THE Reading Comedy Festival comes to its hilarious conclusion this weekend – so you’ve still got time to have your ribs tickled from some of the country’s finest comics.

Tonight sees a quartet of female comedians take to the Concert Hall stage. Your compere is Jo Caulfield, famous for her razor sharp observations and scandalous one-liners. She’ll introduce biting satire from Lucy Porter, the hard-hitting Francesca Martinez and Natalie Haynes, dubbed ‘the fastest-thinking female comic in the business’.

Tomorrow night sees the Concert Hall as the venue for a lecture on the French Revolution. This might not seem like a hilarious moment in our history, but in the hands of the witty and erudite Mark Steel, you’ll be guaranteed some guffaws.

The festival ends on Saturday night with the talents of Mitch Benn – well-known to the millions who tune in to his turn on BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show. Benn and his band will be appearing at South Street, performing a range of comic songs and skits including the fan-favourite Macbeth, in which Shakespeare meets Eminem, and a rock opera based on the children’s book The Hungry Caterpillar.

Of course, these big names aren’t the only acts on the bill. The final days of this year’s festival sees four comedy clubs take place – Jongleurs is the venue tonight and Saturday, South Street tomorrow and a special children’s club will take place on Saturday morning at South Street.

This final session promises clean laughs suitable for all the family: the comedy website promises “a different show everytime for children and anyone who likes stand-up without the rude words”.

Finally, the Wynford Arms offers a late-night cabaret, from 10pm, on Saturday night for the bargain price of £2.

There’s plenty for everyone to chortle over this weekend. For more details, call the box office on (0118) 960 6060 or log on to www.readingcomedyfestival.com