Comedy is back at the Penistone Paramount, and it’s exactly the sort of night that suits the place perfectly. A proper comedy crowd, a cracking line-up and that feeling you only get when the room fills up with people ready to laugh before the lights have even gone down. Guiding the whole thing, as ever, is Toby Foster as MC, keeping everything moving, chatting to the audience, stirring things up when needed and making sure the night has that relaxed, anything-could-happen feel that live comedy should always have.

The first half brings two acts who couldn’t be better suited to a packed Paramount crowd. Mad Ron arrives armed with stories, one-liners and the sort of wonderfully daft confidence that lets the audience know straight away they’re in safe hands. His comedy feels like it’s been built in working men’s clubs, pubs and comedy nights where you have to win people over the hard way, and that experience shows in every laugh he gets.

Also in the first half is Katie Tracey, a comic with a sharp tongue, quick timing and a knack for finding the funny in the things everyone recognises but nobody quite says out loud. She’s warm, very relatable, and brilliant at drawing an audience in before landing the punchlines exactly where they need to be. The sort of act who makes it look effortless, which usually means it isn’t.

After the interval, the night closes with Rob Rouse, one of the most energetic and unpredictable headliners on the circuit. Rob’s comedy has that brilliant barely-in-control feel, like anything could happen at any moment, but underneath it all is a performer who knows exactly what he’s doing. Expect huge laughs, physical comedy, big stories and the kind of performance that fills the whole stage and then spills straight into the audience.

A great line-up, a brilliant venue and another proper comedy night at the Penistone Paramount, exactly as it should be.