THE Comedy Club takes place at the Promenade Suite in the Villa Marina, Douglas, tonight (Thursday).

The MC for the over 18s event is Barry Castagnola, a comedian, actor and writer who has firmly established himself as an accomplished comic performer.

His easy-going - yet very physical - style, mixing personal anecdotes with some sharp topical and political comment, enthuses audiences at most of the major comedy clubs in the UK.

As well as being a popular compere, Barry regularly headlines gigs. He has performed in New York, Ireland, The Melbourne Comedy Festival, Glastonbury and The Reading Festival. TV stand up credits includes The Stand Up Show (BBC1) and Net.Comedy (Carlton).

The opening act is Imran Yusuf who organisers say is "renowned for his stinging, lyrical street-slang verbiage and super-high energy performance that triggers an eruption of belly-aching laughter".

Born in Mombasa, Kenya and raised in the UK for the most part with a brief stint at school in the USA - and having travelled much of the world including Israel/Palestine, Jordan and Saudi Arabia during the Lebanon Crisis in 2006 - Imran encompasses a rich multitude of cultural assets from across the planet that defines him as a youthful, energetic and original voice that embodies the cultural wealth that exists in modern Britain.

The headline act is Stefano Paolini who is described by the Comedy Club as "undoubtedly one of Britain's youngest and brightest new impressionist comedians".

He was runner up in Channel 4's So You Think You’re Funny competition.

The following year in 2002, he was awarded the runner up accolade in the BBC New Comedy Awards.

On television he featured regularly on The Ralph Little Show (BBC3) and voiced a variety of personalities including Tony Blair on Double Take (BBC2). He has also guested on the Jo Whiley Show (BBC Radio 1) and LBC.

Tickets are £15 (£12.50 for members) and are available from the Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal, Douglas, and the ticket hotline on 600555.