The fortnight's best live comedy

The best of the next two weeks' live comedy, picked from the thousands of events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Wednesday December 27

BIRMINGHAM: The Cobo (Comedy of Black Origin) Kings of Comedy swing into town with two shows - one at the Glee and one at Rosie's Nightclub, home of Just The Tonic. Guz Khan leads an appealing bill alongside Richard Blackwood, Curtis Walker and Nabil Abdulrashid.

Thursday December 28

LONDON: Australian comedy-cabaret superstar Reuben Kay rounds out the residency of his powerhouse show The Butch Is Back with three more nights at the Purcell Rooms in the South Bank Centre, starting tonight. OAKHAM AND GRANTHAM: Everyman Scott Bennett and smartarse Paul Sinha double up at the Funhouse Comedy clubs in The Grainstore and The Guildhall tonight.

Saturday December 30

LEEDS: Andre Vincent, Barry Dodds and Bethany Black should provide just the fillip to liven these days between Christmas and New Year at the Hi-Fi Club tonight.

Sunday December 31

UK: Loads going on tonight to mark farewell/good riddance to 2023. Here's what's on in England - change the region to check other nations.

Wednesday January 3

LONDON: Bill O'Neill: The Amazing Banana Brothers is a bonkers show about the mayhem that ensues when eyepatch-wearing daredevil Kevin Calamity promises to slip on 1,000 banana skins in the space of an hour with the aid of his sibling sidekick, Joey Insanity Needless to say it doesn't go to plan. This hit of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe is at the Soho Theatre until the 13th. Read our review here. And there's a twist on Friday 12 as for one night only, the show’s director, Natalie Palamides will take to the stage to perform the show while O’Neill will direct, live from the audience.

Friday January 5

HAYES: Man Like Mobeen creator and TV regular Guz Khan (including his 2021 stint on Taskmaster, of course) kicks off a new stand-up tour at the Beck Theatre. Guz Khan tour dates.

LONDON: A robust bill gets long-running Chiswick comedy club Headliners off to a roaring start, with preconceptions-defying Jeff Innocent, one-line merchant Mark Simmons, raunchy Ninia Benjamin and satirical songsmith Steve Gribbin.

Published: 24 Dec 2023