Chris Morris night heads the comedy week ahead

The comedy week ahead...

Today

LIVE IN LONDON: There's campaigning and political comedy from the likes of Jeremy Hardy, Josie Long, Mark Thomas and Andy Zaltzman (not to mention off-kilter poetry from Tim Key) at a benefit for the Kurdish Red Crescent at the Bloomsbury Theatre Tonight. Funds raised will help support the refugees on the Syrian and Turkish border, fleeing the attacks of Isis and Assad.

Monday November 24

DVDs: Today's bumper batch of new releases includes the Still Game live show and stand-up from Russell Howard, Lee Mack, Harry Hill and Al Murray. DVD release schedule

FILM: Billed as the first indie Christmas movie, A Wonderful Christmas Time is an improvised, quirky romantic comedy stars Dylan Edwards as a twentysomething man dumped just before Christmas. There are roles, too, for stand-ups Ian Smith (as the central character's old school friend) and Sara Pascoe. It's available on iTunes from today.

Tuesday November 25

TV: Just lie down on the couch and enjoy the new series of  Psychobitches, starting with a double-bill on Sky Arts 1 at 9pm. The show, in which historical female characters undergo sessions with Rebecca Front's therapist, has already upset certain Tories with its portrayal of Margaret Thatcher as a Hannibal Lecter-style psychopath. The start-studded cast includes Sharon Horgan, Morgana Robinson, Michelle Gomez, Cardinal Burns and Jack Whitehall.

Wednesday November 26

RADIO: Well-read stand-up Paul Sinha returns to Radio 4 with a smart new four-part comedy series, History Revision. In this first edition, Sinha takes as his starting point the World Cup Final in June 2014 and asks how we ended up there via  15th Century explorers, the slave trade, mass immigration, industrialisation, and British Army medical tests. 6.30pm

Saturday November 29

RADIO:This is a must for all Chris  Morris fans - a three-hour retrospective of his early radio work.  featuring original interviews with Armando Iannucci, Matthew Bannister and David Quantick. Morris developed his wit at BBC Bristol and London’s GLR, before creating On The Hour for Radio 4, Why Bother? with Peter Cook for Radio 3 and Blue Jam for Radio 1 (which gets a repeat run from December 5).  Mary Anne Hobbs. presents this archive presentation, Raw Meat Radio, which starts at 7pm on Radio 4 Extra.

LIVE IN LONDON: The Jewish Comedy Festival kicks off at the JW3 venue with a gala stand-up show starring  Josh Howie, Sol Bernstein and MC  Gareth Berliner.  Headliners over the week include David Baddiel reviving his stand-up Fame: Not The Musical and Ruby Wax with her mental health-themed Sane New World.

Published: 23 Nov 2014