The comedy week ahead

The comedy week ahead...

Sunday  February 12

LIVE IN LEICESTER: Musical comedian Rachel Parris kicks off her latest tour at the Leicester Comedy Festival tonight. Best Laid Plans describes her exchanges with the Samaritans after she fell into a funk over fears her childhood ideal of the perfect house, the perfect man, and the two perfect children had become unattainable. It's an elegantly told story, laced with witty comic songs, and tours until the end of next month. Dates and review.

Monday February 13

TV: The world has surely been waiting for John Oliver's in-depth satirical skewering of the new leader of the free world. If anyone can make sense of the White House fuckstorm, it's surely him. Last Week Tonight returns for a new 30-week series, airing on Sky Atlantic the day after it premieres on HBO in the States. 10.35pm

LIVE IN LEICESTER: Hey Joe, where you going with that pun in your hand? Probably to the UK Pun Championships, now promoted to the massive  De Montfort Hall. This year's word-wranglers are Samantha Baines, Iain MacDonald, Lovdev Barparga, Colin Leggo, Nigel Lovell, Richard Pulsford, Julian Lee and Roger Swift.

Tuesday February 14

TV: BBC Three tries to capture the infectious energy of Luisa Omielan's live stand-up shows as it releases What Would Beyonce Do?! as a 75-minute iPlayer special, apparently as a Valentine's Day treat, even if it's not about romance. Recorded at the Clapham Grand last month, the show sets incidents from Omielan's life to a soundtrack of Beyoncé's best known hits.

Wednesday February 15

LIVE IN CHIPPING NORTON: Former Mock The Weeker Andy Parsons encourages us to stop worrying about the state of the world - probably easier said than done in the current political climate - in his new tour. Peak Bullshit kicks off in Gloucestershire today. Dates.

LIVE IN LEICESTER: Tonight's comedy festival pick is The Establishment, Dan Lees and Neil Frost channelling the spirit of the 'what ho!' Englishman for an entertainingly silly take on cricket, tea and colonialsm. It's at Heroes@The Criterion at 9.30pm.

Thursday February 16

RADIO: One of the most fascinating stand-up shows of recent times, Mark Steel's Who Do I Think I Am? comes to Radio 4 tonight in a rare  hour-long stand-up show for the station. It is a surprising and funny story about what adoptee Steel discovered when he embarked on a half-hearted attempt to track down his birth mother. 11pm

LIVE IN MANCHESTER: Monkey See, Monkey Do - an intense journey into issues of depression and masculinity - won Richard Gadd the Edinburgh Comedy Award last year. It's an impressive piece of theatrical autobiographical comedy, delivered with a dark wit and an astute absurdity. He kicks off a month-and-a-bit tour at the Gorilla – appropriately enough given the show title – tonight. Review and dates.

LIVE IN LONDON: There's a strong line-up for a benefit at One Moorgate Place in the City, raising money for  Richard House Children's Hospice. Dependable chuckle-generators  Alistair Barrie, Larry Dean, Mike Wozniak, Nathan Caton and Tom Ward, all compered by much-tipped Mae Martin.

LIVE IN LEICESTER: Our tip tonight, and indeed the next two nights, is James Acaster - who performs a different one of his acclaimed solo shows at the O2 Academy each time.

Friday February 17

LIVE IN LONDON: The Rat Pack presents… combines stand-up comedy and live music in a bid to recreate the glory days of Vegas. That's already a good idea, and tonight's bill at the Camden Comedy Club is a special treat with the inspired, silly one-liners of Adam Hess, the insane Candy Gigi Markham, quirky Dan Antopolski, musical George Rigden and entertaining  Jonathan Hearn.

LIVE IN LEICESTER: Most of Leicester Comedy Festival's shows are solo affairs, but tonight's pick is a good old-fashioned club night with two former Chortle Student Award-winners, the socially astute Jamali Maddix and glorious  Joe Lycett, plus ridiculous Phil Ellis and tightly-honed Steve Bugeja, all at the Y Theatre courtesy of Bottle Rocket Comedy.

LIVE IN NOTTINGHAM: It's a good weekend at the Glee, with cheeky Ian Smith, gloriously self-deprecating Jonny Pelham, piercingly insightful Nick Doody and charismatic Tom Lucy.

Saturday February 18

LIVE IN LONDON: All killa no filla (probably) at the preposterously named Knock2Bag club at Shoredich's Rich Mix Studios. Your eclectic comedy A-listers are  Adam Hess, Fern Brady, Jayde Adams, Joe Jacobs, Reginald D Hunter, Tom Allen and Princes of Main.

Edited Feb 13 to fix the date of the Bottle Rocket show at Leicester, and because the Richard Gadd tour started a day before we'd originally stated.

Published: 12 Feb 2017