singer, writer and comedy darling Michelle Brasier wants to sing to you under the stars (lucky)! She's been seen on Shaun Micallef's Mad As Hell, Thank God You're Here, Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe and Australian Epic.
Jenny Tian Jenny is also the creator, co-writer and star of the TikTok x Screen Australia web series Coach Dayum! Born in Finland and raised in Sydney, Tian is a comedian, writer, and actress, who has been on Celebrity Letters and Numbers (SBS), triple j and The Feed.
Chris Ryan The world and everyone in it has reduced Chris Ryan to eye rolls and sighing. How are we expected to take anything seriously when everything is so half-arsed? What if the only thing that sparks your joy is another's misfortune? When confronted with fakery, pop psychology and other people's problems, sometimes the only word for it is Good-O.
Daniel Muggleton Known for wearing a tracksuit. His debut special, Let's Never Hang Out, aired multiple times on ABC Comedy in Australia, and is now streaming on Prime Video. "Muggleton goes dark and deep, with intelligence. He admits that on stage he is not everybody's cup of tea. But he certainly is cathartic, and that's the best reason to go to a comedy club," the Newcastle Herald said in a 2022 review of his show in Newcastle.
My Cousin Vlad He returns to Newcastle with his most polished hour after selling out theatres across Australia and shows in Europe and the UK, the DIS/DAT show is a greatest hits of Vlad's shredded takes on society and pop culture. Featuring music, a screen show and unpredictable stage antics, Vlad is ready to make people lose it.
Rohan Arneil A former garbo, his show Top of the Food Chain delivers an hour of jokes and stories from a man who's worked every job known to mankind. The only crowd not to enjoy them has been middle-aged people from Cronulla, and that's OK because Rohan doesn't like them either.
Nick Capper Australia's premier agricultural comedian, Nick Capper, is sick of reinventing the wheel. Now, at the tender age of 40, he's got nothing left to lose - it's time to reinvent the oblong. Don't be a square, come get geometric.
Brett Blake He has the bogan look with his mullet and unpretentious clothing, but there is more to this young comedian than meets the eye. There is a willingness to explore his emotions and in style that still connects with the tough-guy bogan image.
