Skinner in the West End and the rest of the week's best live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 5,127 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Sunday October 29

LONDON: Soho Theatre are hosting a comedy tent at the Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square today. Nish Kumar hosts two shows, at 3.30pm and 5.30pm, featuring Joshua Bethania , Tej Dhutia, Shalaka Kurup and Nirmal Pillai, whose improv double-act with Abishek Kumar also runs at Soho Theatre from Tuesday to Saturday.

Monday October 30

LONDON: Daniel Kitson reprises Maybe A Ghost Story, his Halloween show originally written for Shakespeare's Globe last year, in the suitably atmospheric environs of Wiltons Music Hall. The comedian admits: 'I don’t believe in ghosts and I’ve never been comfortable with (or really, any good at) frightening people'... So it should make for an interesting take on scary storytelling. The sold-out show runs all week.

LONDON: Frank Skinner begins a week-long run of his latest show, 30 Years Of Dirt, featuring top-notch crowd work, a reflection on how his life has changed over the decades, and a collection of classy knob jokes all in one. Read our four-star review from Edinburgh here, and get tickets here.

LEEDS: Perfect for Halloween week, horror master Garth Marenghi continues his tour, reading from his hilariously dreadful books and answering questions, albeit aloofly. Matthew Holness' cult alter-ego is at the City Varieties tonight, Newcastle's Tyne Theatre tomorrow, then on to Manchester, Birmingham, London and more… Garth Marenghi tour dates

Tuesday October 31

LONDON: Alexander Palace is the sort of historic venue to make you believe in ghosts… and tonight features a special Halloween show with a scarily good line-up: Dylan Moran, Tim Key, Fern Brady, Celya AB and Lou Sanders.

LONDON: Meanwhile, some of the circuit's clowns come out for another special Halloween gig at the Bill Murray, with the multiple award-winning line-up of Jordan Brookes, Julia Masli, Lucy Pearman, Mark Silcox, Nina Conti, Sam Campbell and Viggo Venn.

LONDON: The Cheerful Earful Podcast Festival returns to several venues dotted around the capital. Birthday Girls, Pappy's, Comedy Arcade, The Socially Distant Sports Bar, Alasdair Beckett-King and James Shakeshaft's Loremen and Helen Bauer and Catherine Bohart's Trusty Hogs are amonth the shows being recorded. Get a complete list at the event's website.

Wednesday November 1

LONDON: The Lyric Hammersmith hosts a comedy fundraiser for…well, itself, and its talent development programme. And it's a strong line-up, featuring Ivo Graham, Kerry Godliman, Shaparak Khorsandi, Stephen Bailey, Carl Donnelly and Fiona Allen

Thursday November 2

LONDON: A major fundraiser at the Hackney Empire will boost the coffers of the British Red Cross Morocco earthquake and Libya floods appeals, two humanitarian catastrophes that have been rather overlooked amid all the other misery in the world. The fine line-up includes Harry Hill, Jack Dee, Joanne McNally, Kerry Godliman, Rob Beckett, Axel Blake and Fatiha El-Ghorri.

LEEK: Two of the circuit's top craftsmen, Alistair Barrie and Nick Doody, share an appealing bill at Foxlowe Arts Centre tonight. And the same descriptions could apply in…

LICHFIELD:...where it's astute commentator Ian Stone and former British Comedian Of The Year Jeff Innocent on stage at Lichfield Sports Club.

Friday November 3

NOTTINGHAM: The city's 15th annual comedy festival kicks off today, with more than 120 comedians performing in 14 venues over the next nine days. Stand-ups including Scott Bennett, Pierre Novellie, Grace Petrie, Juliette Burton and Tom Wrigglesworth are among the line-up, while this year there's a new LGBTQIA+ venue, the Lord Roberts, featuring only queer acts. It all kicks off with a gala show at the Squire Performing Arts Centre featuring Sarah Keyworth, Njambi McGrath, Rob Mulholland and Thomas Green. Nottingham Comedy Festival website.

CARDIFF: There's a contrasting mix of styles at the Glee this week with constantly apoplectic Garrett Millerick, daft prop merchants The Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue, among others.

LEEDS: Dan Tiernan, one of the most promising newcomers to have arrived in recent years, plays the Original Oak alongside personable Rich Wilson. They're both at the city's HiFi club tomorrow, too.

Saturday November 4

LONDON: Powerhouse comedy-cabaret girl group Flat & The Curves perform a one-off gig at Between The Bridges, the pop-up on the Southbank where Underbelly used to be. They promise to chat 'inflatable dicks, hen-do black-outs, and finger banging'. But classily.

Published: 29 Oct 2023