The best of the week's live comedy

The week's best live comedy.

Sunday February 24

COVENTRY: Jessie Cave embarks on her first UK tour at the Warwick Arts Centre. Her show, Sunrise, is about her forays back into the dating world after a complex break-up - and while trying to raise two small children. Dates

SOUTHEND: Newly announced as one of the contestants in the next series of Taskmaster, Lou Sanders also starts her first UK tour today with her show about 'shame, sobriety and unrequested sex'. There are only a handful of dates and they are listed here.

Monday February 25

NEWCASTLE: The Chortle Student Comedy Award continues, with a heat at the Holy Hobo in Jesmond tonight, St Andrews on Tuesday, Glasgow on Wednesday and Cardiff on Thursday. Follow the progress here

Tuesday February 26

LONDON: New York comic Myq Kaplan, who can spin from the sublime to the ridiculous on a dime had one of the underground hits of the Edinburgh Fringe with All Killing Aside. Now he's bringing the classy show to the Soho Theatre for the week.

Wednesday February 27

BRADFORD: After a couple of warm-up dates earlier this month, Rhod Gilbert embarks on his tour in earnest at St George's Hall. The Book Of John charts a rather dismal time in the comic's life, and a man he met when he thought he'd hit rock bottom. Dates.

Thursday February 28

LONDON:  The biggest names in comedy descend on Wembley Arena for a Comic Relief  Spectacular. Get a load of this line-up:  Alan Carr, Catherine Tate, Jimmy Carr, John Bishop, Katherine Ryan, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan and Sir Lenny Henry. Amazingly, some tickets are still available here.

GLASGOW: Making crass jokes into an artform, masterful American comic Bill Burr starts a brief UK tour at the Armadillo, with engagements in Birmingham, Manchester and London to follow.

Friday March 1

GLASGOW: Limmy kicks off a new tour of anecdotes and chit-chat with a hometown gig at the Oran Mor. It's all to introduce his frank autobiography, Surprisingly Down To Earth, And Very Funny. The book is available here, and the tour dates are here.

LONDON: One of stand-up's most under-rated talents, Sean McLoughlin begins a new tour of his latest angsty howl into the void, Hail Mary, with a couple of nights at Soho Theatre. It's a sharp, passionate show about his existential battle to find happiness in the technological age - and a damn sight more funny than that description sounds. Review and dates.

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Published: 24 Feb 2019