Judith Lucy really wants to know.

Her friend of 30-plus years author Kaz Cooke is equally intrigued because she has such fond memories of the city.

Compared to the rest of the country, Wollongong's lagging behind on ticket sales for Kaz and Jude's Menopausal Night Out.

"Seriously, we're going all over the country and everywhere else is selling fast," Lucy explained. "People have jumped on board but it's like the Gong's gone: 'nope, no menopausal women here'."

They know otherwise and will hit the Town Hall on May 25 regardless.

Borne from Cooke's 2023 book It's the Menopause, the onetime Sydney breakfast radio buddies combine skills sets for the night.

There's the educational element which Cooke's extensive research supplies. Her latest book is her female-focused work on health and life's stages - and is written for broad consumption with a dollop of humour.

And then there's Lucy's self-effacing stand-up comedy which knows few bounds.

It makes the show, the comedian said "almost like being at some sort of evangelical get-together".

"It's kind of Hillsong but for people with dry vagina."

If that's a bit confrontational, fear not.

Having tested audiences in Melbourne, the pair thoroughly enjoyed themselves, loved the after-show chats and received high-praise from a valued source, Cooke's 25-year-old daughter.

"When she told me how much she loved the camaraderie and seeing people go for it the Q and A session, I was thrilled."

Cooke, who for some generations of Australian women is part-educator, part-friend, wants the night to be one of honesty.

"For many people they've been kind of ashamed of menopause as being something that they're too scared to talk about - even with their doctor sometimes.

"So that's a great feeling to be able to get that drag that out into the open."

And it's not just menopause, hot flushes, bad sex and brain fog. There's perimenopause, too.

"Oh look, it's hellish," Cooke says.

"Are you even in menopause? Are you out of menopause? Are you pre? Post? What does it mean?

"There's a whole lot of symptoms that you might not know have to do with menopause.

"People think they're going crazy, they think their anxiety and rage and no sleep is just a mental problem.

"They don't realise it's a physical hormonal problem and this can happen to people in their 40s."

Lucy, who has chronicled her life in stand-up shows and over the years, says she pleaded with Cooke to address menopause.

"I was very deep into the menopause journey when I read the book and I still learned so much," she said, going on to acknowledge it was rare for her to be involved in a project as funny as it is informative.

"It took me to, until I was in my mid-50s to actually turn around and ask myself, 'what do I want my life to look like?'.

"I don't think I'm alone."

And you get to ask questions. But for those audience participation averse people, again, fear not.

Lucy emphasises that audience members make the decision to opt in, Cooke says just as her books aim to reassure people, the Q and A is "very much a chat and a laugh".