Round-up of shows and events

For anyone who has not been to a whist drive before, a short tutorial will be offered before the start of the competition. The fun starts at 7.30pm.

Tel: 01903 238792 for ticket orders. Tickets must be ordered in advance (for catering purposes), and will not be on sale at the door. Adult cost: £5

KOMEDIA’S award-winning comedy night Krater Comedy Club offers Jason Cook, Josh Howie, Jeff Innocent and MC Stephen Grant this weekend (Friday, October 8-Sunday, October 10).

Spokeswoman Emily Coleman said: “You should prepare for anything when razor-sharp Geordie Jason Cook takes to the stage. Jason is also head writer of Soup groundbreaking sketch show and writer of Die Clatterschenkfieternmaus and Malcolm And Mirriam.

“Josh Howie is an ex-public schoolboy, raised as a Buddhist who then trained as a Rabbi before being kicked off the programme for being caught with a naked (non-Jewish) girl, so perhaps it was inevitable that he would go on to become a stand-up comedian.

“Before becoming a standup comedian and actor of note Jeff Innocent has worked variously as a chimney sweep, a fruit and veg stallholder, a fishmonger at Billingsgate Market, a footballer playing inside right for West Ham Utd and a driver for the Kray Twins.”

Krater Comedy Club takes place at Komedia Brighton from Friday, October 8-Sunday, October 10 at 7.30pm (Fri), 7pm and 10.30pm (Sat) and 8pm (Sun). Tickets on 0845 293 8480.

MITCH Benn and his band The Distractions take to the road again this autumn in his sixth and biggestever tour (Komedia, Brighton, October 7, tickets on 01273 647100).

From BBC1 TV’s Watchdog and One Show and BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show, Mitch is regarded as one of the top musical satirical comedians working on the circuit today.

Last year he published his first book with Jon Holmes – A History Of The World Through Twitter (Carlton Books) and contributed to The Now Show Book Of World Records (Orion) and The Atheist’s Guide To Christmas (Harper Collins).

“I STARTED playing with dolls when I was very young”, laughs ventriloquist Paul Zerdin. “I had no friends!

“Actually, that’s just my stock comedy answer,” he admits.

What really lay behind his path to ventriloquism was a huge love of shows such as The Muppets and Sesame Street, explains Paul who plays Horsham and Brighton on his first full UK tour.

“I was a massive fan of those shows growing up. I was just blown away by them. I just knew I wanted to do something involving puppets. Whenever I got a stuffed toy for Christmas, I would always cut it open and make it speak through its mouth!”

The turning point, though, was getting a how-to-do-it book by the man with absolutley the best technique - just a simple book for children, but one which put Paul on the right road.

“Ray Alan was the best”, says Paul. “It’s a matter of speaking without moving your lips. It’s a matter of keeping your lips still, and your tongue takes over. It’s a bit like learning to speak again. It took me two years.”

The other key element, of course, is to have the right creation. Alan famously had his snobbish, drink-soaked Lord Charles. Paul’s show Sponge Fest sees him bring three very different characters to life – the cheeky pre-adolescent Sam, belligerent OAP Albert and precocious infant Baby.

Perhaps a little madnesss also helps - though Paul insists he’s resolutely sane, for the moment.

“I went to a ventriloquists’ convention in Kentucky, and there were 500 ventriloquists there, all completely bonkers. They were booking into hotels with their puppets on their arm, and the puppet was saying ‘Hello, I want a room for two, please!”