The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy.

Sunday May 13

MANCHESTER: The Great Mirth Run is a ten-hour charity comedy marathon in which nine acts will do five minutes each hour. A fiver lets you come and go as you please, while acts appearing at the TriBeCa venue from 1pm to 11pm include Harriet Dyer, Lou Conran, Paul 'Silky' White, Sean Moran, Simon Lomas and The Delightful Sausage.

BRIGHTON: The Fringe continues all week - see the website for full details, but our pick for tonight is silly film noir spoof Butt Kaplinski at the Komedia. It involves audience participation, but nothing too scary...

Monday May 14

LONDON: A benefit for gaming industry charity GamesAid at the Comedy Store has a stong line-up, headed by Milton Jones and featuring Abandoman, Geoff Norcott, the Scummy Mummies and more.

LONDON: It's the first of two semi-finals of this year's Chortle Student Comedy Award at the Bill Murray in Islington (the second is at the same venue next Monday) has MC Rich Wilson compering James Trickey, A'isha Baig, Ania Magliano, Horatio Gould, Callum Walker , Artie Godden, David Robinson, Bexie Archer, Ally Orr, Alex Franklin, Lizzie Simpson and Matthew Parker. It really is the cream of new acts, and tickets are available here

Tuesday May 15

LONDON: Evocative storyteller Sarah Kendall brings her latest yarn, One-Seventeen, to the Soho Theatre for five nights. Our review at last year's Fringe concluded: 'Funny and soulful by turns, this is comedy that restores your sense of wonder.'

Thursday May 17

BRIGHTON: Radio 4 favourite John Finnemore embarks on his Flying Visit tour, a new full- length stage show, featuring the entire cast of Souvenir Programme - Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan - with sketches, songs, and a guest appearance from Wing Commander Arthur Shappey. Full tour dates are here.

Friday May 18

SOUTHPORT: It's the first of a mammoth 106 dates for Chris Ramsey's new Just Happy To Get Out Of The House Tour. The premise is that the Stand Up Central compere, and host of his own Comedy Central show sets out the rules of modern existence and how to be a gentleman for his infant son. The full schedule is here.

CARDIFF: The Glee has good mix of acts over the weekend, with upbeat Charlie Baker, droll John Moloney, cheery livewire Kai Humphries, and acid-tongued provocateur Scott Capurro ready to trample boundaries of taste.

Saturday May 19

LONDON: Trevor Noah performs his first ever UK arena show at the O2 tonight in a show that also marks the first time in two and a half years that the Daily Show frontman has performed in the UK. When the date was announced last year, he said with certain understatement: ' think we'll have a few things to discuss...'

BIRMINGHAM: He's not always critically acclaimed, but that probably doesn't concern record-breaking comedy ventriloquist Jeff Dunham as he sleeps on his bed of money. He is brining his Passively Aggressive tour to the UK for two nights: Birmingham's Genting Arena tonight at Wembley Arena in London tomorrow.

EAST GRINSTEAD: Variety is key at the Chequer Mead tonight, with nutty prop comics Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue (as ripped off by Britain's Got Talent), musical comic Mitch Benn and more traditional stand-ups Alistair Barrie and Zoe Lyons – any one of whom could easily headline a gig in their own right, but all sharing the honours here.

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Published: 13 May 2018