Comedy to catch in Liverpool this autumn

As autumn approaches, the nights start to get darker and the news seems to get bleaker, we all need a laugh.

Happily, the nation’s funny men and women are willing to oblige, with a mighty host of comedians descending on Britain’s ‘capital of comedy’ between now and Christmas to give us all a big laugh.

Along with comedy clubs and regular comedy nights, star names and rising talent are also appearing at venues like the M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool Playhouse, Philharmonic Hall, Epstein Theatre, Royal Court Studio and Liverpool Empire.

From shows in front of 10,000-strong crowds to intimate gigs for 100 comedy afficionados, from cerebral comedy to quick fire gags, and from storytellers to surreal flights of fancy, there really is something – and someone – for everyone who appreciates a good giggle.

Here are just 12 shows to catch in the city this autumn.

Celya AB: We Must Stop Meeting Like This

Royal Court Studio – September 12

Have you ever forensically over-thought your life choices? Are they all somehow connected to a passing comment your Spanish teacher made when you were 15? Has it impacted everything from your love life to your career?

Following sold-out shows across the UK, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Soho Theatre, Celya AB is back with a new show with her brand of “exceptional, not to mention impressively original” (British Comedy Guide) jokes and sharp observations.

This is a show about breaking free from shame, and what ensues when you do.

Book HERE

Daniel Kitson: Thrum

Liverpool Playhouse – September 16

Daniel Kitson fans won’t want to miss his latest visit to Liverpool – this time with his new live show Thrum.

There’s the sound of somewhere else and the permanence of a plant pot and the ubiquity of a phrase and the heartbreaking brevity of a very long time. There’s figs and worms and an old dog rejecting a blanket. There’s a woman, on a train, wearing a badge. There’s the first beep of a smoke alarm and there’s a daffodil in December and there’s the condition of fruit.

There’s a hand in bed and there’s stuff on the stairs and there’s a mark on my jumper and there’s a massive tree in storage on a farm in Kent. There’s nothing to say and there’s the thought of rotting and there’s the name of a feeling and there’s the smell of tobacco.

There’s the twelfth floor of a hotel and the far end of a platform at Tamworth train station. There’s a duty to act and there’s a resistance to growth and there’s a new place up the road and there’s a completely redundant volume control. There’s a toilet in Hong Kong and a coffee shop in Melbourne and the passage of light through a building and deliberately making things much more difficult than they actually need to be.

And.

There’s music, more or less throughout, at least two funny voices and upwards of three jokes.

Book HERE

Rhys James: Chop Logic

Liverpool Playhouse – October 2

Rhys James has made a discovery that could fix everything.

It’s been staring him in the face the whole time, in a mirror held behind his head. If he can ignore his own problems for long enough, he might just be able to solve yours.

A fast, forensic show of big ideas and gag-dense overthinking from one of the nation’s sharpest stand-ups.

James is known for TLC’s Mock The Week and BBC Radio 4’s Rhysearch and has also been seen furrowing his brow on QI, Live At The Apollo and his viral U&Dave lecture, ‘I Stalk Strangers Online‘.

Book HERE

Rob Newman: 21st Century Survival Guide

Royal Court Studio – October 9

Hot on the heels of his new novel, Intelligence (very good by the way!), Rob Newman returns to offer a Survival Guide to the 21st Century.

How do we defend ourselves from oil shocks, chatbots and billionaire Tech Bros inciting civil war? Or stop AI stealing half our water, and stop water companies poisoning the rest?

From retrofitting our towns and cities for the climate of the future to proposing a national maximum wage, Newman explores what clues history offers us for when the rich and powerful go ape.

Book HERE

Rachel Fairburn: Vexy Beasts

Royal Court Studio – October 15

Hot on the heels of her critically acclaimed 2025 show Side Eye, Rachel Fairburn is back with new personalities and some old favourites for you to love and hate. Expect biting commentary and lots of big laughs.

Co-host of International smash hit podcast All Killa No Filla and as seen on Live at the Apollo, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Dave), Richard Osman’s House of Games and Russell Howard Hour Life Lesson (Sky).

Book HERE

Phil Wang: Uh Oh

Philharmonic Hall – October 25

Uh Oh. Phil Wang’s back with a new stand-up show, and he’s older than ever before. 

