Comedians have again descended on Edinburgh for the annual Fringe. And this autumn there will be no shortage of stand-ups bringing their Edinburgh shows to Norwich. SIMON PARKIN picks some to watch out for.

TIM KEY

Norwich Playhouse, September 21-22

Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Tim Key, who appears as Alan Partridge's sidekick in Mid Morning Matters, brings his latest adventurous, bizarrely beautiful bath-obsessed hour to Norwich. Like the award-winning Slutcracker, the new show features collections of pithy poems and short stories and some gorgeously shot short films. But Masterslut is a more ambitious, inventive hour than his previous offerings - it's subtle, shambolic, occasionally moving and gloriously funny.

PAUL CHOWDHRY

Norwich Playhouse, September 24

Star of Channel 4's Stand Up for the Week returns with his brand new show What's Happening White People. Seen by many as the UK's number one Asian comic, with over three million YouTube hits of his highly charged dry observational humour tapping into the multicultural diversity of contemporary Britain. His shows always offer a hard-hitting and unique take on modern Britain but are also good clean fun for all the family.

SEAN HUGHES

Norwich Playhouse, October 5

It has been over a year since his father died, and Sean is dealing with his death in a way that only Sean can — at the stand-up mic. Although dealing with the taboo subject of death, it has always been Sean's willingness to tackle difficult topics head-on, and with humour, that makes him shine. His show Life Becomes Noises promises to be a hilarious yet poignant tale is a beautiful insight into the lighter side of dying and getting older, going to places that comedy rarely goes.

JOSIE LONG

Norwich Playhouse, October 13

Josie Long is one of the hottest tickets at this year's Edinburgh Fringe following last year's Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show. Once merely quirky, bordering on the twee, she discovered a spikier edge with political material, and you can expect that to be developed further alongside more personal material in Romance and Adventure. 'This is my sixth solo show and I'm going to try and make it the best one. Just writing the title made me excited, so that's got to be a good thing, right?'

DAVID O'DOHERTY

Norwich Playhouse, October 15

The whimsical Irish stand-up won the 2008 Edinburgh Comedy Award (formerly The Perrier Award) and here he returns to the Playhouse with Seize the David O'Doherty, another wonderfully titled show. He'll do some standing-up, sitting down and songs from a small plastic 1980s keyboard. Plus he'll charm you silly. Joyful, intelligent whimsy. Plus he'll explain why ife is basically the Olympics, but at the end you don't get a medal, you die.

DANIEL SLOSS

Norwich Arts Centre, October 16

Scotland's teen prodigy award-winning comedian and internationally acclaimed 'half man, half Xbox' Daniel Sloss has really come of age in the past couple of years. Having started gigging aged just 16 he has in the past 12 months appeared on Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, 8 out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week, plus his own BBC show The Adventures of Daniel. Having previously sold out four Edinburgh Fringe seasons, his latest effort is imaginatively titled The Show.

PAUL FOOT

Norwich Arts Centre, October 23

Following last year's sell-out UK tour of Still Life, Paul Foot, who is something of a comedians' comedian (Noel Fielding is a firm fan), returns with a brand new show — the intriguingly titled Kenny Larch Is Dead — to delight and amuse his connoisseurs and win some new converts. It always pays to expect the unexpected from the man who has been described as 'sublime, original and brilliant'.

ROISIN CONATY

Norwich Playhouse, December 13

A mainstay of this Edinburgh Fringe and Foster's Comedy Best Newcomer in 2010, Roisin Conaty returns with her latest solo show Lifehunter. The show is about the tedious onslaught of life's continual disappointmenst, and whether or not any of us are truly equipped to survive living. It occasionally veers into dark material, but always in Roisin's cheerfully upbeat voice. An evening of cheerful misery.