World's Funniest Island

The line up for World's Funniest Island gets better and better with the news that Arj Barker has been added to the bill, along with local comedy legends Greg Fleet, Simon Palomares and Peter Berner, US star Greg Shapiro, UK laughsmiths UK Tony Bailey and Paul Warnes and Tim Ross' cock-rock comedy band Black Rose.
In fact, there's well over 200 performances, comedy guided tours, 14 indoor venues, four outdoor venues and plenty of food and drink, the stats don't lie: Cockatoo Island is the unofficial sponsor of laughter over the weekend. The impressive line-up also includes the legendary UK comedy masters The Goodies, UK comedy legend, novelist and Young Ones star Alexei Sayle who will be appearing at an "Audience with" event and performing comic readings from his range of novels.

Also starring is a selection of much-loved veterans of The Big Gig - Jean Kittson, Anthony Ackroyd and Wendy Harmer, and the musically-adept entertainment duo Scared Weird Little Guys. The Muslim trio Allah Made Me Funny will provide a provocative insight into an unseen America on Saturday and Sunday, using their heritage, religion and society as source material. Sunday sees three comedians join forces, with the charming Sydneysider Akmal Saleh teaming up with the acclaimed observational comic Jimeoin and an as yet unannounced mystery guest. Alongside all of this, the festival also boasts appearances from the comedy-punk blend Die Roten Punkte, the Chaser's Andrew Hansen, local radio larrikins Merrick & Rosso and the two-man scientist team The Sleek Geeks.