TV HOSTESS Kym Whitley is to star with Robin Givens in a Christmas comedy show that will open in Hamilton next Thursday.

City Hall will stage the show, entitled A Belly-full of Laughs, written by Ms Givens (pictured below) and hosted by Ms Whitley.

And there will also be plenty of local input from Bermuda's own Nadanja Bailey, one of The 2 Fools.

The comedy will show for three nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of next week. They will be filmed and highlights from the three performances will be put together into a package for the Heritage Network, a US television company.

Ms Whitley, who owns a comedy club in Los Angeles, California, stars in Black Entertainment Television's (BET) Oh Drama! and also made an appearance in Ice Cube's movie Next Friday.

Ms Givens, herself a star of stage and screen, said she was delighted to have recruited Ms Whitley for her latest live entertainment venture in Bermuda.

"I think she's like a black Mae West," said Ms Givens. "She's a very talented comedian."

The cast will also include three comics who have appeared on BET's Comedy View - Special K Douglas, Ronnie Jordan and Angelo Dundee - as well as New York disc jockey Bryant K.

Speaking from her home in Los Angeles yesterday, Ms Whitley said: "Robin called me and told me what she was hoping to do in Bermuda.

"I was so excited and I haven't been in Bermuda since I was a young girl and I'm looking forward to going back."

She said she had not started her rehearsals for the show yet, but that she would once she had arrived in Bermuda next Monday.

"There will be a lot of ad-libbing involved," said Ms Whitley. "I'll be down on the island for a couple of days before the show and when I do my stand-up, a lot of my show will be based on what I've seen and the people I've met in that time."

Ms Givens and Ms Whitley worked together for two years on a TV show called Sparks and Ms Whitley jumped at the chance to team up again with her friend.

Ms Whitley said she had just finished an as-yet untitled film in which she starred with Ben Stiller and Alec Baldwin and her next movie project will be Deliver Us From Eva, with LL Cool J.

"I can't wait to get to Bermuda to see if the people are still just as nice as they were when I was last there," she added. "I hope people will come out and enjoy the show and support us."

Thirteen months ago, Ms Givens brought her gospel show Joy In The Morning here. With many local singers in the cast, the show played to packed houses for three nights at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts.

And for the last two Septembers, she has been one of the celebrities involved in the Lori McNeil / Elbow Beach Celebrity Classic tennis fund-raiser.

"I love the island and now there are so many people here who are my friends," said Ms Givens.

Ms Givens was recently in New York working on material for American comedian Chris Rock's new movie Head of State, which comes out next March. Tickets for the show, which is sponsored by Bacardi, are on sale at Music Box and can be bought at the City Hall box office from Monday. Each show starts at 8 p.m.