Comedy genius brings award-winning wit to Paignton

A comedian dubbed ‘Britain’s Funniest Joke Writer’ has announced Paignton as a stop on his 2026 tour.

Winner of Dave’s Funniest Joke of the Fringe 2024, Mark Simmons will perform his newest show, Jest to Impress, at the Palace Theatre in Paignton at 7.30pm on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

His debut tour, Quip Off the Mark, lasted three years and sold over 25,000 tickets for 215 dates across the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

During this period, he won the Joke of the Fringe Award, the Victoria Wood Panel Prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and 2022’s Comic’s Comic of the Year.

They say that Jest to Impress is another hour of back-to-back expertly crafted one-liners alongside his trademark off-the-cuff jokes based on random audience suggestions.

He is taking this show to bigger rooms than ever before, including the Hackney Empire, Brighton Corn Exchange, Nottingham Playhouse, and Yvonne Arnaud Guildford.

He is also performing at other venues in Devon, in Exeter and Plymouth.

Mark has previously appeared in ITV’s Out There, Mock The Week, BBC Radio 4Extra Stands Up, a Channel 4 pilot starring alongside Bridget Christie, as well as BBC3’s One For The Road. 

He also presents his popular podcast, Jokes With Mark Simmons, where he invites a fellow comic to discuss jokes that they’ve written but just haven’t worked and see if there is a way to salvage them or if they should simply be thrown on the rubbish heap. This has featured the likes of Rob Beckett, Milton Jones, and Seann Walsh.

The Evening Standard, The Edinburgh Reported, and Mix Up Theatre all gave Mark’s performance four stars, while One4Review gave it four and a half.

In 2024, the Evening Standard said: “Master of the crisp, clean, one-line zinger.”.

Tickets cost £20 and can be purchased via https://www.palacetheatrepaignton.co.uk/shows/mark-simmons-jest-to-impress/, or by calling 01803 665800.