Laugh your way into spring
Fed up of the winter doom and gloom? Start the year laughing with our guide to comedy nights across Shropshire and the West Midlands this spring.
Fed up of the winter doom and gloom? Start the year laughing with our guide to comedy nights across Shropshire and the West Midlands this spring.
January 16: Critically acclaimed Londoner Stephen K Amos brings his sell-out show Find the Funny to Oakengates Theatre. Described as "inspiring, acutely clever and irresistibly funny," Amos loves youthful enthusiasm and seeks to make every person in the audience grab life by the lapels and make it what they want it to be. Call the box office on (01952) 382382.
January 23: The Civic Hall's comedy club, Laughing Matters, returns with a trio of top stand-ups in the Civic Hall Bar. Josh Widdicombe (pictured above) will be joined by Steve Hall and Mitch Benn, with Steve Evans acting as MC. Tickets cost £6 for the show, with an option of paying £3 extra for a combined ticket for the show with entry to the Cheeky Monkey club night afterwards. Call the box office on 0870 320 7000.
February 17: Cheeky northern comedian and team captain on Jimmy Carr's hit TV show 8 out of 10 Cats, Jason Manford, calls in at Shrewsbury's sparkling new Theatre Severn for an evening of giggles. The show marks the first of several comedy events happening at the new venue this year. Call the box office on (01743) 281281.
February 28: Touted as Chippenham's "finest and most unique voice on the stand-up circut", Perrier Award-winning comedian Wil Hodgson will be at Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Hall on February 28. Wil is a former professional wrestler who turned to stand-up a few years ago and hasn't looked back. Tickets are priced £6, or £9 with entry to the Blast Off night club after the show). Call the box office on 0870 320 7000.
March 14: Pappy's Fun Club, who took the Edinburgh Fringe Festival by storm last year, are touted as Britain's funniest new sketch troupe. They've appeared on Radio 4 and Channel 4, as well as winning the Chortle award for Best Sketch Act, and they'll be performing at Wolverhampton's Little Civic on March 14. Tickets priced £10. Call the box office on 0870 320 7000.
March 27: Irish funnyman Ed Byrne arrives at Telford's Oakengates Theatre as part of his Different Class stand-up tour. Colourfully described as "Half toff, half pikey…all comic!", Byrne's blisteringly funny one-man show talks about marriage, class, the youth of today and anything else that strikes him as humorous. Tickets priced £15. Call the box office on (01952) 382382.
March 29: Richard Herring pops into Wolverhampton's Little Civic on his latest tour, entitled The Headmaster's Son, on March 29. The show explores Richard's youth with his hilarious recollections of awkward school days at a time when his father was the headmaster. Tickets priced £14. Call the box office on 0870 320 7000.