The nights are at their shortest, we’re facing months of cold wet weather and our prime minister has warned we are at the start of one of the most difficult and dangerous years in living memory.

Not much to smile about then.

Well, this should cheer you up a bit. The West End Centre in Aldershot and the Camberley Theatre have lined up some of the sharpest acts from the latest wave of hot comics.

The ever-brilliant monthly Hecklers comedy club is going through a purple patch this winter. The jewel in the crown must be Daniel Kitson on March 16.

You may not have heard his name before, but fans of Phoenix Nights will recognise him as the aesthetically challenged new barman from the second series. Kitson’s cameo scene when he tried to convince Brian Potter he was the right man for the job was a prize moment in the best TV comedy of the year.

His stage act has won even better acclaim. He scooped the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival — Britain’s top prize for new comics.

Staff at the West End Centre were jumping for joy when they secured the booking.

But there’s plenty to see at Hecklers before then. The new resident compere is Jack Russell. His experience and sharp confidence should be perfect for keeping up the momentum between acts.

Ricky Grover (‘Bulla’ from the 11 O’clock Show) was headlined on Saturday. A brief review of his act is below.

In February Jim Tavare, the bald one on The Sketch Show, tops the bill and in March his Sketch Show colleague Tim Vine is the lead act.

The Camberley Theatre has a couple of superb acts later this month. Dylan Moran, a previous Perrier winner, appears on January 31. He was the depressed anti-hero in Black Books, a TV comedy series which would have won a hatful of awards had it not been showing in the same year as Phoenix Nights and The Office.

And don’t let the fact that he appeared at the Royal Variety Show put you off going to see Omid Djalili on January 25.

His humour subverts stereo-types and he finds a rich vein of comedy in life as an Iranian man in Britain, post September 11.

The success of Hecklers has also given the West End Centre the confidence to book less conventional acts. Its ‘Comic Diversions’ nights give the stage over to themed acts which dare to be different.

Chris Addison presents The Ape That Got Lucky, an inventive look at the evolution of man, on January 25.

David Benson, who appeared at the West End Centre last year in a portrayal of Kenneth Williams, takes a turn as another British comic icon — Frankie Howerd. To Be Frank shows on February 6.

On March 22 is Count Arthur Strong’s Forgotten Egypt, which Johnny Vegas described as “The funniest character comedy I’ve seen since Steve Coogan”.

For more details of acts at the West End Centre, call the box office on 01252 330040. For details of Camberley Theatre Shows call 01276 707600.