Top live comedy coming to Liverpool in 2018
Let’s face it – we all need a laugh at the moment, and luckily that’s what comedy fans across Liverpool and beyond are being offered in 2018.
In addition to the great comedy clubs and nights which regularly entertain audiences, there are a host of household names and rising stars heading our way during the next 12 months.
From intimate gigs in small rooms to full-on spectaculars in the 10,600-seater Echo Arena, to every nook and cranny in between, there are opportunities to have a giggle.
After all, laughing is proven to be good for you – even if you end up crying!
With that in mind, here are some of the funnymen and women you can see doing their thing live at a venue near you.
Echo Arena and Auditorium
Tickets for all shows from the website HERE
Ed Byrne – March 3
One of the hardest-working stand-ups in the business continues to entertain with his Spoiler Alert tour, which he brings to the Auditorium this spring.
Is life that bad or have we good reason to complain about it? Are we filled with righteous anger at a world gone wrong or are we all just a bunch of whiny little brats? In short, are we spoiled?
Come and watch as Byrne takes this question, turns it upside down and shakes it until the funny falls out.
Russell Brand – March 19
How can you be edgy and dangerous when you’re dad to a tiny daughter?
Enfant terrible Russell Brand ponders the question in his new show, RE: Birth, which comes to the Auditorium in March.
John Bishop – March 30
Liverpool comedy giant John Bishop played the arena last autumn and has extended his current tour Winging It to finish back at the waterfront venue.
His return is also part of the venue’s 10th birthday celebrations.
Flight of the Conchords - April 1
The cult Grammy Award-winning New Zealand duo are delighting their many fans by doing a UK arena tour in 2018.
And as part of it, the guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk twosome are bringing Something Special to Echo Arena.
Michael McIntyre – April 27-28
The king of Saturday night TV is returning to the arena in 2018 for two nights with his Big World Tour, which is doing exactly what it says on the tin, with other dates taking in America, Australia, Singapore, Iceland and Sweden among others.
Sarah Millican – September 29-30
Geordie star Sarah Millican brings her latest live show Control Enthusiast back to the Auditorium for not one but two evenings of merriment.
Learn about Rescue Men, what can happen at a bra fitting, the benefits of casserole, plus tips on how to talk to shop assistants and the correct way to eat a biscuit.
Joe Lycett – November 11
Hard-working comedian Joe Lycett makes his first appearance in the Auditorium with his hit tour I’m About to Lose Control and I Think Joe Lycett.
Philharmonic Hall
All tickets from the website HERE
Bill Bailey – March 10 and June 12
Bill Bailey has been plying the highways and byways of comedy for 20 years and he brings his traveller’s tales to his latest show Larks in Transit.
Expect him to tackle politics, philosophy and the pursuit of happiness. And this being Bailey, he also fashions a symphony from a ringtone, tells the real story of Old McDonald, and a re-imagines the Stars and Stripes.
Simon Day – March 14
The Fast Show’s Simon Day brings four of his signature characters to the Phil – Brian Pern, Billy Bleach, Geoffrey Allerton and Tony Beckton – in one evening.
No Such Thing as a Fish – March 29
Join award-winning podcasters Dan Schreiber, Andrew Hunter Murray, Anna Ptaszynski and James Harkin as they serve up their pick of the most bizarre, extraordinary and hilarious facts known to man.
Tim Vine – May 15
Join the rapid-fire gag merchant who brings his new tour Sunset Milk Idiot to the Phil in 2018.
Vine will be telling lots of silly new jokes, showing off new homemade props, and singing some new daft ditties.
Jason Manford – May 26
Comedian, actor, singer and presenter Jason Manford is a Liverpool favourite and returns to various venues in 2018 with his new show Muddle Class.
Epstein Theatre
All tickets from the website HERE
Griff Rhys Jones – February 3
Join the star of Not the Nine O’Clock News, Smith & Jones and Three Men In A Boat as he shares stories, anecdotes, reminiscences and outright lies from 40 years of travelling down rivers and up mountains, into Africa, out of India, and across the arid wastes of the BBC canteen.
John Robins – February 24
Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Robins brings The Darkness of Robins to the Epstein, reflecting on love, loss and lamenting the fact he can’t break up with himself.
Joe Lycett – March 23-24
Epstein favourite Joe Lycett (also appearing at the Auditorium) will be sharing jokes, paintings and some of the pathetic internet trolling he’s been up to recently.
Liverpool Playhouse
All tickets from the website HERE
Mark Thomas – March 8-10
Who else would decide to run a comedy club in the West Bank by Mark Thomas?
Find out what happened in Showtime From the Front Line.
Bridget Christie – March 24
Edinburgh winner Bridget Christie asks What Now? in her latest stand up show which promises a night of hope and despair as she goes head to head with rolling news.
Liverpool Empire
All tickets from the website HERE
Dara O Briain – May 18-19
Is Irish funnyman Dara O Briain the Voice of Reason? Find out when he brings his new tour of UK and Ireland to the Empire for two nights in the spring.
Jason Manford – July 15
It’s that man again. No, not Tommy Handley but Jason Manford, musical theatre star and Salford-born stand up who brings Muddle Class to the Empire for one night only.
Kevin Bridges – December 4-5
Enjoy some pre-Christmas comedy courtesy of Kevin Bridges who brings Brand New, his biggest tour to date, to the Empire for two nights.
Ross Noble – December 7
Comedian and actor Ross Noble returns to Liverpool to dance around the stage spinning out all the nonsense in his head into his new live show El Hablador.