A Saltaire pub will be aiming to serve up a barrel of laughs when it launches Bradford's very own comedy club.

Based at Fanny's Ale and Cider House, the Fnrr Fnrr Comedy Club is the brainchild of Saltaire-based stand-up comic Mark Rough, who plans to use it to showcase local talent and hone his own act.

Earlier this month Mark, 33, made his live debut at Fanny's on the eve of his appearance in the regional final of a talent contest, run by London's famous Comedy Store and entered on a whim.

The freelance training and development consultant, who hails from Sunderland and bases some of his material on his view of life in Saltaire and Bradford from an outsider's point of view, did not win the competition but has since signed up with a Leeds-based entertainment agency.

He already has bookings for clubs as far away as Sheffield and Nottingham and is devoting more and more of his time to comedy.

Mark said: "Most major towns and cities have something like this but Bradford hasn't had a comedy club before.

"The time is now right for it to have one and I think the club will quickly establish itself as part of the live venue scene.

"I've got a lot of new material and having my own club will give me a chance to try it out on a friendly audience and get my act right.

"The club's devoted to comedy - with a bit of live music thrown in too - and over the next few months we'll be looking to showcase a lot of Yorkshire talent.''

Fanny's landlord Marcus Lund said: "Hopefully it's going to prove to be really popular. It's something a little bit different that nobody else in this area seems to be doing.''

The club offers free admission and will be open from 7.30pm on the last Monday of each month.

Mark, of Riverside Court, will be headlining on opening night next Monday - which also features Sheffield-based comedian Anthony J Brown, an 'open mike' slot for would-be comics, and music from The Whitfield Family. He will be MC at future shows.

The club takes its name from a catch phrase made famous by a character in Viz, the irreverent adult comic produced in the North East.

Mark said: "That's how people from the North East laugh and it's now accepted in the comedy world as denoting a bit of a double entendre.''

Aspiring comedians wanting to try an 'open mike' session should call Mark on 0831 297267.

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