BREWERY Arts has proved it is taking comedy seriously after booking some of Britain’s top stand-up acts for its autumn season.

Jason Manford, Dave Gorman, Jeremy Hardy, Milton Jones and Russell Kane are the headline names coming to Kendal, although the Brewery is also giving up-and-coming performers a chance to shine through its Barrel Of Laughs comedy club.

Gorman opens the comedy onslaught with a gig at Kendal on September 16 as part of his first British tour in five years.

For multi award-winning Manford, the Kendal stop will be the fourth show in his debut a national tour.

The star of of TV’s 8 Out of 10 Cats, Live at the Apollo, The Secret Policeman’s Ball 2008 and XFM, has already proved his popularity in Kendal, selling out the Brewery theatre in March.

Milton Jones - billed by The Times as ‘the king of surreal one-liners’ - will be at the Brewery on October 8, while Jeremy Hardy (one of the funniest men to grace Radio 4) appears on October 20.

The top comic line-up concludes on November 10 with the Russell Kane’s Human Dressage show.

The Barrel Of Laughs comedy club gets under way on September 25, featuring three new stand-up comedians each month until December 18.

Music is once again featured strongly in a Brewery programme, with singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky returning to her acoustic roots on October 9.

Jazz is represented by the African Jazz All Stars on October 16 while sonic dub genius Mad Professor & the Ariwa Posse, enduring R&B combo Nine Below Zero and Scottish folk singer-songwriter Karine Polwart appear on October 17, 23 and 24 respectively.

The music programme continues into November and December with performers such as Martin Simpson, Nearly Dan, Dreadzone, Jez Lowe & the Bad Pennies and The Hamsters.

Dance shows are State of Emergency’s Mission National and ACE Dance’s Switch on November 12.