Plus The Bill Murray street party and the week's other live comedy highlights

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 May 26

LONDON: Angel Comedy hosts its third charity street party from 2pm, featuring Nish Kumar, Sam Campbell, Helen Bauer performing rooftop comedy at The Bill Murray pub in Islington. Meanwhile, a bustling village fete atmosphere will be created on the street below, featuring the likes of a tombola, welly wanging, and a coconut shy. Admission is free but donations to support local food banks, whether it's spare change or canned goods, are invited.

LONDON: The Park Theatre in Finsbury Park hosts another of its top-flight stand-up nights, offering punters a varied embarrassment of riches: Jeff Innocent, Robin Ince, Stefano Paolini, Thanyia Moore, Michael Legge and Anuvab Pal.

CAMBRIDGE: It's the last day of the city's weekend-long Fringe, featuring shows from Lou Sanders, Elliot Steel, Jordan Brooks and more

Tuesday May 28

LONDON: With fortuitous timing after Rishi Sunak called the general election, political comic Matt Forde returns to the stage after the surgery to have the base of his spine removed following his cancer. He will perform five work-in-progress gigs at London’s Soho Theatre this week, ahead of a full run at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. When the gigs were announced, he said: '‘When I was laid in that hospital bed in excruciating pain, the only thought on my mind was "at least I’ll get a show out of this". Then I’d remember that I’m a political comedian and I’d think "oh well, at least people don’t have to hear me do a show about this".’

LONDON: The Comedy Store hosts a fundraiser for Game Therapy, with a line-up that comprises Mark Thomas, Angela Barnes, Hal Cruttenden, Jeff Innocent and Ian Stone, plus host Gary Colman. The charity provides therapeutic gaming projects to the homeless, survivors of modern-day slavery, people with special educational needs and more.

LONDON: Picturehouse Central stages a screening of the documentary Janey – about comedian Janey Godley's remarkable life and cancer diagnosis – followed by stand-up from the woman herself.

Wednesday May 29

LONDON: An intriguing bit of nonsense at Aces and Eights in Tufnell Park night, with Nerine Skinner as Liz Truss hiring The Traitors set (and host, played by Suchandrika Chakrabarti) to find out: who really tanked the economy? Comics Sooz Kempner, Joz Norris and Adam Larter are also involved in the shenanigans. Tickets

Friday May 31

LONDON: James Acaster performs the first of two nights of his Hecklers Welcome tour at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall.

LONDON: Another typically excellent bill for the Hackney Comedy Experience at Earth boasts the many delights of Adam Buxton, Mat Ewins, Michael Odewale, Sindhu Vee and this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival award-winner, Sarah Keyworth.

GLASGOW: A strong line-up at the Glee today and tomorrow includes rising star Christopher MacArthur-Boyd, posh-boy improv rapper MC Hammersmith and the hilariously wry Michael Fabbri

CARDIFF: The Glee chain's Welsh site also boasts a strong line-up this weekend with pun-loving metalhead Andrew O'Neill, perennially flustered Everyman Scott Bennett and well-established circuit favourite Keith Farnan.

LEEDS: Top Banana Comedy Club in Coopers Bar offers three trusty headliners for the price of one in the form of Alun Cochrane, Andre Vincent and Sally-Anne Hayward

Saturday June 1

LONDON: Cadogan Hall, an historic 900-seat venue in the heart of Chelsea, is running line-up comedy nights for the first time. It's previously hosted tour dates from the likes of Tig Notaro, Henning Wehn and Omid Djalili but a new tie-up with producers Berk’s Nest is its first time proactively programming comedy. And they certainly start with a bang, with an all-star line-up that comprises Desiree Burch, Ian Smith, Phil Wang, Sara Pascoe and Colin Hoult

Published: 26 May 2024