The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 6,512 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Sunday November 10

GLASGOW: Egyptian-American comedian Ahmed Ahmed plays the Glee, followed by Glasgow 10/11 at Glee Comedy Club Manchester's 53two Club tomorrow and the Cockpit Theatre in London on Tuesday. It comes hot on the heels of his first special in 15 years, It Only Takes One Of Us, which was recorded at the American University in Cairo, a former palace in Tahrir Square, the epicentre ofthe Arab Spring protests of 2011. In an interview in September, he joked: 'Whenever there’s a conflict in the Middle East, that’s when my career either rises or falls' – so he's probably at peak relevance right now.

Monday November 11

READING: Adam Hills hosts the Big Comedy Bash, raising money for the much-loved Slapstick Festival of vintage comedy which takes place down the M4 in Bristol each February. On the top-flight bill tonight are Jack Dee, Richard Herring, Ria Lina, Alasdair Beckett-King and Tony Hawks.

BIRMINGHAM: Frank Skinner has a run of hometown gigs for his latest stand-up show, 30 Years Of Dirt, about how he's evolved as a comic and as a person, at the Birmingham Hippodrome. It's sold out but there are returns on some nights. Ticket links.

LONDON: Australian comic Lou Wall's breakup show The Bisexual's Lament is a wild mashup of live stand-up and video content, unpacking a tough personal year with an onslaught of silly comedy. It's at Soho Theatre all week, at 9.15pm

LONDON: Josephine Lacey's Autism Mama, a frank and funny account of some of the eye-opening things she did to help her neurodiverse son through puberty also runs at the Soho Theatre all week, at 8.45pm.

Tuesday November 12

LOUGHBOROUGH: Jack Dee kicks off his year-long UK tour in the East Midlands, with his new show Small World. Promoters say: 'Culture wars, the environment, British foreign policy and social justice are just a few of the topics that Jack spectacularly fails to address (or even mention for that matter) in his brand new show. Instead, for reasons known only to him, he doubles down on his fascination with the meaningless small things of life like Zoom protocol, what's new in the world of radiators and the worst careers advice office in the world.' Jack ​Dee tour dates

Wednesday November 13

LONDON: Sandi Toksvig and the QI Elves bring their show One Night Only to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane… for two nights only. They promise an evening of comedy and curiosity inspired by the long-running TV show, with obscure facts and stories about the theatre. Tickets.

LONDON: Laura Davis performs her latest show Albatross, a typically expansive and inventive hour of high-concept stand-up at the Pleasance in Islington tonight and tomorrow. Review

Friday November 15

LONDON: There's a nicely varied bill at The Birds pub in Leytonstone tonight, with lively and silly David Eagle, king of erudite wordplay Glenn Moore and impish Yuriko Kotani, all overseen by skilled compere Ben Van Der Velde.

LONDON: It's the final performance of Garry Starr's Classic Penguins – a series of silly book-based visual puns delivered by a ridiculous man – at Soho's Underbelly Boulevard tonight. Review

Saturday November 16

LONDON: Count Arthur Strong has already started a tour of his mangled version of A Christmas Carol… now it's the turn of Mr Swallow, the enthusiastic but irritating alter-ego of Nick Mohammed, star of Ted Lasso, Sky sitcom Intelligence and so much more. He's aided by David Elms, Kieran Hodgson and Ghosts’ Martha Howe-Douglas for this show, which runs at @sohoplace from now until New Year's Eve. Tickets.

SOUTHPORT: London's Outside The Box programmes an appealing mixed-bill night at the Garrick Theatre, with gregarious Brennan Reece, wry Fatiha El-Ghorri, offbeat gagsmith Josh Pugh and experienced Sam Harland.

Published: 10 Nov 2024