NEWS: Alun Cochrane @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall

It isn’t the first time I’ve banged the drum for them, but I can’t understate the brilliance of Hilarity Bites when it comes to being one of the region’s, and indeed one of the country’s, finest purveyors of all things side-splitting and grin-inducing.

Take the line-up at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Friday 17^th February for example: headliner Alun Cochrane will almost certainly be familiar to anyone who’s slightly dipped their toes in the panel show waters, with his “no-nonsense comedy about funny nonsense” having taken him as far as Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Dave’s One Night Stand, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock The Week and Live At The Comedy Store. His unique brand of comedy takes the mundane, everyday aspects of life, turning them on their heads and finding the goldmine hiding within. Support comes from Pete Selwood, whose witty explorations of twenty-something British gloom has bagged him the (deep breath) Lawrence Batley New Yorkshire Comedian of the Year, and local fave Lee Kyle, a former male Spice Girls tribute act, turned professional wrestler, turned professional comedian. There will also be an (as yet unannounced) newcomer thrown into the mix, making for one hell of a proving ground.

Alun Cochrane, Pete Selwood and Lee Kyle perform at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Friday 17^th February.