The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 4.093 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Monday November 21

LONDON: Frankie Thompson's Catts almost defies description, but the official blurb calling it 'a lip-sync ballet through the distractions and obsessions that help us cope with an increasingly dystopian reality' is about as close as you'll get. It's a frenetically paced mash-up of video clips, clowning and puns reflecting the noise running through the performer's hyperactive brain. The remarkable show is at Soho Theatre all week. Review.

Wednesday November 23

NATIONWIDE: So not exactly live, Tim Minchin's latest stage tour, Back, comes to the big screen with screenings at cinemas around the UK. The tour was filmed at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London with an eight-strong band and feature 'old songs, new songs and fuck you songs’. Find local screenings here.

LONDON: The Comedy Store hosts the final of the British Comedian of the Year competition offering the biggest prize in comedy... £1 more than the Edinburgh Comedy Award's £10,000. Finalists range from circuit stalwarts to much-tipped newcomers, hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year's winner, Jeff Innocent, pictured. They are Andrew White, Dan Tiernan, Ian Stone, Jack Gleadow, Kev Mud, Larry Dean, Leah Davis, Serena Smart and Steve Gribbin. The final will be compered by Paul Revill.

NOTTINGHAM: Tom Ward's UK tour, Anthem, kicks off at the Glee on the back of his debut on Live at the Apollo earlier this year. The show is described as 'an ambitious assemblage of offbeat observations and top-notch whimsical detours'. Review and tour dates

NEWCASTLE: There's a fine line-up of the best the comedy circuit has to offer at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House tonight. North East promoters Fingers & Fringe have assembled a very strong bill comprising Fern Brady, Daliso Chaponda, Jarred Christmas, Reginald D Hunter, Louise Young, Rachel Fairburn and Scott Bennett.

LONDON: In Brian & Robin's Christmas Compendium Of Reason. Mssrs Cox and Ince from Radio 4's Infinite Monkey Cage present their annual celebration of science, comedy and music at the Royal Albert Hall. The line-up's always kept secret, but it's likely to be as over-stuffed as a festive turkey.

Thursday November 24

LONDON: Adam Buxton and Some Colleagues - namely Brett Goldstein, Lou Sanders, Sarah Kendall, John Robins, Annie McGrath and Luke McQueen - are raising money for Nerve Tumours UK at Islington's Union Chapel. Though it's looking very sold out...

LONDON: Taskmaster's Mike Wozniak - soon to be seen on Dave's feature-length sci-fi romp We Are Not Alone - plays Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush alongside Phil Ellis, Sikisa and Suzi Ruffell

Friday November 25

LONDON: Headliners in Chiswick has an alluring bill this weekend with provocateur Fin Taylor, morosely dry Mike Gunn, political songsmith Steve Gribbin, and Frankie Boyle tour support Meryl O'Rourke

Saturday November 26

LONDON: Dylan Moran tops the bill at the Dulwich Coemdy Experience at Alleyn's school, more than ably backed by Celya AB, Jessica Fostekew and Shaparak Khorsandi.

Published: 20 Nov 2022