LOCK 'N' LOAD Comedy Club, based at the Wharf Pub, Eanam, Blackburn, is hosting four top female stand-up acts this Thursday night.

Organisers claim women are grossly under represented on the comedy circuit and have put together the Handbags 'n' Gladrags Showcase in an attempt to redress the balance.

Organiser Ruth Whitehead said: "Women are either perceived as too meek to survive the soul-destroying peaks and troughs of a career in stand-up comedy or they are led to believe from an early age that such a profession constitutes behaviour that is simply inappropriate for a lady. Stand-up is a notoriously male dominated profession.

"Unfortunately it has a legacy left over from a working men's club scene where women weren't allowed to play snooker, let alone take to the stage and perform themselves.

"Lock 'n' Load intend to prove that women can be as funny as men and hopefully encourage a few sisters to go out and do it for themselves.

"You do see female stand-up acts on the circuit but they are often presented more for their novelty value than their comedy value.

"By bunching four females on the same bill we're hoping that this novelty aspect will disappear and the acts will be judged purely on their comic talents.

Hils Barker was a finalist in Channel 4's So You Think You're Funny and is coming from London specifically to do the show.

The gig will also feature Joanne Dakin, from Salford, described as delightfully sinister by City Life, along with Caroline Jones and Sal Thomas, also off the Manchester circuit.