Stefan Nikolovski brings "Aco Is Ours" to T Arena on 12 December - the biggest hall a Macedonian stand-up comic has ever stepped into

Stefan Nikolovski brings his new stand-up show "Aco Is Ours" to T Arena at the Boris Trajkovski sports centre on 12 December, with Toni Mihajlovski as special guest. It is the largest hall a Macedonian stand-up comic has ever stepped into, and Nikolovski jokes about exactly that in the announcement, wondering out loud how they let him perform in front of that many people at all.

Nikolovski is an actor from Veles, a graduate of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, who won over his audience mostly through short videos impersonating the country's best-known politicians. That material made him one of the most-watched comic names here, but it also tied him to political ground, which is the trickiest ground for comedy in a country where every other viewer already knows which side they are supposed to laugh at. His acting training gives him an edge many stand-up comics lack: he does not just tell jokes, he builds characters.

Guest Toni Mihajlovski is one of the most recognisable faces of Macedonian theatre and film, which shifts the format away from a pure stand-up night toward something closer to a staged performance in two parts. The organisers deliberately give little of the content away in advance, which for a stand-up special is understandable tactics: the material is worth exactly as much as it has not been heard.

The event is on 12 December at 8pm, and kupikarta.com is also selling a second night, Sunday 13 December, again at 8pm in T Arena. Tickets start at 612 denars, with a separate VIP package available, through kupikarta.com. If the hall fills, this will be the largest stand-up crowd ever gathered in one place in Macedonia.