Funhouse Comedy Club - Comedy Night

Funhouse Comedy Club is back in Nottingham on Saturday 14 November, with Daliso Chaponda taking the top of the bill. He's joined by David Tsonos and Ian Crawford, with Spiky Mike on the mic as compere. The night runs from 20:00 to 23:00 at The Merchant of Venice, inside the Patchings Art Centre on Oxton Road, NG14 6NU.

Daliso Chaponda is a Malawian comedian and writer who first made his name in Canada with the one-man show Feed This Black Man. He later finished third in Britain's Got Talent before landing his own BBC Radio 4 show. He'll be the headliner for the night, with Tsonos and Crawford opening and Spiky Mike keeping things moving between the sets.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, the club itself is a Nottingham institution. Funhouse was started in 2003 by Spiky Mike, who still runs it. Over the years it's been a stepping stone for a long list of comedians who went on to the top: Sarah Millican, Rhod Gilbert, Romesh Ranganathan, Josh Widdicombe, Zoe Lyons, Scott Bennett, Josh Pugh and Gary Delaney all played here on their way up, and Joe Lycett and James Acaster among them. Rhod Gilbert once described the club's nights as 'among the best anywhere in the world'. It's picked up 'Best Midlands Comedy Club' twice, from Chortle and The Midlands Comedy Awards, and in 2023, pro circuit comedians voted it Best Independent Comedy Promoter in the UK. These days it runs stand-up nights at more than 40 venues and festivals across the country, as well as booking comedians for private functions.

Doors open at 19:30 and the show starts at 20:00, so you've got half an hour to get settled before the first act. Tickets are £20 for general admission, with an early bird price of £15 if you book ahead.