Mark Simmons: Jest to Impress – Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield

Mark Simmons is riding a wave. King of the algorithm, he seems to be one of those comedians that come pre-clipped on every swipe of a social media reel. A regular in the list of best jokes at the Edinburgh Festival, a podcaster and panelist on Mock the Week, he has stepped up from circuit act to being able to sell out a 400+ seater venue like the Lawrence Batley Theatre. As a one-liner comedian he is excellent content for the thumb-heavy scroller with a severe deficit in attention. Hot on the heels of his last sixty-minute show, Quip Off the Mark, comes Jest to Impress and it is more of the same quick-fire jokebook fodder with an impressive gags per minute ratio. 

As a one liner, Mark Simmons has furrowed their own niche. Not so surreal as Milton Jones, not so rapid fire as Tim Vine, not so adult as Gary Delaney and not so outrageous as Jimmy Carr, Simmons sits somewhere near Canadian comic Stewart Francis. The impressive thing about comedians like Simmons is the amount of material their shows hoover up. Some other comics of a different style admit to being proud if they can think of one good one-liner per year. Simmons has been visiting the Edinburgh Festival for over a decade with sixty minutes of material each time. 

Despite most of his act being short and pithy with clever wordplay, Simmons is also a fan of the long game. In his last tour he fooled the audience into thinking he had a bad back for the full set only for it to become the set-up for the punchline finale. Simmons employs a similar scheme in his latest show. Dressed to impress, Simmons begins his show smartly in tuxedo and bow tie before slowly changing attire into loungewear throughout the set. The audience know there must be a pay off somewhere but Simmons keeps his audience guessing until the end. 

Simmons is aware that a whole set of one-liners can be exhausting for an audience. Joke fatigue is avoided by what he calls ‘palette cleansers’ – the occasional sideways riff that doesn’t include reverse-engineered gags. We are treated to a little bit of silliness with mindreading and a game of ‘telephones’ before heading back into his next carefully constructed list. Like fellow comic Darren Walsh, Simmons does have a party trick of being able to pun about anything the audience can throw at him. It is an insight into how a brain like his works – encyclopedic, constantly looking for the double meaning and as fast as a search engine. 

Simmons’ performance style is a pleasure to watch. His delivery is punctuated by a grin of genuine pleasure. It feels like he hasn’t outgrown the child-like glee of telling a joke and getting a laugh. An hour of pure silliness. 

Reviewed on 1st April 2026

Currently touring throughout the UK and Ireland until November 2026