The week's best live comedy

The best of the week's limited number of live comedy shows. Use Chortle's search panel to check out our full listings of 5,599 events by date and region. And we can’t believe we have to say this again, but gigs may be subject to cancellation because of Covid.

Sunday December 19

HULL: Bill Bailey’s En Route To Normal tour arrives at the Bonus Arena tonight It then hits Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham - before a Boxing Day visit to Wembley Arena in London. Bill Bailey tour dates.

LONDON: Arthur Smith hosts Up The Creek’s regular festive do in Greenwich, joined by Stephen K Amos, Yuriko Kotani and more. Tickets

Monday December 20

LONDON: Before the pandemic, Ben Elton returned to stand-up after a 15 -year gap. Now he starts his two-week West End run at the Harold Pinter theatre, of which the Upstart Crow creator very uncharitably said: ‘ Harold Pinter wouldn’t have recognised a joke if it awarded him the Nobel Prize for Literature.’ Tickets are available here

Tuesday December 21

ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH: Christmas is all about cheesy music and patter - in which case, inept hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury is your man. He’s joined at the Lyric Rooms tonight by psychic Ian D Montfort - both of whom bear a remarkable resemblance to comic Tom Binns.

Saturday December 25

LONDON: Live comedy on Christmas Day? Why the hell not? Tim Key will be bringing his Chrimbo Bimbo show to the Bill Murray Pub. Expect ‘poems of course, stinkin' sprouts, probably mulled wine/Kronenbourg, cloves, and other yule garbage.’ All proceeds from this show are going to homeless charity Crisis.

Published: 19 Dec 2021