Comfortable seats and big laughs are promised when the Stitches Comedy Club rolls into G Live in Guildford on April 4 at 8pm.

Director and founder James Alderson explained that having somewhere nice to park your backside was a vital part of the live comedy experience.

He said: “You go to some theatres and you think ‘I don’t fancy sitting here all night’. I can’t laugh when my bum’s gone to sleep!

“But G Live has really comfy seats, it’s very good for that. It’s also an incredible venue - stunning structure, stunning auditorium. It’s a great place to perform.”

G Live is a step up in scale for Stitches, which began as a grassroots club.

James said: “We launched four years ago and have now got 22 venues across the south. We have won an award for Best Comedy Clubs in London and the South-East, and another for Best Comedy Promoters.

“We are community-based and G Live in Guildford is our first big theatre. We started in community venues after Covid, because everybody wanted to get out for some entertainment but petrol was about £2 a litre and nobody could afford to go to London. That was in 100, 200 and 300-seater venues, and now we are up to 1,000-seaters like Guildford.

“We nearly sold out the first one in Guildford, and already we’re almost sold out for April. That’s very pleasing from a standing start. The Guildford crowd took to it brilliantly in the first show towards the end of last year.

“We’ve also been in Farnham for three years, playing to 200 to 300 seats at the rugby club, and we do shows at the Festival Hall in Petersfield.”

James will take his turn behind the microphone as master of ceremonies as he introduces the evening’s triple bill of comedians.

He said: “It’s nice for people to see three acts in one night. You get a nice variety and if you’re a comedy fan you’ll recognise all of them.

“We’ve got Zoe Lyons, who has been on television since the late 1990s and is a stalwart of the comedy scene.

“Then there is Josh Pugh, who has been on Would I Lie To You?, Live At The Apollo and QI, and has millions of followers on social media. He’s had a sold-out tour and is a new star.

“And we have Simon Brodkin. It was huge to get him - he’s been on the Royal Variety Performance and sold out the Hammersmith Apollo three nights in a row.”

In an age when the planet is severely troubled and more attention is paid to people’s morale and mental health, James feels having great comedians has never been more important.

He said: “It’s fantastic when the world is in such a state. When it gets really bad theatres and comedy clubs get really full.

“People need cheering up for a couple of hours. There’s nothing better than to get together as a massive group and have a laugh.”

For tickets, priced £23, visit www.stitches.fun