The week's best live 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.

Monday June 29

LONDON: The Comedy Store's brutal gong show is always hugely entertaining for audiences - if not always for the comedians. This month's instalment is MCed by Adam Rowe.

Tuesday June 30

LONDON: Alex Edelman's last show, Just For Us, started at the Edinburgh Fringe before going onto acclaimed runs off- and on-Broadway and becoming an HBO comedy special. Now his follow-up, What Are You Going To Do? lands in Soho Theatre for four nights ahead of its Edinburgh Fringe debut in August.

LONDON: Al Murray, Simon Evans, Andrew Doyle, Adam Bloom and Josh Howie are on a strong line-up for the Stand-Up For Jews benefit at Leicester Square Theatre, raising money for Jewish volunteer services in London and antisemitism groups Stop The Hate and Our Fight.

LONDON: Funny Women founder Lynne Parker is marking her 70th birthday with a comedy night raising money for The Glitter Project, her organisation's scheme to develop grassroots talent. Many alumni from the initiative are on stage at the Comedy Store tonight, on a celebratory gig headlined by Suzy Bennett.

Wednesday July 1

CREWE: Paul Smith takes his new stand-up tour Happy - billed as the ' biggest, boldest show of his career' - on a tour of more than 100 venues, starting at the Lyceum Theatre tonight. Expect the usual mix of crowd work and true-life stories from the hugely successful Liverpudlian. Paul Smith tour dates.

NORWICH: The Comedy Garden brings its marquee to town for five days of top-flight comedy, kicking off with Jack Dee, Ivo Graham, Laura Smyth and Rosie Jones – while other acts coming to Chapelfield Gardens over the week include Dylan Moran, Sara Pascoe, Ed Gamble and Tom Allen. Norwich Comedy Garden listings and tickets.

BRIGHTON: Known for his sardonic wit, David Sedaris is widely considered one of America’s pre-eminent humour writers and has several Radio 4 series to his name to prove it. He starts a UK reading tour at the Theatre Royal tonight. David Sedaris tour dates. MANCHESTER: The Frog And Bucket hosts a fundraiser for The Lily Foundation, the charity dedicated to fighting mitochondrial disease. Former Taskmaster contestant Phil Ellis heads the bill.

LONDON: Comedy impressionist Jess Robinson, as heard on Dead Ringers, brings her Elton Reimagined show to the Underbelly Boulevard for the rest of the week, offering new versions of Reg Dwight's greatest hits, as if sung by various (other) divas.

Thursday July 2

LONDON: There's a good line-up at Dulwich Hamlet FC tonight, with John Tothill, Katie Norris, Phil Ellis and more. Tickets.

BRADFORD: A new comedy night comes to Darley Street Market, with the opening night featuring a host of circuit favourites: Gavin Webster, Jack Carroll, Jonny Pelham and MC Anthony J Brown.

Friday July 3

LONDON: Ilana Glazer - the comedian best known for co-creating and co-starring in the acclaimed series Broad City – is touring the UK for the first time. She's at the Hackney Empire tonight ahead of stops at Bristol St George's, London's Union Chapel, the Glasgow Glee, Manchester New Century and The Limelight in Belfast.

LEEDS: Milton Jones, master of the wonderfully weird one-liner, plays the Glee this week. He's joined by the equally good - if not equally famous - Adam Bloom plus Liam Farrelly and Matt Price.

Saturday July 4

EDINBURGH: Established American stand-up Gary Owen came up through the black circuit - Ebony dubbed him 'black America's favourite white comic' - and he's more recently grown his fan base on social media. He's at the Stand in Edinburgh tonight and in Glasgow tomorrow, followed by the Glees in Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff, and two nights at the Leicester Square Theatre in London. This show, No Hard Feelings, is also streaming on YouTube.

MANCHESTER: American comic and Daily Show regular Josh Johnson brings his Comedy Band Camp - which blends stand-up and live music with the nostalgia of summer camp - to the O2 Apollo.

NOTTINGHAM: Ross Noble swings by the Just The Tonic club in Metronome, where he's joined by the entertainingly intense Dan Tiernan and controversialist Mike Rice.

Published: 28 Jun 2026