SI BECKWITH will top The Duke's Comedy Night bill on May 17 at the Duke of York pub, in King's Square, York, with his amiable surrealism, silliness and nose for pop culture.

"Si cuts an assured and engaging presence on stage," says promoter and compere Daniel Triscott. "Whether telling stories, showing off his penchant for drawing and crafts, or just generally being silly, Beckwith is a comedian who has gigged all over the place, regularly hosts professional nights and so knows exactly how to hold a crowd’s attention and get them laughing."

In the 8pm line-up too will be Jed Salisbury, first up, followed by Theresa Farlow, Bill Lowther and Catherine Scott. "Seating is essentially first come, first served, so it's best to get there as soon as possible if you want to enjoy the show," advises Daniel.

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Jed Salisbury

Jed Salisbury, from Hull, started on the comedy circuit in November 2009, his first gig being The Art of Comedy Showcase, which went on to win the Best Show of the 2009 Hull Comedy Festival. He has since performed gigs all over country, from bars and comedy clubs to festivals and comedy warm-ups for BBC Radio 1, landing him a lead in a hotly tipped sitcom pilot.

Theresa Farlow tells autobiographical and observational stories, but watch out, she can be moody: cheeky and playful one minute, deadpan and sarcastic the next. "Having seen Theresa open for a heat in the Comedy Hat 2016 competition, I could see how good she was," says Daniel. "She can be self-deprecating too, though she says she's rubbish at it."

Daniel has seen "plus-sized" Hull comic Billy Lowther's act on a number of occasions. "As a fellow mathematician and one-liner comedian, I immensely enjoy well-crafted gags, so getting Billy on the show was an easy choice for me," he says. "The sharpness of the lines is apparent for everyone to witness, ranging from the wonderfully subtle to the fantastically blatant and silly."

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Catherine Scott

Welcoming Catherine Scott to York, Daniel says: "They say good things come in small packages and at 5ft ¾ inch they don’t come much smaller than Catherine Scott. Hailing from the wilds of the west of Newcastle, Catherine tells tales about life as a pint-sized human, the troubles she has with more than just her height, and what it’s like being a chocoholic diabetic."

The last Duke's Comedy Night, on April 19, was a fundraiser that collected £73.29 for SASH, a youth homelessness charity. "That sum will provide four nights of emergency accommodation for someone who is young and homeless, so I'm very proud of the night and very thankful to Heather Kelly for providing the idea of having a fundraising show," says Daniel.

"We had a raffle at one point to raise money and the prizes ranged from a bottle of Prosecco to a bottle of Sainsbury's bleach, which, for me at least, beautifully demonstrates the level of class The Duke's Comedy Night operates at."