The week's best comedy on demand

The week's best comedy on demand

Now

HIDDEN IRELAND: Comedian Michael Stranney has launched this quirky podcast offering a look at the entirely fictional peculiarities of life in the Emerald Isle. In episode one he meets a dairy farmer with an unusual way of making butter. Fellow comics including Andrew Maxwell, Joanne McNally, Ciarán Dowd and Eleanor Tiernan also make appearances across the series, which is exclusive to Spotify

WOLF AND OWL: In this new podcast, launched this week, Tom Davis (The Wolf) and Romesh Ranganathan (The Owl) shoot the breeze for an hour a week with no real aim 'because they couldn’t work out a format'. Listen

Today

SEAN LOCK LIVE: During this second lockdown, a number of stand-up specials originally released by Universal Pictures are being put on to YouTube. From 7pm tonight Sean Lock's debut offering, from way back in 2008, will be available here. And until then you can catch Dara O Briain Talks Funny here. And here's a trailer for Lock's show:

PIFFSGIVING: Everyone's second-favourite magic dragon hosts a live comedy-conjuring show specially made for lockdown. It features Mr Piffles the chihuahua and comes live from his Vegas base at midnight tonight, and tickets, priced $25 (£18.70) are available here

Tuesday December 1

LIVESTREAM FROM CLWYD THEATR CYMRU: Comedy returns to the venue in North East Wales... but for a virtual audience. Harriet Dyer, Nina Gilligan, Roger Monkhouse and regular MC Paul 'Silky' White are on the bill and tickets are available here, priced a fiver.

Wednesday December 2

ARI ELDJARN: PARDON MY ICELANDIC: Netflix today releases its first ever comedy special by an Icelandic comedian. Ari Eldjárn recorded Pardon My Icelandic - in English – at the National Theatre of Iceland in Reykjavík in 2019, a couple of years after he performed it at the Edinburgh Fringe. Here's a preview:

Thursday December 3

SOHO THEATRE ON AMAZON PRIME: Under a deal with the streaming service, the landmark London venue is making ten previously released stand-up specials available for free to Amazon Prime subscribers. This will be followed by 20 new shows in the next year. The full list of titles released today are:
Aditi Mittal: Mother of Invention
Dane Baptiste: D.A.N.E. – Discussions About Nothing and Everything
Jen Brister: Meaningless
Jessie Cave: I Loved Her
Joel Dommett: Pretending to Smoke with a Breadstick
Josie Long: Cara Josephine
Lazy Susan: Forgive Me, Mother!
Nish Kumar: Ruminations on the Nature of Subjectivity
Panti Bliss: High Heels in Low Places
Rhys James: Forgives
Shappi Khorsandi: Live in Soho

Friday December 4

BIG LOVE, BIG LAUGHS ONLINE: Graham Norton, John Bishop, Tom Allen and Joe Lycett, pictured, are the comedians taking part in this compilation of footage from the last two Comedy Store benefits for Royal Trinity Hospice and St George’s Hospital in London. The fundraisers were set up by Jo Caulfield and Stephen K Amos, who said: 'I lost my twin sister and so together with Jo – who lost her sister the year before – we decided to put on a fundraiser. It was a huge success, sold out in eight seconds and raised £50,000. And so we decided to make it an annual event.' And no pandemic is going to stop that. Other comics in the show, which will be available from 7pm tonight to 11.30pm on the 12th, include Zoe Lyons, Ninia Benjamin, Al Murray, Omid Djalili, Kerry Godliman. Tickets, priced £10, are available here

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: James Acaster, Lou Sanders, Phil Wang and Sally Phillips are playing the fantasy game, under the watchful eye of dungeon master Paul Foxcroft, in aid of Comic Relief. Watching is free, but for a minimum donation of £1, you will also be able to have a say in the game. It all kicks off at 7.30pm here. 

Published: 28 Nov 2020