After a three-year absence, the Newcastle Comedy Festival is back, and this time it's all happening under one roof. Nick Morrison reports.

YOU might have thought it would be hard to attract some of the top names in comedy to a festival far away from stand-up central in London, but you'd be wrong. Unless you took the Lorraine Brown approach, that is.

"It's surprisingly easy when you beg," she laughs.

As director of the Newcastle Comedy Festival, Lorraine has been charged not just with reviving a once annual event, which has not been held for three years, but with turning it into one of the biggest of its kind in Europe.

The line-up for this year's festival features some of the most popular performers on the circuit, as well as several household names, including Pub Landlord Al Murray, Julian Clary, Richard Whiteley, Ross Noble, Jimmy Carr, Ed Byrne and Dylan Moran.

Begging aside, Lorraine says one of the keys to securing such a strong line-up was in holding all the shows at one location.

Previous festivals used venues across the city, but this year everything takes place in Exhibition Park, at the bottom end of the Town Moor. The main auditorium is a 1,000-seater theatre marquee, but the "Festival Village", the first of its kind in Europe, also includes beer tents, street theatre and a food court.

"The comedians really like this format. It is the first time a village has been created, so rather than being on the road on their own all the time, there are other comedians to talk to," says Lorraine.

"And it also means that people can come and have a drink, have something to eat, watch street entertainment and maybe then go and see a show. It is making it much more accessible."

In its previous incarnation, the festival ran from 1993, but lack of funding meant it was last held in 2000. This year's more compact version has also made it easier to attract sponsors.

"There was always an audience, but, as with any arts event, it is very difficult to make ends meet just with ticket sales. You need sponsorship to keep your head above water, and festivals are not the cheapest things to run," Lorraine says.

She says Newcastle audiences are popular with many comedians, and for a number of this year's acts it will be something of a homecoming, with North-East performers Richard Morton, Gavin Webster, Dave Johns and Ross Noble all appearing over the 11 days.

"Everybody has been desperate to get the festival back and get it established, and the comedians definitely love it here," she adds.

"The Newcastle festival has a fantastic reputation. It was a really good festival before, and everyone is very excited about the village feel to it now."

Newcastle's event faces more competition than when it was last held, with York and Liverpool just two of the cities to have launched their own comedy festivals in recent years, but Lorraine is confident that it will become a leading fixture on the comedy scene.

"I think we can undoubtedly be the biggest and best," she says. "We have got the backing from the comedians, we have got a very good format, and a lot of the other festivals are much smaller.

"Tickets are flying out the door, and it is nice to think that people want the festival back."

* Newcastle Comedy Festival runs from October 1-10 at Exhibition Park, Newcastle. Tickets and information: 0191-246 2565 or www.newcastlecomedyfestival.com