The smoking ban may have caused a stir among licensed premises but offering free cigarettes seems an unusually vehement form of opposition to the legislation.

Guy Venables, though, has never been one to conform to the rules.

Already infamous in Brighton for staging spoof soap operas through motorway bridge banners and jumping naked into a shark tank at the Sea Life Centre, Venables' latest adventure comes in the form of new night Stand Up And Drink!

"We like putting four or five cigarettes in each ashtray," he says. "We get them from Russia and all over the place. It's a nice touch."

Venables first implemented the generous gesture in a previous incarnation at his Joker Basement show, prematurely ended by venue refurbishment.

"Building works at Komedia meant we couldn't carry on with that but they said they'd love us to do something else instead.

We're looking to make this a bit more upmarket because there was always an element of risk with the acts we had on before.

It provided a stage where acts could try out new things if they wanted to."

Aside from seeing Venables conform to the show's title during his performance, Stand Up And Drink! will also feature impressionist Drew Cameron, Perrier Comedy Award-nominee Carl Donnelly and Tiffany Miller, described only as "totally insane" by Venables. Surreal headline act Boothby Graffoe will dominate the second half of proceedings.

"It's something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue," observes Venables, referring to Graffoe, the three younger comedians, his jokes and the general tone respectively.

Also returning will be the slideshows Venables has become renowned for using to such cutting effect.

"They're about what I've been up to, holidays and that sort of thing," he says, later admitting they also compensate for his lack of material. "They're meant to show that comedy isn't just something I do - it's part of my life."

Starts at 8.30pm. Tickets cost £10 and £8, call 01273 647100