The week's best live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 6,836 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Sunday October 6

MANCHESTER: The Women In Comedy Festival continues all week… Today's include Nina Gilligan's Goldfish – about middle age and the comedy circuit being a toxic workplace – Vix Leyton's talk show The Comedy Arcade, Icelandic comic Bee Babylon and Juliette Burton's Hopepunk, about whether optimism is a good thing, or delusional. The week's full listings are here.

BRISTOL: 'America's funnyman' Neil Hamburger slaps another begrudging smile on his abject existence and tries once more to entertain an ungrateful nation in this hilarious parody of showbiz desperation, touring the UK this week. Neil ​ Hamburger tour dates

Monday October 7

LONDON: The Comedy Store hosts a Stand Up For Animals benefit for Humane Society International. The bill includes animal-loving comics Lou Sanders, Alasdair Beckett-King, Jessie Cave, Tom Ward, Carl Donnelly and Adele Cliff.

LONDON: Meanwhile, at the Pleasance Islington sketch duo Alex & Ben are hosting an appealing Big Gig for Parkinsons, featuring John Kearns, Amy Gledhill, Ania Magliano, Janine Harouni, Jazz Emu and Britney.

Tuesday October 8

LONDON: More good deeds at The Comedy Store as Dara O Briain headlines an excellent line-up for Laughter to the Rafters, charity The Passage's comedy benefit to mark World Homeless Day. Iain Stirling, Jessica Fostekew, Mark Thomas, Nabil Abdulrashid and Leslie Gold round off the unmissable bill.

Thursday October 10

BRISTOL: He's spent years supporting Daniel Sloss on tour - in no fewer than 55 countries – now Kai Humphries embarks on his first solo tour. In Gallivanting, this working-class comic from a small town promises stories from his global adventures and the people he has met along the way. Kai ​Humphries tour dates – kicking off at the Hen & Chicken tonight.

PERTH: Susie McCabe – winner of this year's Sir Billy Connolly ‘Spirit Of Glasgow’ Award embarks on a small tour of Scotland, following a health scare, sharing stories such as having a pint in parliament to her new wife questioning some of her personality traits. Susie ​McCabe tour dates.

BIRMINGHAM: The Birmingham Comedy Festival continues this week, with the event tonight crowing the winner of its Breaking Talent Award for 2024. In the running at the Glee are Dom Bant, Lin Smith, Rich Spalding, Tom Towelling and Gareth Williams.

Friday October 11

PAISLEY: Scottish comic Connor Burns is taking his stand-up hour, 1994, on the road from now right through to March. In it, he asks the question "was everything really better really back in the day?' while examining the evolution of pop culture over the last 75 years. Conor ​Burns tour dates.

DERBY: Following a run of theatre dates, Jason Manford's A Manford All Seasons begins its arena stage, with more relatable tales from his life. Jason ​Manford tour dates

Saturday October 12

LONDON: There's a strong gig at Just The Tonic's new London gig in Metronome, Whitechapel, featuring aloof 'French' flaneur Marcel Lucont and the ridiculously silly prop comedy of Spencer Jones as well as more straightforward stand-up from Julian Deane.

Published: 6 Oct 2024