Mark Simmons: Jest to Impress

Mark Simmons brings his new show Jest to Impress to the Norwich Theatre Playhouse on Tuesday 3 November, starting at 7:30pm. If you're not familiar with his work, the title is a fair clue: he's a one-liner comedian, so the whole hour is built around back-to-back, finely crafted gags rather than long stories or character sketches. It's the kind of set where the punchlines come one after another, and the one-liner is the only thing on the bill.

He's well-regarded in the one-liner tradition, and the awards back it up. In 2024 he shared Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe with Danny Ward, and in 2022 he picked up the Victoria Wood Panel Prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards and was named Comic's Comic of the Year. Jest to Impress is his latest tour, following Quip Off the Mark, which ran for three years and more than 215 dates across the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, selling over 25,000 tickets.

Beyond the stage, he's worked across TV and radio. He's appeared in ITV's Out There, Mock The Week, BBC Radio 4's Extra Stands Up, a Channel 4 pilot with Bridget Christie and BBC3's One For The Road. He also presents the podcast Jokes With Mark Simmons, where he invites other comics like Rob Beckett, Milton Jones and Seann Walsh to talk about jokes that didn't work.

Tickets are £22.26, and the show runs at the Norwich Theatre Playhouse on St Georges Street, with the 7:30pm start on Tuesday 3 November.