So it's not surprising that his latest show, Carl Barron - Skating Rink for Flies, will have seven performances at the Civic Theatre between July 7 and August 5, followed by two at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on August 6 and 7, with the latter date added recently given the number of ticket sales.

Many of Barron's routines are based on things he asked his parents and other adults about when he was a child, among them plastic bags, peanut butter, and the possible emotions of ants. He never received responses, of course, but as he grew older he kept coming up with ideas about them. And when he begins talking about them, he has many watchers sitting on their seats and wondering if he is right, rather than initially laughing loudly, with his words bringing out more and more laughter.

Barron is impressed by the responses he gets in Newcastle, stating recently that "when I go to Newcastle I always feel like I'm playing to people who really get me. I never take it for granted and really appreciate it."

So it's again not surprising that one of the many DVDs featuring his routines that have been put together, Carl Barron: Drinking With a Fork, was filmed in what its promoters noted was "the beautiful Newcastle Civic Theatre", with guitar music interlinking the routines. The subjects on that occasion included, among others, annoying birds, bad joggers, and whistling while you talk.

Barron, who recently had his 57th birthday, was the son of a sheep shearer and grew up in Longreach, Queensland. When he finished school he worked as a roof tiler for 17 years before becoming a comedian, something he wanted to do when he was a kid. His comedy skills led to him being voted in 1993 as Comic of the Year and Best Up and Coming Talent.

He has regularly had sold-out shows at events including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and he appeared in many TV shows, among them Good News Week and Rove, and has been in many TV commercials. And he has presented his comedy shows around the world, doing shows in New York, London, Singapore, Edinburgh, Auckland and many other cities. After he performed in Canada's Montreal, watchers' votes put him in the top 30 most popular comedians to have appeared in that city's prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival.

Carl Barron - Skating Rink for Flies runs for 85 minutes, without an interval. It is recommended for people aged 18 and over, with both Newcastle venues saying that no babes in arms are permitted.

The Civic shows are on Wednesday and Thursday, July 7 and 8, Saturday and Sunday, July 10 and 11, Tuesday and Wednesday, July 13 and 14, and Thursday, August 5. They all begin at 8pm. All the tickets are $79.90. Bookings: 4929 1977.

The Newcastle Entertainment Centre shows are on Friday and Saturday, August 6 and 7, at 8pm, with ticket prices depending on where watchers sit: A Reserve $89.90, B Reserve $79.90, C Reserve $69.90.

Bookings: ticketek.com.au; ticketing enquiries 4921 2121.

NEWCASTLE Theatre Company, which was initially known as Newcastle Repertory Club, moved between different staging venues from the time it was founded in 1957 until it bought a closed Rechabite Hall in De Vitre Street, Lambton, and converted it to a theatre in 1968, with the first show it staged there being Richard Beynon's moving Australian classic about Italian migrants, The Shifting Heart.

Since then, there has been no more shifting, with the company's very vibrant heart attracting audience members from Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Valley to come to Lambton to see the shows and often going to the suburb's shops before and after the performances. So it's not surprising that NTC has put together a show for this week's Love Lambton celebrations, which mark the 150th year since Lambton was incorporated as a municipality after a Scottish-Australian mining company developed a coalmine in the area.

The show, Lambton: The Walking Play, will take people on an hour-long walking tour, with historic figures, dressed in the garb of their lifetimes, appearing at nine of Lambton's classic buildings, singing songs, reciting poems and telling stories. Lambton founder and mine manager Thomas Croudace, portrayed by Stewart McGowan, will start the proceedings, talking about his vision for the town. The other characters are a miner (David Gubbay), Miss Lilly, a schoolteacher (Melanie Stirling), a boy soldier (Bryn McGowan), a wench (Rebecca Skinner), a Welsh preacher (Michael Blaxland), Willie's mother (Tracey Gordon), a Rechabite leader (Vanessa McArthur), a Rechabite supporter (Robyn Greenwell), Sam, a poet and stablehand (Trevor Burndred), Miss Thirza Payne (Judy Kiem), Old Ma Nelly (Katy Carruthers), a storekeeper (Stephen Box), and "Lambton Loveliness" (Susan Dredge).

The walking tours will begin at the historic Newcastle Family History Society building, at 68 Elder Street, opposite Lambton Park. While the walking tours, which are free, initially were only scheduled to begin at 10am, 10.30am and 11am, on Saturday and Sunday, June 26 and 27, the demand for tickets led NTC to add another walk, starting at 10.15am. Contact NTC's office, 4952 4958, to find out if tickets are available.

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