The best of the week's live comedy

The week's best live comedy.

Sunday May 19

LONDON: Daniel Kitson is back at Up The Creek's Sunday Special night, along with The Last Leg's Josh Widdicombe, mischievous Rosie Jones and battler Phil Elis. Tickets

Monday May 20

LONDON: It's the second of two semi-finals in this year's Chortle Student Comedy Award at the Bill Murray in Islington. Tim Thompson, Chrissy Ross, Jem Braithwaite, Grace Sanders, Sam Jones, Usama Khan, Abbie Edwards, Mark Moloney, Emman Idami, Tom Short, Qumarth Jack, Dan Allum-Grosse and Alex Petropoulos are battling it out for a place in the Edinburgh final and the Latitude Festival showcase. Tickets.

Tuesday May 21

LONDON: Our second recommended gig of the week at Up The Creek in Greenwich features Harry Hill, Desiree Burch, John Kearns and a whole host more.

Thursday May 23

NOTTINGHAM: James Acaster's latest show Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999 - a more personal departure from his previous fanciful stories - has already had several highly acclaimed West End runs and scooped the big prize the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Now he is embarking on a major UK tour that will take until the end of the year, kicking off at the Nottingham Playhouse. Good luck getting tickets, though, as they are rarer than Theresa May supporters… and understandably so, given that this is probably the best stand-up show of the year so far. Review and dates

Friday May 24

WELLS: It's billed as a big comedy festival for England's smallest city - and it's as good as its promise. Scores of top name acts are descending on Somerset this weekend, including Nish Kumar, Mark Watson, Lost Voice Guy, Josie Long, Nick Helm, Jan Ravens, Spencer Jones and many, many more. Check out the website here.

LONDON: Full-on sketch group Late Night Gimp Fight are back for a one-night-only gig at the Underbelly South Bank to celebrate ten years since they formed.

HASTINGS: David O'Doherty headlines a great comedy gala at the White Rock Theatre, alongside the superior Tom Allen, panel show favourite Zoe Lyons and Cats Does Countdown's Joe Wilkinson.

• Search our full listings for comedy near you using the pull-down menus on the left of this page.

Published: 19 May 2019