The evenings are dark, the temperatures are dropping and winter knocking at the door. Don't be downhearted though there are lots of opportunities to put a smile on your face. SIMON PARKIN highlights some of the region's best comedy nights.
Mark Steel
Norwich Playhouse, November 11-12, 8pm, £15, 01603 598598, www.norwichplayhouse.co.uk Based on his Sony Award-winning Radio 4 comedy show, the writer and stand-up comedian is back on the road and has been a regular visitor to this region already this autumn. He is on a mission to shed light on the quirkiness of Norwich. 'I love the rivalries that are so deeply rooted in every town,' he says, so expect plenty of material about the origins of age-old rivalry between Norwich and Ipswich.
Jimmy Carr
Cambridge Corn Exchange, November 8, 8pm, £25, 01223 357851, cornex.co.uk One the biggest faces in comedy — literally, continues his seemingly never ending national tour with another trip up the A11. Though he needs no introduction to TV audiences becoming a regular on almost every panel game not to mention all those 'Greatest Ever…' list programmes, this can disguise the fact that he's a great technical comic and quite a connoisseur of the great gag having co-written the excellent history of the joke book, The Naked Jape. This latest show picks up that theme and is packed with more than usual one-liners.
Ross Noble
King's Lynn Corn Exchange, November 8, 8pm, £25, 01553 764864, www.kingslynncornexchange.co.uk/Ipswich Regent, November 9, 8pm, £27.50, 01473 433100, www.ipwichregent.co.uk Following 14 sell-out tours, the king of improvisational comedy is back with another mind-blowing show, Tangentleman. With an on-stage presence like no other, his exuberance, spontaneity and cerebral style have established him as one of Britain's best-loved comedians. The master surrealist uses an infinite imagination and plenty of tomfoolery, which is sure to have audiences in fits of laughter. With his hotly anticipated TV show, Ross Noble Freewheeling, currently on Dave and the DVD release of his previous sell-out tour, Mindblender, out on November 18, these tickets are in high demand, but at the time of writing their were still a handful available. Be quick!
Fat Cat Comedy Club
The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, November 9, 8pm, £12, 01284 758000, theapex.co.uk Bury's monthly comedy night heads into the winter months with perhaps its most diverse line-up ever. Cutting their teeth compering and performing in comedy and variety nights, Raymond & Mr. Timpkins Revue amuse and bemuse in equal measure. Paul Myrehaug is a successful Canadian stand-up that you might have seen on TV. Wayne Deakin is another of those international comics who as well as being a headliner at all Australian comedy venues, also tours constantly throughout the USA and Canada.
Noel Fielding
Cambridge Corn Exchange, November 13, 8pm, £27.50, 01223 357851, cornex.co.uk Noel Fielding embarks on his first live tour in five years: An Evening with Noel Fielding. Expect a magical mix of Noel's unique brand of surreal comedy, live animation, music and some of Fielding's best known TV characters such as The Moon and Fantasy Man. His comedy has seen him perform in venues all over the world win numerous awards, including Perrier Best Newcomer, The Barry Humphries Award at The Melbourne Comedy Festival and The Douglas Adams Award for innovative writing, and appear on TV shows such as Michael Mcintyre's Roadshow, QI and, of ocurse, as a team captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. You'd be a fool to miss out, take your nan, fancy dress optional…
Shappi Khorsandi
Norwich Playhouse, November 13-14, 8pm, £15, 01603 598598, norwichplayhouse.co.uk Feisty, flirty and effortlessly funny, the star of Live At The Apollo returns with her show Because I'm Shappi. After being knocked up like a 1950s teenager, Shappi missed 2013 - but now she is back and it's forward march. Reflecting on the good things, she celebrates her haphazard, zig-zag towards her dreams. Along the way she introduces us to friends, family and total strangers who have helped her on her personal Yellow Brick Road. She has whip-crack jokes and is effortlessly funny as she handles every subject with a razor sharp wit, softened only by her deliciously mischievous delivery and endless charm.
Stephen K Amos
St George's Theatre, Great Yarmouth, November 13, 8pm, £17, 01493 331484, www.stgeorgestheatre.com The maestro of feelgood comedy is back with his new show Welcome To My World. Known for his warm-hearted wit and room-filling effervescence, Stephen puts the cha-cha in charm and the pow! in polite. But some may have noticed that behind that crisp 'n' clean exterior dwells an altogether different animal. He's a deep-thinking, problem-spotting and question-asking sort of gentleman, and believes the time is nigh to invite the public to meet this inner friend of his. He's been expecting you. He promises his touring show is very different to his TV work. 'This is unedited and in the moment,' he said. 'There is no edit button. If something happens there and then, you just run with it.'
KL Comedy Club
King's Lynn Corn Exchange, November 13, 8.45pm, £9.50, 01553 764864, www.kingslynncornexchange.co.uk This King's Lynn comedy night is always popular. This month's line-up of top talent from the touring circuit includes Essex boy John Ryan, an Edinburgh Highlight award winner. Drawing on the most embarrassing recesses of his own life, James Loveridge is a storyteller who captivates and entertains audiences with his cheeky yet charming personality. Hailing from Dewsbury, charming northerner Craig Murray is one of the hottest rising talents on the comedy circuit who cut his comedy teeth as resident compere at award-winning London club The Funny Side...of Covent Garden, sharing a stage and learning from the best including Harry Hill, Stewart Lee and even the late, great Robin Williams.
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