The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 5,663 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region.

Sunday January 14

SALFORD: Janine Harouni kicks off a short tour of her Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated show Man’oushe, which explores her Arab roots, pregnancy and what happens when your mail-order DNA test does not go to plan. The British-based American – whose stand-up clips have been viewed close to 100 million times on social media – said: ‘I’m thrilled to be embarking on my first ever UK tour, and not just because it gives my nipples a break from the milk vampire that lives in my home. Or as my husband calls him, "our son".’ Janine Harouni tour dates.

EDINBURGH: Martin Urbano - a pitch-perfect parody of the sleazy, toxic edgelord comic with ‘ironically’ sexist, racist and homophobic material - plays the Monkey Barrel tonight before heading to London to spend the rest of the week at the Soho Theatre. Readout our four-star review here

Monday January 15

LONDON: Max & Ivan's Life, Choices - which is at the Soho Theatre all week - is an intricate and personal look and fatherhood, friendship and the future as they consider whether being sketch comedians is any job for middle-aged men with responsibilities. Review

LONDON: Comedy Youngers at Covent Garden Social Club showcases some of the best of the new generation of stand-up stars, even if some - like Elliot Steel - are already relatively old hands. Finlay Christie, Ania Magliano, Dan Tiernan and more are also on the bill.

Tuesday January 16

LONDON: Big In Scotland charts Kieran Hodgson's move to set up a new home in Glasgow after being cast in the BBC sitcom Two Doors Down. It's a playfully funny mockery of stereotypes, this Englishman in a land he pretends to understand initially the butt of the jokes… though it slowly transpires he knows more than enough about the culture for some very specific mockery beyond bagpipes and deep-fried foods. Deservedly earning Hodgson another Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination last year, the show kicks off a UK tour with a two-week run at Soho Theatre from tonight. Kieran Hodgson tour dates.

Wednesday January 17

LONDON: Stamptown, hands-down the best showcase of insanely anarchic late-night alternative comedy, starts a short season at Soho Theatre, under the neglectful compering of Jack Tucker, a glorious parody of the slick US comic just about holding his life together, let alone the show. Each night features special guests drawn from a line-up including Viggo Venn, Stevie Martin, Kemah Bob, Sikisa, Flo & Joan, Elf Lyons, Olga Kock, Séayoncé, Natalie Palamides, Huge Davies, Leo Reich, Mark Silcox and more. Read our five-star review of the Edinburgh Fringe version here.

Friday January 19

SALFORD: Following a handful of dates last year, Scottish comedian Connor Burns embarks on his first national tour, with 31 UK dates of his show Vertigo. It's said to cover controversial suggestions for coping with the cost-of-living crisis if you have a big family, his fascination with accents and their effect when away from home, and his aversion to drinking with millennials. Connor Burns tour dates

Published: 14 Jan 2024