Ciaran Shea: Your Worst Nightmare

Ciaran Shea brings his first-ever work-in-progress show to Barley Twist on Sunday 8 November. It's a stand-up comedy set built around his particular brand of quirky storytelling, and as a work-in-progress, it's a first look at material he's still shaping rather than a polished, road-tested hour.

Shea is an up-and-coming Midlands comic, and this show draws on a few recurring themes from his life: a love of film, a tragic track record in romance, and a talent for disappointing his parents. He's performed alongside some of the bigger names on the circuit, and the description that follows him around is that he's the funniest comic who sort of looks like Mr Bean.

Because it's a work-in-progress, the night is as much about the process as the punchlines. You'll see the material in a state it rarely gets to be — new bits being tried out, stories being tweaked, and the kind of unpredictable surprises that come when a comic is still figuring out exactly where a set is heading. It's a different way to see a show: you're in the room while the hour is still coming together.

The show is for 15+ only. Doors open at 4:40pm, with the performance starting at 5:00pm and running for an hour. Tickets are £5 plus booking fee.