The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 6,491  events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region. 

Tuesday September 2

NORWICH: Comedy ventriloquist Paul Zerdin  is on tour again with his new tour Jaw Drop, starting at the Norwich Playhouse. It features characters such Sam, the cocky teenager; Albert, the 96-year-old; and the Baby, who believes the world revolves around him; dim-witted American bodyguard Roger; an outrageous Urban Fox and out-of-work TV presenter Alasdair Rimmer.  He also promises a twist on his 'human dummy’ routine. Paul Zerdin​ tour dates.

LONDON: American comic Bill Posley – a writer on the Harrison Ford and Brett Goldsmith series Shrinking – makes his UK debut with The Day I Accidentally Went to War at the Soho Theatre. It traces how the stand-up unexpectedly found himself in the military and the life-altering journey that followed, through basic training, overseas deployment to returning home. It’s on until September 11.

Wednesday September 3

LONDON: Fresh from winning the Edinburgh Comedy Award, Sam Nicoresti brings her fabulous Baby Doomer to the Soho Theatre until the 14th. Review

LONDON: The Comedy Store is hosting a gala in aid of Get Off Live Comedy – the industry’s version of an HR department striving to eliminate sexual harassment from the circuit. On the excellent bill are  Nish Kumar, Sara Pascoe, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Nina Gilligan and Sikisa.

MANCHESTER:  The annual Laugharama Comedy Festival returns to Castlefield Bowl from tonight until Sunday, with mixed-bill line-ups featuring comedy aristocracy such as Tim Key,  Bridget Christie, Frankie Boyle and Sam Campbell. Listings and ticket links

MANCHESTER: Australian ultra-low-status oddball – and phenomenal joke-writer – Dan Rath brings his five-star show Tropical Depression to Creatures Comedy Club tonight, and the Hen and Chicken in Bristol tomorrow.

NORWICH: Elis James and John Robins hit the road with their producer Dave Masterman with a tour called That Feels Significant, featuring ‘japes and banter and games and mad dads’ – starting at Epic Studios tonight. Tour dates. 


BATH: Outlandish comedy character Myra Dubois embarks on a new tour, Cosmic Empath, exploring where her great gift for compassion comes from, kicking off at the Komedia. Myra Dubois​ tour dates

Thursday September 4

LONDON: Whoopi Goldberg is making her first UK stage appearance in nearly a decade at the Eventim Apollo tonight, where she’ll be interviewed by Graham Norton, and at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff tomorrow where she’ll be joined by Jennifer Saunders

Friday September 5

GLASGOW: The Stand opens in its new venue tonight with a cracking bill comprising Susie McCabe, Stuart McPherson, Susan Morrison and Susan Riddell. The club’s lease on its old site in Woodlands Road is up after 25 years, and is now setting up in a new base 100 yards away in the Lansdowne Church on Great Western Road, formerly Websters Theatre.

LEEK: Comic Harriet Dyer embarks on what she calls her first ‘proper’ tour, coming off the back of her appearance on Live At The Apollo earlier this year. A greatest hits show, she calls it ‘my daftest show yet’, but adds: ‘ Actually, I once did a whole show dressed in an inflatable diplodocus costume so maybe this won’t be quite as daft as that… but I’d say a close second’. Harriet Dyer​ tour dates.

NEW MILTON: Stephen K Amos also starts his latest tour, Now We're Talking, beginning at the Forest Arts Centre and running through to February. Stephen K Amos​ tour dates

Saturday September 6

LONDON: The latest Live At The Chapel extravaganza in Islington’s Union Chapel features John Kearns, Lucy Beaumont, Chloe Petts and Ray Badran.

MULL: Following a successful Edinburgh run, Josie Long tours her latest offering, Now Is The Time Of Monsters, starting with an intimate gig on the Scottish island. She said: ‘In these troubled times, in this wicked world, it can feel like apocalypse is everywhere but did you know 11,000 years ago there were some really big armadillos? I’m talking about as big as a car. Really big. And they were vegetarian so don’t even worry about them. Also my daughter has a hamster and I’m not saying distract yourself from everything, but I’m saying he’s also part of everything.’ Read our review of the show from the Fringe here. Josie Long​​ tour dates.

Published: 31 Aug 2025