Norwich’s premier stand-up comic Tom Alban is taking over the mic as the new MC at Gonzos' comedy night, recently rebranded as Laugh Lab.

“People SHOULDN'T come if they hate laughing until their stomach hurts,” Tom said.

The 33-year-old added “for years I tried acting, but nothing really took off, and if I'm honest, I didn’t really work hard enough”.

In 2018 he made a sporadic decision to move to China and without the watchful eye of friends and family, Tom was free to try things without fear of messing up.

“It was during my time in China that I really found my feet and got into stand up.”

Now Tom travels across the UK performing and says he can’t imagine life without it.

“Other than my family, there is nothing that I love more than my job.”

Norwich Evening News: Tom Alban, 33, Norwich comic says you shouldn't go if you hate laughing until your stomach hurts.Tom Alban, 33, Norwich comic says you shouldn't go if you hate laughing until your stomach hurts. (Image: Aleks Pawlik)

Tom confidently describes the Laugh Lab as “the comedy equivalent to Thor's hammer piercing the earth's atmosphere”.

The event is run by Nelson T Gombakomba, another popular city comic.

Nelson and Tom have a lot of plans moving forward about ways to deliver the highest standard of entertainment.

You can catch The Laugh Lab on the last Thursday of every month with tickets prices at £8.

And Tom p[romised: "My performance style is really high energy, there's a fair bit of crowd work and there might be a song."

Tom is also the resident MC for Last Pub Standing and Sugar and Spice.

Tom describes the Norwich comedy circuit as “close knit” and says that they lift share and give each other feedback.

Norwich Evening News: Tom Alban has been doing stand up since 2018 and is now taking over as resident MC at Gonzos in Norwich.Tom Alban has been doing stand up since 2018 and is now taking over as resident MC at Gonzos in Norwich. (Image: Aleks Pawlik)

“Most importantly though, we roast each other with no mercy all the time," he added.

“We are horrible to each other, that’s how we show affection in comedy."

Tom says there is a large amount of good local comedy and urged people to “get out and watch it.”

Follow Tom Alban on Instagram @tomalbancomic for dates and "general comedic idiocy".