Ross Noble, Sheffield City Hall

And that's why king of randonness Ross Noble is the major comedy name he is: pick a subject and he'll squeeze a laugh out of it. Or give him a prop - in this case cauliflowers and Kinder Surprise eggs were left on stage by fans - and he will spin an entire warped routine around it.

Noble possesses the kind of angular mind and lateral thinking that would send most analysts back to the classroom; an ability to roam along subject threads in a way that has you laughing until your throat is raw, then somehow finding his way back to hit you again in a way that often seems to surprise himself.

Noble is no motor mouth, but his ability to improvise is startling to witness and even funnier to absorb. His style does mean there are shallow patches in the set but to have 2500 people roaring about Shetland ponies one second, the Peace Gardens the next having begun with little more than a spark is surely comedy genius at work. No wonder no two shows are the same.

A highlight of Sheffield's current Grin Up North comedy festival, you'll be hard-pressed to catch a funnier man at work this fortnight.