And the rest of the week's best live comedy

The best of the week's 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.

Monday June 3

LONDON: Friends of comedian Andy Smart, who died a year ago at the age of 63 after a life packed with adventure, pay tribute in the best way – putting on a show of laughs. The Comedy Store Players, the improv group he was such a long-serving member of, take centre stage, while other performances come from the lies of Arthur Smith, Charlie Baker, Hal Cruttenden, Milton Jones, Omid Djalili, Rufus Hound, Shaparak Khorsand and Simon Munnery. Tickets start from a bargain £20 and are available here

LONDON: Jazz Emu is back with his new show, Knight Fever, alongside his full live band, The Cosmique Perfectión. The premise? He's got a shot at the Royal Variety Show headline slot, but a series of tax, bribery and libel allegations are threatening to snatch the coveted prize from before his eyes. Will Jazz and his 'contractually-less-talented-than-him' band, be able to put on a heck of a show and secure a royal pardon? Or will Jazz’s next performance be in the canteen at Wormwood Scrubs? Find out at the Soho Theatre until June 22, or at the Edinburgh Fringe in August.

BELFAST: American comedian Chris Distefano starts a brief tour of the UK at Ulster Hall. He broke through on MTV, while his second special, Speshy Weshy, was released on Netflix in 2022. He also co-hosts the Hey Babe! podcast with Sal Vulcano from Impractical Jokers. After tonight's gig Distefano plays Glasgow on Wednesday, Birmingham Thursday, London's Shepherds Bush Empire on Friday and Manchester's New Century Hall on the 10th.

Tuesday June 4

SHEFFIELD: Sofie Hagen is touring a stand-up show based on her newly published book Will I Ever Have Sex Again?, at the Leadmill tonight. The title is described as 'an attempt to explore our sexual landscape, through conversations with experts, therapists, sex workers, porn stars, comedians and public figures'. And as part of the process she tries attempts to figure out why she hasn't had sex in over 3,000 days - and why this frustration is so relatable. Sofie Hagen tour dates

LONDON: Two acclaimed solo shows are being recorded as specials for indie comedy label 800 Pound Gorilla at the Pleasance in Islington tonight: Stuart Laws? Is That Guy Still Going? and Ian Smith: Crushing. And it's only a tenner to see both.

Friday June 7

MANCHESTER: A gala show at the Fairfield Social Club kicks off A Lovely Weekend – a new comedy festival set up by promoter John Stansfield and comedian Chris Cantrill. Tonight's show is hosted by his Delightful Sausage colleague Amy Gledhill (pictured) and features Josh Jones, Tom Lawrinson and more. Also appearing across the weekend are the likes of Olga Koch, Phil Ellis and Stevie Martin. Listings and tickets

LONDON: Sara Pascoe tops a fine line-up at The Birds pub in Leytonstone tonight, put together by Good Ship Comedy.Alexander Bennett, Celya AB and up-and-comer Jin Hao Li are also on the bill. Tickets

LONDON: Fresh from being announced as one of the contestants in the next series of Taskmaster, Andy Zaltzman brings his hit topical podcast The Bugle to Leicester Square Theatre tonight and tomorrow.

Saturday June 8

BATH: Guaranteed fun at the Komedia tonight with four well-regarded circuit stalwarts: Jimmy McGhie, Karen Bayley, Keith Farnan and Phil Nichol.

Published: 2 Jun 2024