The comedy week ahead

The comedy week ahead...

Today

LIVE IN TRING: The Tringe Festival of Edinburgh-bound previews goes nuts today with a nine-show marathon that started with Milo McCabe at 11am, and ends with Tony Law at 9.30pm. Bridget Christie, Joe Lycett and Tom Allen are among the others appearing.

LIVE IN SHEFFIELD: A similar all-dayer takes place in the New Barrack Tavern, with the likes of Ali Cook, Danny McLoughlin and the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre previewing their Fringe shows, with day-long tickets just £6.

RADIO: John Shuttleworth returns to Radio 4 with John Shuttleworth’s Lounge Music - in which the comic creation invites musical guests such as Chas and Dave, Heaven 17 and Toyah Wilcox into his lounge to perform one of their greatest hits - and one of John's. 7.15pm

Monday July 14

DVD: The third series of Episodes, with Matt LeBlanc, Tamsin Grieg and Stephen Mangan is out on DVD today. Order.

LIVE IN LONDON: The Comedy Store hosts a Laugh Till It Hurts benefit in aid of Barnado’s tonight, with Cardinal Burns and Hal Cruttenden among a very dependable bill.

Tuesday July 15

TV: Rejoice! The Stewart-Lee curated Alternative Comedy Experience returns to Comedy Central tonight, with the first of 13 new episodes going out at 11pm. Filmed at The Stand in Edinburgh, the show champions the grass-roots stand-up scene with more variety than you might find on the shiny-floor Live At The Apollo-style shows.

Wednesday July 16

TV: Series three of Armando Iannucci’s Veep starts on Sky Atlantic tonight, as Vice President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) sets her sights on the top job. 9.35pm

TV: Terry Mynott stars in The Mimic, the bitter-sweet comedy-drama about a man with a gift for impressions, which returns to Channel 4 for a second series at 10pm tonight.

LIVE IN BIRMINGHAM: He’s one of the best in the business - but you can see well-travelled Canadian stand-up Glenn Wool for free. That’s FREE! At The Patrick Kavanagh pub in Moseley tonight.

Thursday July 17

LIVE IN EDINBURGH: A relatively rare club gig from Stewart Francis, as he leads a weekend line-up at The Stand which also includes Irish sketch trio Foil, Arms & Hog.

LIVE IN CROYDON: Crystal Palace FC’s annual comedy night takes place at Fairfield Halls, headlined by star supporter Eddie Izzard and also featuring stand-ups Holly Walsh, Kevin Day and Mark Steel.

LIVE IN LONDON: The Ealing Comedy Festival continues in its West London big top tonight, with masterclasses in observational comedy from Hal Cruttenden and Seann Walsh, and absurd one-liners from the maestro, Milton Jones. Tomorrow’s bill is mighty fine, too, with Andrew Maxwell, Phil Nichol, Shappi Khorsandi and Steve Best among many others.

LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE: Simon Amstell works through some of his hilarious existential angst at the Junction, in preparation for his forthcoming tour, To Be Free.

RADIO: David Baddiel hosts a new comedy panel show with the unusual premise of forcing comedians to go against all their instincts and try NOT to make an audience laugh. Guests on episode one of Don’t Make Me Laugh are Jonathan Ross, Richard Herring, Kerry Godliman and Paul Chowdhry. Radio 4, 11pm

Friday July 18

LIVE IN SOUTHWOLD: Stand-up at the Latitude Festival kicks off with finalists from the Chortle Student Comedy Award at 11am. Other acts gracing the comedy arena over the weekend include Dara O’Briain, Simon Amstell, Kevin Bridges and Milton Jones. And in the cabaret arena, Al Murray, Cardinal Burns, Pajama Men and Sara Pascoe head a full, packed schedule of quirkier acts.

LIVE IN LONDON: A very strong line-up at the Comedy Carnival in Leicester Square tonight, with the circuit’s favourite obsessive, Adam Bloom, distinctive former BBC New Comedy Award winner Lucy Beaumont and experienced stalwart Jeff Innocent.

LIVE IN CARDIFF: Phill Jupitus revives his Porky the Poet persona for an hour of new work, premiering at the Sherman Theatre before heading to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Saturday July 19

LIVE IN BIRMINGHAM: Jason Manford’s club at Players Bar continues to attract appealing line-ups, with pun-slinger Gary Delaney and quirky Tom Wrigglesworth among the appealing attractions tonight.

LIVE IN MILTON KEYNES: The Crown pub in Stony Stratford is hosting its own weekend Fringe festival of Edinburgh-bound shows in progress. Today’s highlights include copper-turned-comic Alfie Moore, circuit veteran Bob Mills and Tom Binns, stepping out from behind his Ivan Brackenbury and Ian D Montfort alter-egos to perform stand-up as himself.

Published: 13 Jul 2014