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• You'll die laughing: Joel Creasey and frightening friends Barry Hall, Merv Hughes and Gamble Breaux celebrate Halloween with a frightful night out Among the many perks of being a comedian with a growing profile is being able to invite all your friends to perform at your party – and paying them for their services. Joel Creasey will do just that on Saturday, when he hosts his fifth and biggest Halloween party at the Athenaeum. His ragtag "cast of thousands" includes comedian Em Rusciano​, his I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here cohorts Chrissie Swan, Barry Hall and Merv Hughes, and Gamble Breaux​, the quirky blonde star of Real Housewives of Melbourne. "There are 12 acts in total and a few surprises – all the ushers are drag queens," says Creasey, who recently hosted the Just for Laughs comedy gala in Montreal and is performing in the New York Comedy Festival in a fortnight. Only one act at Creasey's Halloween bash is not a "friend" as such – singer Amanda Harrison, who played Elphaba in Wicked. "I felt so cheeky to ask her to come along and sing Defying Gravity," Creasey says. "Apparently her cabaret show is all about her refusing to sing the song at parties. So somehow I've convinced her to come along and sing it, I'm pretty thrilled." Breaux is a relatively recent acquaintance of Creasey's; the pair met at the Logies earlier this year. "I'm obsessed with the Housewives, because I have a pulse, and Gamble's my favourite housewife," Creasey says. Breaux, an aspiring comic, will perform what Creasey calls "assisted standup". Drag queens in the audience will ask her questions in an advice segment called Ask Gamble. It is uncertain whether or not she will be accompanied by her dog, a fluffy Pomeranian called Cash. "The theme of her costume is Ghosts of Derby Days Past," Creasey says. "She said on Instagram that she wants to scare people and simultaneously turn them on." There will be scant props in the form of jack-o'-lanterns on hay bales (with LED lights, not candles) on stage, but the overall theme is a far cry from fright night. "A Halloween party run by a gay man is never going to be about being scary, it's all about looking good," Creasey says. He is dressing up as Clark Kent/Superman. He hopes his party will appeal to those at a loose end and anyone who likes a drink and a laugh. "Halloween is one of those things, it's like New Year's, you never know what you're going to do ... you know what you're going to be doing later on in the night, you're going to be kissing someone dressed as an astronaut, but what are you going to be doing before that?"