Bizarre Newcastle: Stories of our Town

Bizarre Newcastle is coming to the King Street Hotel on Thursday 1 October, a world premiere short film that digs into some of the stranger corners of the city's past. It's part of Stories of Our Town, a documentary series that's been running for more than eight years, uncovering Newcastle's history one extraordinary tale at a time and collecting dozens of stories too outrageous and strange to fit anywhere else. The films are the work of local filmmakers Chit Chat von Loopin Stab (Glenn from Waratah) and Tony Whittaker, whose contribution was celebrated in the Australian Parliamentary Hansard by the Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon MP. The series has screened at the Newcastle Art Gallery and the Newcastle Maritime Museum, and the filmmakers run a YouTube channel and a Patreon.

This particular film was commissioned by New Annual for the 2026 festival and was compiled by Gionni Di Gravio OAM, University Archivist and Chair of Hunter Living Histories. He drew on interviews with local storytellers Carol Duncan OAM, Barney Collins, Dr Ann Hardy, Dr Ross Kerridge, Robert Watson and Stephen from Smith Pinball, so the stories come from people who know the city's oddities first-hand. The screening is followed by live cabaret and music from Sandman (aka Steve Abbott), Christa Hughes, DJ Maynard and Pucko, with the whole night hosted by Chit Chat.

The evening is for ages 18+ and is wheelchair accessible from the ground floor. Doors open at 6:30pm, with the show starting at 7:00pm and running for about 120 minutes. Tickets are A$45 standard and A$30 concession.