It’s the celebration of the chuckle that has been splitting Novocastrian sides for the past four years.
And next month, the Newcastle Comedy Festival will make a welcome return to the city to give audiences a healthy dose of laughter across a huge four weeks.
In fact, this year is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best yet with a stacked program featuring more than 70 shows at various venues across the city.
And to kick things off, the Civic Theatre will play host to a star-studded gala on Saturday 27 May, headlined by festival veteran and writer, actor and radio and tv presenter Tommy Little.
Little will also be joined by fellow funnyman and The Project alum Michael Hing who is also one half of the Triple J drive duo Hobba and Hing with Lewis Hobba.
A self-described terrible party guest, Michael also admits he’s not very good in group situations, or one-on-one, or by himself, unless there’s some sort of organised activity to keep us distracted from the void that lives and grows within us all.
The stacked gala line-up also features The Chaser’s musical maestro Andrew Hansen, Tom Cashman from Taskmaster Australia, Ivan Aristeguieta, Nick Cody, Chris Ryan, Nick Capper, Julia Wilson and Page Halley.
Newcastle fans of comedy and camp are in for an extra special treat as Newcastle’s own drag queen royalty Timberlina will also be taking to the stage to add some essential glitz to such a glittering occasion.
All of this hilarity will be jam-packed into a two-hour show that is definitely not one to miss!
The Newcastle Comedy Festival Gala is on at the Civic Theatre on Saturday 27 May. The festival will run for four weeks until Sunday 25 June. Tickets for the gala and all Newcastle Comedy Festival shows are on sale now. Head here for more information.