The comedy week ahead

Sunday April 17

LIVE IN CROYDON: The stars come out to the Fairfield Hall tonight, for a top-notch fundraiser for local Croydon charities. Jon Richardson, Mark Steel, Reginald D Hunter and Seann Walsh will have to argue it out for the position of headliner, while Kevin Day comperes proceedings.

Monday April 18

TV: Ben Miller stars in a new six-part romantic comedy-drama I Want My Wife Back, about a man who finds out that his wife (Caroline Katz) is leaving him, just as he's arranging a surprise 40th birthday party for her. BBC One, 9.30pm

Tuesday April 19

LIVE IN LONDON: It's one of the biggest charity shows of the year: the Teenage Cancer Trust benefit at the Albert Hall. And it's not often you see Alan Carr and Stewart Lee on the same bill – so that should create an interesting Venn diagram of audience members. Josie Long, Romesh Ranganathan and Seann Walsh are among the other acts to be introduced by host John Bishop. Tickets

LIVE IN LONDON: It's a clearer demographic at the 100 Club with alternative comedy sweethearts Aisling Bea, John Kearns, Liam Williams and Sam Simmons all on the same quirky bill.

TV: Horrible Histories is back on CBBC, with a special episode delving in to the life and times of Shakespeare, played by Tom Stourton. And since the team recently made the Bard-based feature film Bill, they should have enough material to go on. The episode, part of the BBC's season marking 400 years since Shakespeare's death, includes a guest appearance from Miles Jupp.

Wednesday April 20

RADIO: Shakespeare's comedies aren't funny, right? In Much Ado About Comedy, Matt Lucas explores them to examine whether they have an influence on current humour, especially the fools used to expose the vain, mock the pompous and deliver home truths. The hour-long programme also features contributions from Catherine Tate, John Sessions and Fiona Shaw, among others. Lucas said: 'Shakespeare's comedies tackle human issues that are still entirely familiar in the 21st Century. Slaying them in the aisles nearly half a millennium after they were written, his comedy themes include romance, confusion and chaos through mistaken identity and cross-dressing, and of course his clever use of language and puns.' Radio 2, 10pm

Thursday April 21

LIVE IN LONDON: Well, this ain't bad for free. At the crazily-named Huckle The Barber in Holborn, reigning Edinburgh Comedy Award champ Sam Simmons heads a line-up that also includes intense character comic Will Franken, compulsive punner Darren Walsh and the peculiar comedy of Luke McQueen and Mark Silcox.

LIVE IN LONDON: Stuart Goldsmith's slick, engaging and effortlessly funny show is called, with typical lack of pretension, An Hour. It arrives at the Soho Theatre for a three-night run, starting tonight. Review

LIVE IN MANCHESTER: In Mindspiders, Andrew O'Neil shares some of his most random thoughts in a joyous mashup of puns, song snippets and surreal flights of fancy. Inventively silly and upbeat, it plays a one-off at the Tiger Lounge tonight. Review

Friday April 22

LIVE IN BATH: High-energetic comic storytellers Max & Ivan kick off a new tour at the Rondo Theatre. The End tells of the apocalypse coming to the seaside town Sudley-on-Sea, populated by a bizarre collection of characters all played by our versatile duo, who you might recognise from W1A, if not the live circuit. Click here for all the dates and a couple of reviews.

ON DEMAND: In a new stand-up special, Patton Oswalt delivers a fresh hour-and-a-bit of comedy that promises to cover everything from misery to defeat to hopelessness. 'It’s his most upbeat special to date,' Netflix sardonically notes of Talking For Clapping, which is available from today.

Published: 17 Apr 2016