Our guide to the best live stand-up

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 July 15

LONDON: Daniel Kitson's new show, Collaborator, inspired by his dislike of audience participation opens at The Albany in Deptford, where it runs until August 3. And it features just under 300 parts..,.

LONDON: Jack Tucker – the absurdly hack alter-ego of American comic and Stamptown powerhouse Zack Zucker – returns to the Soho Theatre for a week-long run of his raucously chaotic Comedy Stand-Up Hour, which launched at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe (read our 4.5-star review here) and had a successful run at New York's SoHo Playhouse earlier this year.

NORFOLK: Norwich-based comedy company Hooma Comedy is bringing almost two weeks of shows to the county with the region’s first-ever comedy festival. Normal for Norfolk features Edinburgh previews and other shows from the likes of Terry Alderton, Joe Rooney, Sam See and Spring Day. In total, 50 performers will put on 30 shows across 11 venues. The website is here. 

Wednesday July 17

CAMBRIDGE: Cambridge becomes the latest city to get a Comedy Garden festival, with the big top coming to  Parker's Piece with a premier-league line-up over the coming days that includes Harry Hill, Josh Widdicombe, Sara Pascoe, Dara Ó Briain, Fern Brady, Dylan Moran, Simon Amstell and more… Listings and tickets

LONDON: The Hackney Empire hosts a night of comedy for Unicef to support children in Gaza, with a starry line-up that boasts includes Dara O Briain, Joanne McNally, Josh Widdicombe, Michelle De Swarte, Romesh Ranganathan, Rosie Jones, Seann Walsh and Suzi Ruffell

LONDON: Meanwhile in West London, the Bush Comedy Festival kicks off, with comedians including Simon Amstell, Sara Pascoe, Sophie Duker and Catherine Cohen performing in W12 over the next four days.  The venues are Bush Hall, the studio space of Bush Theatre and Next Door Record Store. Listings are here. 

Thursday July 18

LONDON: Just down the road from the Bush Festival, the long-running Ealing Comedy Festival opens its doors in Walpole Park, with the giant marquee being graced by Ross Noble, Maisie Adam, Scott Bennett, Laura Lexx, Jeff Innocent, Olga Koch, Catherine Bohart  and  Anuvab Pal – and that's just in tonight's opening gala. The other three gigs – tomorrow and next Thursday and Friday – feature the likes of Dara O Briain, Kerry Godliman and Joel Dommett.

HARPENDEN:There's a very appealing bill at the  Eric Morecambe Centre  tonight with Friday Night Dinner's Tom Rosenthal alongside Seann Walsh, Chloe Petts and Thanyia Moore. 

CAMBRIDGE: Australian stand-up Josh Thomas – star of his own US-made comedy series Please Like Me – kicks off his UK of Let's Tidy, a show with theatrical flourishes about how his ADHD means the simplest task of tidying up takes his brain to all sorts of odd places. It kicks off at the Junction today, with a full schedule of date en route to the Edinburgh Fringe. Josh Thomas tour dates and review.

Friday July 19

MANCHESTER: Larry Dean, Elf Lyons, John Robertson, Tom Ward, Pierre Novellie, Susie McCabe and Jordan Brookes are among those performing in the first Creatures Comedy Festival, taking place in the Northern Quarter over the next ten days, pre-Edinburgh. The full listings are here

LONDON: Another big gig in a week full of them is the Stand Up for The Loss Foundation fundraiser at Union Chapel. The to-flight bill for a good cause – supporting the bereaved – comprises Joel Dommett, Nish Kumar, Robin Ince,  Andrew White, Angela Barnes, Felicity Ward and  Jarred Christmas.

Published: 14 Jul 2024