THE old Hollywood saying goes that the sequel is never as funny as the original, but that isn't the case with the Newcastle Comedy Festival.
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Television hosts and comedians Rove McManus, Tom Ballard and Matt Okine are among the star-studded line-up confirmed for the expanded second edition of the Newcastle Comedy Festival.
While last year's festival was held across three nights, the next edition will cover an entire week.
The festival opens with a gala night at the Civic Theatre on May 16, which will be hosted by McManus.
Comedians performing at the opening gala include Newcastle's Rhys Nicholson, Andy Saunders, Ballard, Luke Heggie, Nick Cody, Nina Oyama and Sarah Gaul.
The festival will finish on May 23 with another gala night at the Civic Theatre featuring Okine, Nazeem Hussain, Cameron James, Nikki Britton, Nick Capper, Aaron Gocs and Cameron Duggan.
In between the two galas, comedians will also perform solo shows across the week at venues around the Newcastle CBD.
Newcastle Comedy Festival organiser Andrew Milos says the success of the inaugural event, which featured Tommy Little, Gen Fricker, Neel Kolhatkar, Gocs and Heggie, made it easier to lure big-name comedians.
Along with the agents, the comedians were reaching out to me, which was awesome.
- Andrew Milos
"Along with the agents, the comedians were reaching out to me, which was awesome," Milos says.
"I sort of had to pick through the lot and it took me a long time to put these line-ups together.
"I was really proud of the one this year, but it was me reaching out to people and saying 'come on this journey with me', but the outreach this time was much better."
The City Of Newcastle will again be the major sponsor of the festival.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
