KEITH CARTER returns to the Slaughterhouse stage this weekend as the special guest of the Laughter House comedy club.

The club, which opened last week under the charge of Peep Show and Phoenix Nights actor and compere Neil Fitzmaurice, is getting off to a traditional start but soon hopes to explore more experimental territory.

It’s hoped that established comics will be able to use the Friday and Saturday night slots to try out new material, and that sketch and improv comedy could get to feature alongside regular stand-up.

Carter, of course, is best known for his Scouse character Nige, and that’s what the audience will get with these upcoming shows, but the comedian says he’s excited about the opportunities for the Fenwick Street venue in future.

“This is going to be a comedy club, rather than a room in a pub with some comedy on,” he says.

“It is probably the first comedy club in Liverpool looking to introduce something different to the city.

“If people are comedy savvy, you can be a lot more experimental, so we’ll be opening it up into something a bit more.

“As a comedian, you’ve got to stretch yourself and keep trying out new stuff and new characters as well as mixing with the characters people already know.

“I’ve got loads of other characters and that’s why the Slaughterhouse will be perfect.

“There’s no real avenue in Liverpool to do new characters – everybody wants Nige anyway.”

For Carter, these include his grumbling taxi driver Gerald Roberts, Colin Kilkenny, the nightclub singer writing a musical about his life, and property developer Sam Malone (“he wants to sell Paddy’s Wigwam and turn it into a roller disco”, he explains).

But there’s always potential in Nige – currently working on his own sitcom – and who has spent 2008 appealing to the council with ludicrous culture ideas.

“Next year, he’s going to explain why Capital of Culture was rubbish,” Carter says.

“Nige had all sorts of ideas that never got used. The first thing he wants to do is bring back the head of Ringo Starr.”

Keith Carter appears at the Slaughterhouse on Friday and Saturday night. Doors open 6pm with stand-up from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

TICKETS are £10 each, available from Tongue In Cheek Comedy on 0151 728 9898. For more info, see www.tongueincheekcomedy.com

vickyanderson