The 16th Inaugural Chaser Lecture with Bassem Youssef

Overview

When you're invited over for dinner, it can be a bit hit and miss. Sure, the lamb casserole was to die for, but having to listen to your brother-in-law's best friend tell the tale of how he once-upon-a-time sort of met Sasha from The Bachelorette was mind-numbingly trivial. Thankfully, the team behind The Chaser have upped the stakes and invited internationally renowned and respected comedian (and all-round great human being) Bassem Youssef to The 16th Inaugural Chaser Lecture and Dinner they're hosting at Sydney Town Hall.

For those of you unfamiliar with Youssef, he's basically the Jon Stewart of the Arab World (like literally, that's his nickname). For those of you unfamiliar with Jon Stewart, Bassam Youssef is one of his heroes.

Formerly a cardiothoracic surgeon in his native country of Egypt, Youssef swapped surgery for satire (as you do) and began hosting Al Bernameg, a Middle Eastern program that boldly and brilliantly exposed the lives of Egypt's ruling elites. What began as a 5-minute YouTube show during the Arab Spring blossomed into an internationally acclaimed show with over 30 million viewers a week until Youssef and his family were forced to flee Egypt for their safety. While the show was terminated due to political pressure, Youssef has flourished since — he was named in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2013 and won the International Press Freedom Award that same year.

Egypt's loss is our gain, so make sure you grab your tickets to what promises to be an eye-opening conversation (after a delicious dinner) between Bassem Youssef and The Chaser's Julian Morrow. With all funds raised from the event being used to support the freedom of expression campaigns of global human rights charity Article 19, it's definitely worth spending the $330 (including formal dinner) or $80 (gallery seat only).