The week's best live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy. Use Chortle's search panel to check out our full listings of 5,539  events by date and region, but gigs may be subject to cancellation because of Covid.

Sunday January 9

NORWICH: Local comedy heroes The Nimmo Twins - aka Owen Evans and Karl Minns - return with a greatest hits show, A Load of Old Squit, which is running at the Playhouse for most of the month.

Monday January 10

LONDON: Liz Kingsman's One-Woman Show was one of the best comedy offerings of last year - if not the best - and it now makes a triumphant return to the Soho Theatre. The week's sold out, but there may be returns from people who can't make it because… well, you know Review.

Wednesday January 12

CHESTERFIELD: Rhod Gilbert picks up his Book Of John tour, about major middle-aged issues as health concerns, the illness of parents and infertility. But any seriousness is countered by the batshit opinions of his driver John – and Gilbert's own finely-tuned comic sensibilities. Rhod Gilbert tour dates – and review

Thursday January 13

NORTHAMPTON: An appealing bill at the Charles Bradlaugh pub features hotly-tipped newcomer Celya AB, troublemaker Tim Renkow – creator of BBC sitcom Jerk – and comedy craftsman Dan Antopolski. Tickets.

LONDON: The Country Mile Comedy Club at The Star of Kings in Kings Cross almost always has a line-up of exciting comedy talent, and tonight is no exception with  Isy Suttie, Jordan Brookes, Sindhu Vee, Sunil Patel, Jack Barry and more on the inventive bill

Friday January 14

HEREFORD: It was clearly with great foresight that Mark Steel titled his latest stand-up show Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright, long before the world had heard of Covid. Instead, it was inspired by the lunacies of Brexit and Trump and the end of his marriage. Now he's taking it back on tour – no doubt updated – but can it possibly be as optimistic as the title suggests? Mark Steel tour dates.

LONDON: If you've given up on Dry January – or are too stressed to even give it a try – Bottomless Booze Comedy at the Vauxhall Comedy Club does what the title promises between 6.30pm to 8pm before offering top-notch stand-up from the likes of Fin Taylor, Ian Smith and Raj Poojara.

LONDON: Long-running Banana Cabaret offers another strong line-up at the Bedford in Balham tonight and tomorrow, with passionate Luisa Omielan, cheekily provocative Tez Ilyas, deadpan Red Richardson and low-key Steve Williams.

Saturday January 15

NORWICH: Following a run of warm-up gigs at Leicester Square Theatre in London, Stewart Lee takes his Snowflake/Tornado show back on the road, starting at the Norwich Theatre Royal, after its pandemic pause. In the 'heavily rewritten' first half, Lee looks at how the Covid-Brexit era has fuelled the culture war 'declared on lovely woke snowflakes by horrible people', while the second half questions Lee's position in the comedy marketplace after Netflix mistakenly listed his show as 'reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again. Nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe'. Stewart Lee tour dates.

Published: 9 Jan 2022