Plus tours from Catherine Bohart, Michelle Brasier, Kanan Gill and Anuvab Pal in the week's best 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.

Sundat May 12

BRIGHTON: The city's Fringe continues all month, with tonight's offerings including works in progress from Henning Wehn, Chloe Petts and Ben Pope. Website

Monday May 13

LONDON: Avital Ash Workshops Her Suicide Note takes a comic look at a very dark subject to great effect. Heart-rending as well as bleakly funny, the show plays just two dates at the Soho Theatre tonight and tommorrow, so see it while you can. Read our review from last year's Edinburgh Fringe here.

Tuesday May 14

DUBLIN: Cult US comedy hero Eric Andre, star of his own insane talk show on Adult Swim, as well as being a regular panelist on ABC’s The Prank Panel, alongside Johnny Knoxville, plays Vicar Street ahead of a short UK tour that takes in Glasgow, Bristol, Birmingham, London, Brighton and Manchester.

BRIGHTON: Australian comedian Michelle Brasier, as seen on Aunty Donna's Netflix series, embarks on a UK tour her musical stand-up show Reform at Komedia. The twisty-turny story tells of how she went looking for a Pilates device online during lockdown, but ended up beign led a merry dance by the scammer on the other end of the listing. She says the long to- and fro- is down to her 'seeing the best in people even though they’re probably, mostly shit'. Read our review here, Michelle Brasier tour dates

Wednesday May 15

LONDON: Nominated for most outstanding show at last month’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Indian stand-up sensation Kanan Gill embarks on a UK tour with a sold-out gig at the Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall tonight. He later visits Salford, Birmingham and Glasgow with a couple more capital dates at the Union Chapel (tour dates) . Read our review from down under here

SHEFFIELD: After they announced their divorce, will Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont appear together, as billed, for the comedy night they've put together at the City Hall for the city's Children’s Hospital? Either way there's plenty more for the sold-out crowd to enjoy, including Alan Carr, Maisie Adam, Russell Kane and Fatiha El-Ghorri.

LONDON: It's the second of two semi-finals of the Chortle Student Comedy Award at Bloomsbury Theatre studio tonight. Vying for a place in the final, and a chance to perform at Latitude Festival in Sussex, are Adam Dorr, Anna Rae, Caitlin Powell, Cormac Sinnot, Foo, Jake Stodgen, James Clark, Maxine Wade, Michael McKenzie, Miles Greenway, Ralph Balfe and Sully Jones. Sam Nicoresti hosts. Tickets

Thursday May 16

BRIGHTON: Catherine Bohart kicks off her best tour yet – Again, With Feelings – at the Forge Comedy Club at the Ironworks. Talking about mental health, relationships and settling down in her 30s with the intimacy of an old pal, she has the craft to make stand-up look remarkably easy. Here is our review and the tour dates

LONDON: The Moth Club, the former working men's club in Hackney, hosts another attractive Knock2Bag Comedy Night bill, headed by Jamali Maddix, Chloe Petts, Kemah Bob and Michael Odewale.

Friday May 17

SOUTHEND: 'Embracing Britishness' is not something many UK comics would be prepared to do, not on the left of the political spectrum, anyway. But as an Indian, Anuvab Pal has a different perspective, and wants to sell the idea of Britishness back to his countrymen. It has been tried before, with dubious results, so maybe this time will be different… Anuvab Pal tour dates

KINGSTON: The Rose Theatre hosts a star-studded benefit gig for Small Steps, a local charity helping pre-school children with physical disabilities. The line-up includes Joel Dommett, Katherine Ryan, Nish Kumar, Rosie Jones, Suzi Ruffell and more

Saturday May 18

BISHOPS STORTFORD: Unrelenting political comic Mark Thomas tops a strong bill at the Laughing Bishops Comedy Club at the United Reform Hall, more-than ably backed by circuit favourites Dave Fulton and Gavin Webster and MC Paddy Lennox.

NOTTINGHAM: Adam Bloom – who literally wrote the book on stand-up – is joined by mischief-maker Carey Marx and the appealing Jimmy McGhie at Just The Tonic tonight.

Published: 12 May 2024