The festival has been running across a range of venues in the city from July 3-12, including Derby Arena, Bar One, Derby Theatre, Déda, Guildhall Theatre, Market Place, The Clubrooms, The Old Bell Hotel and QUAD. Star stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr is the headliner for this year’s festival and will perform his hit show Funny Business at the new Derby Arena on Friday, July 10. The star of hit Channel Four shows such as Eight Out of Ten Cats, The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year and Eight Out of Ten Cats Does Countdown has been described as ‘the hardest working man in comedy’. Audiences should come for the witty and incisive musings on the human condition and stay for the rude gags. The Derby Comedy Festival was launched in 2014 and is produced by Derby City Council’s entertainment arm, Derby LIVE, working alongside other arts organisations in the city including Déda, Derby Theatre, Funhouse Comedy, Furthest From the Sea, QUAD and Sinfonia Viva. Some of the events lined up for the final few days of the festival include: n Bitter and Twisted at the Guildhall Theatre’s Clubrooms on Thursday, July 9. Retired super-models Michèle Taylor and Shirley Novak invite you to an intimate evening of wine, women and sing-along in celebration of that ridiculous experience we’ve come to call middle age. This performance is 70 minutes with no interval and is suitable for those aged 12 and over. n Bar One plays host to an Edinburgh Festival Preview Special on Thursday, July 9, featuring Paul Sinha, supported by Markus Birdman. You might have seen Paul Sinha on the telly as ‘The Sinnerman’, catching unlucky contestants on ITV’s hit quiz The Chase. He’s also a great stand-up comedian, having been nominated for the highest acccolade in live comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and regularly has his own programmes on the radio too. n On the same night, the Guildhall Theatre is the setting for Call Me Merman, a show featuring Rosemary Ashe, Olivier Award-nominated star of London’s West End, who pays tribute to Ethel Merman, the legendary first lady of the musical comedy stage. It starts at 7.30pm. n The Tom Show is at Déda on Friday, July 10, from 7.30pm. The Tom Show has got it all. Comedy, magic, sword swallowing, ventriloquism, music and a breathtaking death defying underwater escape. Tom Balmont brings his own unique style of hilarious entertainment in this exciting new show. Tom is a regular at London’s Covent Garden and the Edinburgh festival where he entertains and amazes the masses with his fast-paced, quick-witted, debonair charm and skill. n Also on Friday, get ready for The Thinking Drinkers Guide. . . . to The Legends of Liquor at the Guildhall Theatre. Alcohol: One minute a soul mate, the next a psychopath; it can be both creative muse and pesky mischief-maker. Slide onto the bar stool of discovery and enjoy several free deluxe drinks as the Thinking Drinkers explore the liquid lives of history’s most extraordinary elbow-benders. Alexander the Great, Humphrey Bogart, Dorothy Parker, Frank Sinatra and Winston Churchill star in this brand new show from award-winning drinks experts whose Guide to Alcohol has sold-out at the Fringe and at London’s Soho Theatre for three years running. n Then, on Saturday, July 11, the Guildhall Theatre is the setting for Vikki Stone - Instrumental. The award winning comedian has blagged, stolen and borrowed 20 musical instruments. Some she can play really quite well, and others, at the time of writing, not so well. This collection of instruments, each with a story, will become the underscore for this tale of love, loss and music. More information on what’s on and how to book tickets can be found at www.derbycomedyfestival.co.uk