First up, on Sunday 14 Dec from 3pm til late they’ve got their ‘anything goes’ open mic night at The Adam And Eve in Digbeth. Expect music, spoken word, comedy… pretty much anything of that ilk.

Then every other Friday at Digbeth’s Spotted Dog, from 6pm they’ll be hosting “meetings of like-minded creative people and those who would like to see a project come to life”. The first one of those will be on 19 Dec. Could be interesting.

Comedy escapes CiB’s notice most of the time so here goes a mention of the Birmingham Comedy Festival 2008, featuring an impressive list of talent, including the Edinburgh Festival’s newly crowned Perrier (or whatever) Award Winner, David O’Doherty.

Holding up Birmingham’s end are drag duo Patrick and Bernadine (Solihull Arts Complex, 4 Oct) and a whole host of local folk at ‘Wrote Under and Friends Comedy’ at the Kitchen Garden Cafe on .  There’s possibly a few more localers too, but none I recognised on the festival’s listings page.

The Old Joint Stock Theatre is also hosting a day dedicated to Tony Hancock at the Old Joint Stock Theatre on 11 October.

It’s the big names that will stick out, of course, and there are plenty of those this year.  As long as Dylan Moran, Mark Steel and Ted Chippington get the attention they deserve all will be well.

The festival starts on 3 October and ends on 12 October.  Visit the Birmingham Comedy Festival website for more info.