The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 5,130 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Sunday December 3

LONDON: It's the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year, hosted by Mick Ferry and featuring sets from Leah Davis,Christian Jegard, Hugh Peacocke, Jonathan Rippon, aka JR, Kathleen Hughes, Lauren Carroll, Leah Davis, Maple Zuo, Maria Fedulova, Marty Gleeson, Riggs, Sallyann Fellowes, Sam Roulston, Samira Banks and Stephen Catling,

Monday December 4

LONDON: When he launched his new show, Mr TikTok, at Edinburgh in August, Mat Ewins had barely 1,000 followers on the social platform. Now, four months on, his creative and absurd video skits have amassed him a total of - drum roll, please - nearly 1,400. Still, there's no substitute for seeing his manic, densely-packed work live, and this show's at Soho Theatre all week. Review.

LONDON: Bridget Christie headlines a comedy gig at the Clapham Grand in aid of Women and Children First also featuring Felicity Ward - soon to be seen in the lead role of the Australian remake of The Office - and Celya AB.

OXFORD: The Old Fire Station has a recent tradition of showcasing new theatrical work by comedians at Christmas, and today it's the first performance of Glacier by Alison Spittle, described as a 'darkly funny play about wild swimming, female friendship, and the pressure of having a nice Christmas'. It runs to December 23.

Wednesday December 6

LONDON: Iliza Shlesinger has six stand-up specials and one sketch series on Netflix. She makes a flying visit to the UK this week, playing the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith tonight and Friday, as part of a European tour.

LONDON: Twenty years ago Dan Antopolski, Glenn Wool and Tony Law created a triple act called The Dinks for the Edinburgh Fringe. Tonight they all share the bill at the Camden Comedy Club at the &Friends new material night.

Thursday December 7

COLCHESTER: Ed Gamble kicks off a series of Live At Christmas theatre gigs around the country - each featuring a different line-up of top-flight comics. Other headliners over the season, which starts at Charter Hall before visiting the Rose Theatre in Kingston tomorrow at the Theatre Royal Brighton on Monday, include Simon Amstell, Phil Wang and David O'Doherty. Tickets for tonight's show are available here.

YORK: The Sitting Room Comedy Club at The Winning Post features a fine line-up tonight, with Brennan Reece, Karen Bayley, Steve Day and Tom Taylor.

Friday December 8

LONDON: Australian powerhouse Reuben Kaye begins a four-week residency at the classy Purcell Rooms on the South Bank with his hilariously edgy show The Butch is Back. When we reviewed it last year, we called it 'a glorious comedy cabaret that's by turns funny, poignant and political – and never less than fabulously executed' and stand by that.

LONDON: Some people can make a musical out of anything, as American performer Sophie Zucker proves with Sophe Suck Face - a one-woman spectacular about how she got off with her second cousin at her grandfather’s wake. It's at the Museum of Comedy for tonight only, having debuted in the UK at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. Review

Saturday December 9

LONDON: Stewart Lee takes up his now-traditional residency at the Leicester Square Theatre. Basic Lee (Review)is billed as a stripped-down performance in which the esteemed comic breaks down the writing and performance of stand-up as he re-enginers a nearly 35-year-old gag. He'll be here with this forensic deconstruction of the artform until January 20, with the nationwide tour resuming two days later.

Published: 3 Dec 2023