tel 01947 603509 to buy in advance (recommended)

Saturday July 4th   

Alun Cochrane, Barry Dodds, Sam Gore & MC : Dave Twentyman

Alun Cochrane
Headlining our very first night is the star of  BBC 2’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks, BBC 1’s Have I Got News For You  and Mock The Week,Channel 4's 8 Out Of 10 Cats and Radio 4’s Just A Minute -
Observational comedy, droll storytelling and fantasy all collideto create very funny sort-of-jokes amusingly articulated byarguably the best comedian you've never heard of. ....unless you have heard him, in which case you are probably a member of the growing gang of people for whom Alun Cochraneis 'that comedian that's very funny, often about weird stuff that other people don't really talk about.'
Alun will be performing an hour long set, which will be a preview of his brand new show -
Alun Cochrane is a daydreamer (at night).
“one of the best you’ll see this year … deserves to be a huge star” *****  - Mirror

 Barry Dodds
Barry Dodds has forged an enviable reputation for himself over the
past few years, charming audiences nationwide, with his uniquely
tailored combination of disarming Geordie wit and wry, down-to-
earth observational humour.
A finalist in both the Jimmy Carr Comedy Idol competition, and
Jongleurs Last Laugh Comedy search, and a semi-finalist in the
BBC New talent Awards 2005 - Barry has taken the national
circuit by storm, with his mix of surprisingly dark and irrepressibly
cheeky material.Fascinated by stand-up from an early age, Barry took
to the stage at the tender age of 21, and is now a firm audience
favourite at clubs such as The Stand, The Frog and Bucket, Opus, XS
Malarkey and many more. With material covering everything from failed culture bids to an obsession with ghosthunting. In 2006 Barry jetted off to
Luxembourg where he performed a solo show - and became the first ever
comedian to perform on Luxembourg TV.
"Razor sharp humour"- Metro "winning friends with his energy and spirit…" - Chortle

Sam Gore
The Hilarity Bites New Act of 2008 brings  some of the darkest comedy thatyou're likely to hear for a while to Whitby.
Sam is fresh, original and most importantly very, very funny!
"...this relative rookie has the makings of a class act indeed" - Chortle
"...aloof and uncompromising in his distain for all that displeases him,
letting rip with a savage battery of acrid bile" - Chortle

 MC Dave Twentyman
Currently riding high on the UK comedy scene, Dave is one of the most affableand naturally gifted comedians you'll see this year. Dave's strengths are hisimprovisation & interaction delivered with genuine warmth & charm, all theingredients needed for a natural compere.
He is one of the best things to come out of St.Helens from a long list that alreadyincludes Rugby League, Johnny Vegas, glass, The Transport Museum & Margaret off the Weakest Link.
"Superb, naturally funny" - The Hyena
"Quick on his feet, reminsence of a young Johnny Vegas" - The Frog & Bucket "Very funny, lovely young man" - XFM

Saturday July 11th:

great double Edinburgh preview show:

tickets £7.50 tel 0845 3732760

The Pete Firman Magic Show

The UK's No.1 comedian / magician returns with his biggest show yet. Star of Channel 4’s ‘Dirty Tricks’ and Five’s ‘Monkey Magic’ Pete Firman brings his unique brand of anarchic magic and off-beat comedy to Hilarity Bites as he prepares to take his biggest show yet to the Edinburgh Festival.

Big tricks and big laughs from "The MySpace generation's Tommy Cooper" (Scotsman)

"Gob-smackingly talented" - Metro"The man from Middlesbrough sets the pace for comedy-meets-magic in the 21st Century" - The Times"Putting the pimp back into magic" - List "He is the funniest and by far the most accomplished performer on the New Magic scene...funnier than most comedians and more magical than Dumbledore on a good day. This guy is a complete star." - Time OutThe audience is caught between guffawing laughter and amazed gasps" - The Guardian

 Jimmy McGhie

Rising star Jimmy McGhie presents a preview of his debut Edinburgh Festival Show: Jimmy McGhie’s Northern Meeting

A disastrous party in the Highlands wrecked Jimmy’s relationship and his confidence. Now he shares the whole shameful but hilarious story; an hour of stand-up from this exciting newcomer.

