The best of the week's live comedy

The best of the week's live comedy, picked from the 6,544 events Chortle currently has listed. Use our search panel to check our full listings by date and region. 

Sunday October 11


DUBLIN: New act night Battle of the Axe, founded in 1996 by producer Tony Ferns, celebrates its 30th year with a fundraiser for the  Irish Red Cross Colombia Emergency Appeal. It takes place at  Molly’s Bar in The Liberties from 7pm.

MANCHESTER: It’s the last day of the Women in Comedy festival, with shows all afternoon in the Northern Quarter and Rachel Fairburn wrapping things up with her show Vexy Beasts at the Frog & Bucket, the venue behind the event.

Monday October 12

LONDON: Dom McGovern had one of the stand-out debuts at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe with Prize Hog, which now transfers to the Soho Theatre for a week-long run. Review.

LONDON: And speaking of Edinburgh hits transferring to Soho, Harriet Dyer’s best show nominee Easily Distra… is also at the central London venue for the week. Review

Tuesday October 13

MANCHESTER: An ace line-up at the always dependable, and always friendly, XS Malarkey at 53two features Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Amy Gledhill and Britain’s Got Talent winner Lost Voice Guy, among others. Tickets

Thursday October 15

GIFFNOCK: The Gilded Balloon’s Big Comedy Roadshow is back. This month’s line-up of Jack Skipper, Gareth Mutch, Alison Spittle, Tamsyn Kelly and Raymond Mearns play Eastwood Park tonight, Haddington Corn Exchange tomorrow and Dundee Rep on Saturday.

LONDON: Earning one of Chortle’s very rare five-star reviews this Edinburgh, Sam Eley has created a fine comic caricature in his papier-mâché-headed Basil Crumbwick, a cranky Reform-voting old man who offers more than simple stereotype in a show packed with proper jokes. He’s at Soho Theatre this weekend and returns for a longer run in January.

Friday October 16

LONDON: They call it a comedy festival… others might call it 'four gigs'. New venue Always Gladice in Brent Cross is hosting line-up shows today, tomorrow and next weekend. It kicks off with Limahl Germain, Monica Hsueh, Sophie Garrad, Omar Badaway and Ali Woods, with all the ticket money going to mental health charity. Mind Barnet & Enfield. Josh Berry, who's playing next Friday, said: 'I’m so glad that my jokes about ejaculatory vigour are helping out such an important cause.'

Saturday October 17

LONDON: American performer Rayna Greenberg, best known as the co-host of the comedy and relationship podcast Girls Gotta Eat, brings her show Honestly, It’s You, a commentary on modern dating,  to Leicester Square Theatre.  

Published: 11 Oct 2026