He’s got a moustache now. It bristles with wisdom. His eyes shine with good humour. His shoulders groan under the weight of being the only cool millennial left. Everyone’s an idiot but him. Nice is out. Right is in. The vibe shift is real. Old Wang’s riding it.

You know him from one series of Taskmaster, one episode of Would I Lie to You, and one minute of Wonka.

Book HERE

The Rachel Parris Songbook

Epstein Theatre – November 6

The BAFTA-nominated comedian is back on the road, bringing some of her favourite songs from the last 15 years of her comedy career, alongside new stand-up.

Whether you are a Speedy Boarder, a Girl With A Diamond Finger, a Gym go-er, or part of a Hen Doo On A Train, there is Something Profound for you in The Rachel Parris Songbook.

Just come ready to sing along. A capella may be included.

Parris is best known for The Mash Report, and has appeared on Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, QI, Would I Lie To You and Live at The Apollo. She is also a regular on Radio 4's Just A Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and she is also a cast member and founder of award-winning improv show Austentatious.

Book HERE

Susan Calman: Tall Tales

M&S Bank Arena – November 7

Susan Calman hasn’t been on tour in 10 years, but now she’s back with a new show.

A decade older, but not necessarily wiser, Calman has found herself in some improbable situations over the years.

Tall tales is a show about cruising, driving tanks, cats and getting older. You might have seen her on the television or heard her on the radio but the absolute best way to see her is live on stage. You won’t believe how short she really is.

Prepare yourself for an evening of barely believable stories, laughter and probably some dancing.

Book HERE

Sam Campbell: Kid Giblet

Liverpool Empire – November 11

With a signature style that marries absurdist loops and razor-sharp observational wit, Sam Campbell continues to evolve as one of the UK’s most distinctive and boundary-pushing comedic talents.

Campbell definitely doesn't know what's going on. In fact, he’s not even sure he knows what's happening anymore. But he can’t wait to come to Liverpool and respect the city’s traditions.

Having bought a large metal ring, he plans to use it to keep all of the keys to the city that are given to him by the mayors up and down Britain who he impresses with his showmanship.

Book HERE

Flo and Jo: With Feeling

Liverpool Playhouse – November 13-14

Critically acclaimed musical comedy duo Flo & Joan make their highly anticipated return to the stage with a new show this autumn.

The pair will try and take up as much of the stage and as little of your patience as possible as they use another “real band’s” setlist to write their own show – ruminating on themes such as ‘what is music?’, ‘how do you be a band?’, and ‘is comedy?’ in the sharp-tongued, deadpan way they have become accustomed to.

As seen on Live at the Apollo, The Royal Variety Performance, Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day Live 2023 and their own comedy special Alive on Stage for Amazon Prime.

Book HERE

The End of the World According to Jonathan Pie

M&S Bank Arena – November 21-22

Jonathan Pie, the UK’s angriest and most unfiltered political satirist, returns with a new live show - and he’s bringing his trademark rants to Liverpool for two nights only.

Pie is coming to terms with the horror of Labour and the fact that he voted for it. Meanwhile, Reform is waiting in the wings, and Elon Musk is pulling the strings. The far-right are on the march, Trump’s having a ball and the woke left still haven’t worked out how to get their head out their own backsides. The climate is collapsing, AI is about to rule and ruin your life and World War Three feels distinctly possible.

Come and see this helpful and hilarious guide to surviving the impending apocalypse. This is The End of The World according to Jonathan Pie.

Book HERE

Dylan Moran: Looking for Trouble

Philharmonic Hall – November 22

It’s showtime, and what are you going to do? Are you going to go to work? Or stay in bed, chasing oblivion. Guess what? According to Dylan Moran, we're fresh out of oblivion.

The economy will do fine without you - but how long will you survive without the usual giant horn of frozen caramel latte and the five thousand other pieces of bulls**t you have smashed together so you can point at it and croak ‘That’s my ..life?’

Find out how it could all have been different. Find out how to reclaim your life by becoming a lethal kickboxing, chess champion. Pioneer new trends in global lovemaking, join an elite band of trillionaire poet-pastry chef-mountaineers. Listen to Moran and just go Looking for Trouble.

Book HERE