'A real talent.'  - The Guardian

Duncan Oakley

With musical skills that would easily fit into many rock bands Duncan Oakley performs an infectious mix of musical comedy and stand up with one of his trusty guitars - Maurice (Fender Strat), No.7 (acoustic) or his Les Paul (the Lezza) by his side.With an eye and ear for the silly, rude, playful and downright irritating occurrences of life Duncan musters up songs that not only make you laugh, they bury into the recesses of your mind and find you a humming tune with a smile on your face 3 days later, confused and wondering where it’s come from.Duncan has performed for nearly 10 years on the stand up circuit and performs regularly at some of the UK’s bigger weekend clubs as well as festivals, & Uni gigs. A talented all-round musician Duncan can also perform with harmonica, drums & piano as a one man musical whirlwind.Welcome to the world of Duncan Oakley."Unlike some musical comics who rely on a guitar to get them through, Oakley's routine deftly mixes the tunes with the stand-up" - City Life

Danny McLoughlin

With an amiable confident stage presence and a well written set Danny delivers material with more than just an immediate pay-off line, preferring to take the joke one or two steps further.

Confident enough to take a risk on stage he does so not to the detriment of the audience, keeping them laughing along or hanging on every word. A bright future surely awaits this finalist in the 2008 Chortle Student Comedy Awards.

Carl Hutchinson

Local lad Carl burst onto the circuit in 2007 as he won the Beat The Frog New Act Competition in Manchester in 2007.  From there he's become a familiar face to comedy club audiences throughout the UK and is always a firm favourite in his native Newcastle.

MC Chris Ramsey 

Chris Ramsey will be compering the  biggest  show for rising stars at this year's Edinburgh fringe - The Comedy Zone.  Topping a meteoric rise, Chris has quickly become one of the most wanted compere's on the UK comedy circuit making audiences feel at ease with his smooth patter, but with a killer line always lurking beneath the surface.Chris brings intelligent material as well as massive levels of energy to any comedy room, and the night is sure to fly by with Chris in charge of proceedings.  Venturing just down the road from South Shields,be sure to catch Chris before he becomes one of the most sought-after MCs on the UK Circuit.


"Amazing performer, Blew the crowd away tonight. Naturally talented and deserves to be playing bigger crowds" - Laughing Matters

 Saturday July 25th

Finishing a fantastic season of comedy in Whitby, we present two great Edinburgh preview shows - hosted by the big man of north-east comedy Steffen Peddie.

John Gordillo - F****onomics

Sex. Man, Consequences. Cost.
Fuckonomics is what happens after sex. The contracts made, roles agreed, investments, withdrawals, the taxes and penalties, the small print everyone comes with but nobody reads. It's the sexual economy. 

John Gordillo was the smash-hit of the 2008 Fringe, earning four and five star reviews by the bucket load.  Come along and find out why for yourself.

“An inspiring comic thinker” – The Guardian

“He's dynamite. It's the kind of show that makes you delighted to be at the Fringe ”  The Times "Brilliant. Poignantly funny" - The Scotsman“An inspiration. A consummate performer with an amazing talent, passion and intellect. If you are after cheap silly laughs, avoid, but if you want intelligent, moving comedy with a point, you cannot afford to miss” - Chortle

  Tom Deacon

Tom Deacon is fast becoming one of the biggest names on the UK comedy scene.  He was the star of the Comedy Zone at the 2008 Edinburgh festival, won the Chortle Student Comedian of the Year in 2007 and is now a regular on BBC Switch.  Tom will be bringing his first solo show, Indecisive, to the Whitby audience.

‘With looks, confidence, charm and great material, expect other comics to lynch him’ - Sunday Times

MC Steffen Peddie

Returning to stand up after a 8 year break as a Pro Wrestler has found Steffen a little older, wiser and bigger than before, but still ready to find the lighter side of any subject or audience member thrown at him.

Prior to his time away Steffen had been performing for several years in the North of England. An original member of Newcastle Upon Tyne’s "Near The Knuckle" team with such luminaries as Anvil Springstein, Vladamir McTavish, Gavin Webster and Ross Noble.

With Ross Noble, the two wrote and performed sketches on ITV’s children’s Saturday Morning show Gimme 5 for a season as well as doing a health and fitness show called Burst! for ITV as well as numerous regional shows in the North East. Steffen is the worlds first Fat Mime artist and has recently won the Literature North East’s "New Word Order Slam".


"A fresh emerging Geordie talent" - Metro

"He holds the audience's attention throughout and leaves the stage with me wanting more." - BBC Tees

"One of the North East's best comedy comperes" - Evening Chronicle