The best of the comedy week ahead

The best of the comedy week ahead.

Sunday March 27

TV: Gold launches a repeat run of the first series of Life Of Rock with Brian Pern, starring Simon Day as ageing rocker Brian Pern, frontman of prog rock legends Thotch. Tonight, Pern investigates rock's prehistoric origins and reminisces about dressing up as a crab. 11pm

LIVE IN LONDON: Just about everyone who's anyone on the urban comedy circuit descends on the Hideaway in Streatham tonight, for a busy Easter Def Comedy Jam showcase featuring Annette Fagon, Kevin J, Kojo, Maureen Younger, Mr Cee, Quincy, Tony Hendricks, Richard Blackwood, Slim, Will E Robo, Kane Brown, Wayne 'Dibbi' Robins, Jamie Howard, Kwaku, Little Man, Axel The Entertainer, Johnny Cochran, Kayleigh Lewis, Variety D. Phew!

Monday March 28

RADIO: Internationally acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis presents Finding Harpo's Voice, a new documentary about the silent Marx brother, who stopped speaking on stage after a bad review, subsequently expressing himself only with props, his horn and, of course, his harp. Radio 4, 11am

Wednesday March 30

TV: Steve Coogan's darkly satirical US show Happyness did not exactly set the ratings alight on the other side of the Atlantic, despite praise for the cast, if not always the script. And now it comes to Sky Atlantic. In a role that Philip Seymour Hoffman had been due to take before his early death, Coogan plays Thom Payne, a 44-year-old advertising executive struggling to work under a 25-year-old Swedish wunderkind enamoured with social media. Sky Atlantic, 10pm

LIVE IN LONDON: There's a good selection of the best alternative comics currently making waves at Knock2Bag in Hackney's Moth Club. Tony Law headlines a night of inventive stand-up voices that also features Fin Taylor, Jack Barry, Jordan Brookes, Pat Cahill and Rob Auton.

Thursday March 31

TV: Stewart Lee on the biggest issue facing Europe, the migrant crisis. That's gotta be worth a watch. BBC Two, 10pm.

LIVE IN LONDON: Miles Jupp leads a strong benefit in aid of aid of homeless charity The Choir With No Name at Islington's Union Chapel, along with John Hegley, Justin Edwards, Sarah Kendall, Jess Robinson and Seann Walsh.

Friday April 1

TV: Two Doors Down, the BBC Scotland one-off about a Hogmanay party that was compared to Abigail's Party, now arrives as a full six-part series, airing nationally. Arabella Weir, Doon Mackichan, Jonathan Watson and Elaine C Smith are among the stars playing neighbours in Latimer Crescent, in the show that promises to 'explore the best and worst of family life'. BBC Two, 10pm.

RADIO: Josie Long's first sitcom, Romance And Adventure, begins its four-part run on Radio 4. It's about a young woman moving to the 'indie band theme park' of Glasgow in an attempt to build a new, more fulfilling life for herself. It's based on the short films Romance And Adventure and Let's Go Swimming that Long wrote with Douglas King. And her co-stars here include Darren Osborne, Sanjeev Kohli, Hatty Ashdown and Clare Grogan.

Saturday April 2

TV:Dylan Moran's live show, What it Is, filmed at Sydney's State Theatre during his 2009 tour, gets an airing on Gold. 11pm.

LIVE IN MANCHESTER: Group Therapy at the Gorilla Bar offers a nice combo of the fine words of Adam Bloom and the fine wordlessless of the Boy With Tape On His Face, mixed with the mischievous stand-up of Phil Ellis.

LIVE IN LONDON: Back at the Union Chapel, where there's rarely a bad gig – and tonight is no exception with the political polemic of Andrew Maxwell, Bridget Christie blending absurdism with feminism, triple Chortle Award winner Joseph Morpurgo, and deliciously dry Mike Wozniak, all compered by those silly, silly Pappy's boys.

LIVE IN DUNFERMLINE: As a comedy festival, That's Fife!, might be something of a stretch… after tonight's gig there's a full week before the next one. But a chance to see the supercharged camp charm of fast-rising Al Porter headlining the Carnegie Hall is one that should be grasped.

Published: 27 Mar 2016