The week's best live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 6,845 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Monday January 13

LONDON: Abby Wambaugh was one of the toasts of last year's Ednburgh Fringe with The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows, which takes the titular idea in unexpected directions, going beyond the face-value premise to look inwards – as well as providing plenty of gloriously daft moments. It's at 7.15pm at the Soho Theatre until Saturday. If he wasn't already sold out, you could have made it a double-bill with Tim Key's L*g**b*rr* at 9pm.

LONDON: Ben Elton begins a week-long run in the West End, bringing his latest show Authentic Stupidity to the Duke Of York's Theatre Tickets and review.

Thursday January 16

DURHAM: Following a warm-up in Maidenhead on Wednesday, Taskmaster season 13 winner Sophie Duker kicks off a tour of her 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival show But Daddy I Love Her – all about her (sugar) Daddy Issues – at the Gala Theatre. It's a rallying cry to be more 'delulu' and choose silliness over common sense and fantasy over reality. Sophie Duker tour dates.

LONDON: Sold out before it even starts, the West End stage incarnation of Inside No 9, called Stage/Fright opens at the Wydnham's Theatre opens tonight. Given that twists are so crucial to the format, which ended its incredible TV run last year, details of the live version are understandably thin on the ground, but rarely has the phrase 'expect the unexpected' been more apt. It runs until April 5, and you might get lucky with last-minute returns.

LONDON: Also sold out, and not entirely surprisingly, The Hackney Empire hosts a night of comedy in support of Medical Aid for Palestinians with Josh Widdicombe, Ivo Graham, Jamali Maddix, Rob Beckett, Kerry Godliman and MC Jen Brister,.

Friday January 17

WALSALL: Now with the Strictly Glitterball trophy to his name, Chris McCausland resumes his hugely entertaining Yonks! tour at the Walsall Arena. True to its name, the tour, which began last January, is currently scheduled until May 2026. Chris McCausland tour dates and review

LIVINGSTONE: Craig Hill has a new show, but the same double-entendre-laden shtick, with songs and dance routines to punctuate the comedy. I've Been Sitting On This For A While was the camp Scot's 25th Edinburgh Fringe show last August and now emabarks on a tour north of the border. Craig Hill tour dates.

LONDON: The Dulwich Comedy Experience returns to the The MCT at Alleyn's school, with Ed Gamble, Catherine Bohart, Edinburgh's best newcomer Joe Kent-Walters and Kemah Bob.

WINCHESTER: A strong night at the Arc when Barnstormers Comedy presents prolific gagsmith Markus Birdman, engaging storyteller Matt Price and the gregarious Matt Stellingwerf.

Saturday January 18

LONDON: Well this is something a bit different. In Hot Rubbert, at the Cockpit theatre, comedians Jin Hao Li, Marty Gleeson, Cabbage the Clown, Benjamin Alborough, Jonathan Oldfield and Abbie Edwards pit their homemade remote control cars against one another in the world’s smallest demolition derby. As previously seen at the Edinburgh Fringe , the show is hosted by Hudson Hughes and Eva Wallis,

Published: 12 Jan 2025