Paul Merton: He's been away from straight stand-up for a long time now, due to television commitments but back in his day (the late 1980s) he was one of the brightest and most imaginative comics on the circuit. A lot of people will be going along to see him out of sheer curiosity value but if his new stuff is anywhere near as good as the old stuff, expect something of the roof-raising variety. (Waterfront, Fri 7.30 p.m., Sat 8 p.m., Sun 8 p.m.)

Bill Bailey : Quite simply one of the best comics around. Bailey has built up his act slowly over a number of years and only really got himself out of "cult" status when he narrowly missed out on a Perrier award to Dylan Moran at Edinburgh two years ago. Musical parodies and explosively funny rants aimed at whoever and whatever comes into his head combine in a top drawer show. (Watergate, Sun 9.30 p.m.)

Gerry Sadowitz : A bit on the mad side, but never mind. Glaswegian Sadowitz is the scourge of the PC brigade with his hate-filled rants on anything that annoys the liberal consensus. He's also one of the best close-up magic performers in the world. Unmissable. (Langtons Garden, Sat 8.15 p.m., Sun 8.15 p.m.

Rich Hall : A very dry and very laconic American who reaches the places others comics don't even know about. A very skilled stage performance, which he built up on the Letterman show. It allows him to go comedy walkabout on a diverse range of subjects, all connected by his quick-witted comic mind. (Cleer's Thurs 8 p.m.)

Johnny Vegas : Came from nowhere to dominate the circuit in the last 12 months. Part auto-biographical, part character driven comedy, Vegas speaks in metaphors, messes about with his potter's wheel and sings showbiz standards in between explaining how he became what he is today. A genius in the making. (Cleer's, Fri 9.45 p.m., Sat 11 p.m., Sun 11 p.m.)