The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 6,228 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Sunday February 26

DURHAM: The Chortle Student Comedy Award continues its hunt for up-and-coming acts to follow in the footsteps of previous winners such as Joe Lycett, Phil Wang and Jamali Maddix. We are at the Holy Grale pub in Durham tonight (now sold out), Derwent College in York tomorrow (tickets) and the New Adelphi Theatre in Salford on Wednesday (tickets).

LEICESTER: The city’s comedy festival comes to an end with a 30th anniversary gala version of its annual Comedy Heaven fundraiser, with Nish Kumar, Arthur Smith and Laura Lexx among the acts taking to the stage of the Curve Theatre.

Monday February 27

LONDON: 21Soho is hosting a benefit for victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. A packed bill includes Shaparak Khorsandi, Stephen Bailey and Jess Fostekew as well as organisers Esther Manito, Fatiha El-Ghorri, and Isabelle Farah. Tickets

LONDON: Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Sam Campbell begins a week of Soho Theatre gigs combining ‘ classic Cambo routines’ with new material. He promises: ‘If you want to witness a complete feral with never-seen-before medical problems splutter on about the minutiae of public transport don’t miss this event.’

Wednesday March 1

MANCHESTER: Micky Flanagan performs two sold-out warm-up gigs at the O2 Apollo before his new tour - his first in five years - gets under way. He only announced limited dates for his If Ever We Needed It show at first, but more came on sale yesterday. Micky Flanagan tour dates

Thursday March 2

LONDON: Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival makes a bid to spread its wings into London with a long weekend of gigs at various venues inside The O2. Flagship events are the Graham Norton variety show and an ‘audience with’ Ryan Reynolds, both in the main arena, although the latter seems overpriced for a glorified podcast, with seats even at the very back of the venue floor going for £97.50. Much better value is the festival wristband, giving access to all 28 of the smaller events and which comes in at £55.75. Alex Horne, Aisling Bea, Katherine Ryan, James Acaster, Nish Kumar, Felicity Ward and Jordan Gray are among the many comics taking part. Full festival details are here

BRIGHTON: Fashion model, presenter and actor - recently seen as a regular on Katherine Ryan’s Netflix series The Duchess and starring in Sky’s The Baby - Michelle De Swarte now becomes a touring stand-up. In her first tour, Moved, the star -‘married, divorced, on drugs, off drugs’ - promises to break down the highs and lows of burning your life to the ground and starting again when 40 is around the corner. Michelle De Swarte tour dates.

Friday March 3

LONDON: We’ve had comedians Wrestling and comedians boxing. Now prepare for the ultimate sport: comedians beermat flipping. The new championship is the brainchild of Stuart Laws and will see Pierre Novellie, Harriet Kemsley, Alison Spittle, Tom Rosenthal, Rose Johnson, Sunil Patel and Dan Cook compete for the title. Laws will host at 21Soho, alongside Sikisa and Bella Hull.

LONDON: If you’d rather see your comics do stand-up, there’s a strong line-up down the road at Leicester Square Theatre where Ed Gamble and Lou Sanders head a bill that also includes Ahir Shah, Ania Magliano and Matt Bragg. Tickets

LONDON: Comedian and founder of Edinburgh’s Free Fringe movement Peter Buckley Hill is 75 today. To celebrate he’ll be performing a free show at the Harrison near Kings Cross. ‘Three-quarters of a century is something to celebrate,’ he says. ‘Don't say "oh, I'll go to his funeral instead". He won't notice if you do.’

Published: 26 Feb 2023