The best of the week's live comedy

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

Sunday July 2

MANCHESTER: Parks and Rec star Nick Offerman wraps up his short run of UK dates with gigs at the O2 Apollo tonight, Brighton Theatre Royal tomorrow and Theatre Royal Dury Lane in London's West End on Tuesday, Independence Day.

THORINGTON: The outdoor theatre in the Suffolk woodlands hosts a great night of stand-up under the stars with Nina Conti, Fin Taylor, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Tadiwa Mahlunge.

Monday July 3

OXFORD: This is an intriguing prospect. Ronni Ancona and Sally Phillips were once told they had such good chemistry, they should form a double act. Tonight, they unveil it at Magdalen College School as part of the Oxford Festival of the Arts. Sadly they say it is both 'the first and last performance' of The Double Act: Under Construction, an idea they dreamt up 'when they were supposed to be doing other things'. But although they claim 'they don’t like each other much', they are joint founders and directors of the production company Captain Dolly, so it may not be the last we see of their partnership…

Wednesday July 5

BRIGHTON: The Comedy Garden again sets up camp in Preston Park, with five days of top-flight comedy names sharing bills in the massive marquee. Opening night features Ed Gamble, Fern Brady, John Robins, Josh Pugh and Lolly Adefope, while other names popping down include Phil Wang, Sara Pascoe, Alan Davies, Jack Dee, Nish Kumar and Dylan Moran. See the full listings, and get tickets, here

LONDON: Luke Rollason brings Bowerbird, his hour of silly visual comedy, to the Soho Theatre for the rest of the week. Fans of Spencer Jones will warm to the stupid props-based humour, warmly performed.

Thursday July 6

STOURTON: The Cotswolds Distillery in this picturesque Staffordshire village is holding a three-night comedy festival featuring the likes of Zoe Lyons, Terry Alderton and Stephen Bailey. Listings.

Friday July 7

LONDON: The nine-day Balham Comedy Festival kicks off at the Bedford, starting with special editions of its usual weekend gig, Banana Cabaret, featuring Robin Morgan, Stephen K Amos and Toussaint Douglass tonight and Dan Antopolski, Paul Tonkinson and Russell Hicks tomorrow, both MCed by John Moloney. Over the week, some of the works-in-progress look pricey - but better value are the full shows by the likes of Ed Byrne, Milton Jones, Janey Godley and Rich Hall. Listings

LONDON: The Hackney Comedy Experience comes back down to EartH, with a fine line-up comprising Nish Kumar, Maisie Adam, John Robins and Helen Bauer. Tickets

MELBOURNE: The Just The Tonic Comedy Shindig returns to Derbyshire with three massive gigs over three nights, featuring Dylan Moran, Reginald D Hunter, Troy Hawke and many more…. Listings and tickets

Saturday July 8

CROYDON: Stanley Arts hosts a weekend comedy festival featuring 14 shows across two days, featuring the likes of Elliot Steel, Sara Barron, Chloe Petts and Darren Harriott all working up shows for the Edinburgh Fringe.

Sunday July 9

LONDON: Chortle's Fast Fringe returns to Leicester Square Theatre, featuring 30 Edinburgh-bound comedy and variety acts performing very brief extracts from their show in one manically fast-paced showcase. Arthur Smith hosts the following - deep breath – Showstoppers, Flat & The Curves, Bojangles, Ian Smith, Fiona Allen, Sikisa, Lorna Rose Treen, Alison Spittle, John Robertson, Elliot Steel, Benji Waterstones, JJ Whitehead, Sachin Kumarendra, 'rockstar magician' Arron Jones, Vix Leyton, John Tothill, William Thompson, Aaron Simmons, Annabel Marlow, Charlie Vero-Martin, Public: The Musical, Bronwyn Sweeney, Lachlan Werner, Sasha Ellen, Matty Hutson, Lindsey Santoro, Liz Guterbock, Rosie Sings, Mamoun Elagab and Crizards. Phew! Tickets

Published: 2 Jul 2023