Comedy to enjoy in Liverpool this autumn

It’s been quite the summer, but now the nights are drawing in there’s few things better than to settle down indoors and enjoy a good laugh.

Happily, Liverpool venues have that covered this autumn with a busy programme of appearances from both local faces, rising talent and big TV names.

From the purveyors of big laughs and knowing chuckles at established venues like Hot Water Comedy, Laughterhouse Comedy and Liverpool Comedy Club to visiting shows at the city’s many theatres and halls, there’s plenty of there to tickle both your fancy and your ribs.

Between now and Christmas comedy fans have the opportunity to enjoy shows from some of the biggest and best names in the business, from Peter Kay, John Bishop and Ricky Gervais in the M&S Bank Arena to rising star Kyla Cobbler at the newly opened Epstein Theatre, and funny men and women treading the boards at the Philharmonic Hall, Empire, Everyman and Playhouse and the Royal Court.

Here's who you can catch where in seven of those Liverpool venues this season.

M&S Bank Arena

Peter Kay Live – September 20/November 21-22

The legend that is Peter Kay is returning to stand-up for the first time in many years and heading to Liverpool for three dates this autumn with is tour Better Late Than Never Again!

John Bishop: 25 – October 24-25

Scouse superstar John Bishop is marking 25 years in comedy with this 2025 tour (and with all tickets costing, you guessed it, £25).

He’s come a long way from playing Herman the Henchman in a Royal Court panto, and in Bishop’s words ‘it’s been a rollercoaster’. Help him celebrate at three shows at the arena this October.

Ricky Gervais – December 4

Ricky Gervais heads for the Liverpool waterfront with his new stand-up tour Mortality.

In Gervais’s words: “We’re all gonna die. May as well have a laugh about it. Mortality looks at the absurdities of life. And death. Bring it on.”

Jimmy Carr: Laughs Funny – December 11

If you like fast-paced, edgy one-liners then get ready to be happy. Jimmy Carr is going back on tour with his new show.

Carr tells jokes, and jokes are like magnets. Jokes attract some people, but they can also repel. Some people are repelled by Carr's dark brand of comedy.  This show is not for them.

But if it's the kind of thing you like, then this is the kind of thing you’ll like.

Liverpool Empire

Saving Grace – September 12

Expect a night of unfiltered opinions, outrageous confessions, Grace’s signature banter and more. No topic is off-limits as Grace will be playing Agony Aunt, solving audience dilemmas and dishing out advice, and delivering the kind of honesty that made the podcast wildly popular.

Dara O Briain: Re: Creation – November 2

O Briain returns to the stage after the international success of his last tour So, Where Were We? which sold out 173 venues across 20 countries and was named UK Comedy Tour of the Year 2023 (Chortle)

Re: Creation sees the Irishman back in his happy place, standing in a theatre, telling stories and creating madness with the audience.

Jim Jeffries: Son of a Carpenter – November 4

Expect sharp, unfiltered comedy when Jim Jeffries brings Son of a Carpenter to the Empire this November.

Jeffries has released a total of 10 stand-up specials since Contraband in 2008, including his most recent 2023 special High & Dry on Netflix, his 5th special for the streaming service and  in which, newly married and loving life with his wife and kids, Jefferies sounds off on the laziness of koala bears, the injustices of male pattern baldness and the reason why he’ll never drink again.

Joanne McNally: Pinotphile – November 8

After the success of her record-breaking tour The Prosecco Express, Joanne McNally returns with her new stand-up show Pinotphile.

Hailed by Variety as One to Watch, McNally has been keeping herself busy by ruining men's lives (and her own) and now she's back; still single, and laden with irreverent, ridiculous and hilarious war stories.

Philharmonic Hall

Rob Beckett: Giraffe – September 5-6

Rob Beckett is back on tour and, in his words, ‘smashing the life out of the M25, M1, M5 and any other road that’s in my way. From Bromley to Brisbane – and stopping off in Liverpool in between – his new show Giraffe is going global.

Elis James and Jon Robins: That Feels Significant Live – September 24

James and Robins are taking their hit podcast That Feels Significant on the road as a live show - and this time they’re bringing Dave.

Expect made up games, Cymru connections, mad dads and three digital firebrands let loose from the shackles of Billy Balance.

Scott Bennett: Stuff – September 27

As a society we love stuff, it’s a statement about who we are and who we want to be. But apparently, this message is at odds with the looming environmental crisis.

Scott Bennett, award-winning comedian and award-winning product designer, is desperately trying to cleanse his life of stuff, but is this even possible anymore?

Sophie McCartney: One Foot in the Rave - October 9

Recently kicked out of club 18-30, a new decade now beckons, and McCartney doesn’t believe it. Tackling her perimenopausal panic with denial, delirium, and a shot of tequila - what does life look like when you’re too old to be young, but too young to be old? 

Jack Dee: Small World - October 19

Culture wars, the environment, British foreign policy and social justice: these are just a few of the topics that Dee spectacularly fails to address (or even mention for that matter) in his new show.

Instead, for reasons known only to him, he doubles down on his fascination with the meaningless small things of life like Zoom protocol, what’s new in the world of radiators and the worst careers advice office in the world.

Josh Baulf – October 23

Comedian and viral star Josh Baulf is embarking on a debut solo tour with a stop in the Music Room this autumn.

With his trademark charm and killer punchlines, Baulf delves into the hilarities of millennial life, navigating modern relationships and the quirks of British culture.

Russell Kane: Hyperactive – November 2

Whirlwind, FitBit-breaking comedian, presenter, actor and author Russell Kane is out on the road again with his unique recipe of sharp wit and ‘storming physical comedy’ (according to the Mail on Sunday).

Kane is high-energy, high-octane, and hyper-active. You have been warned.

Sara Pascoe: I Am a Strange Gloop - November 13

Have you ever been awake in the middle of the night and thought something so smart and astute that you couldn’t wait for the world to wake up so you could tell them? 

Apparently, I Am a Strange Gloop is that thought.

Josh Widdicombe: Not My Cup of Tea - November 30

Josh Widdicombe is back on tour, and by now he has almost certainly mastered the art of stand-up - either that or he has wasted the last 15 years of his life.

Expect it to be shorter and with lower production values than Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, but funnier and with more references to tea.

Liverpool Playhouse

Mark Steel: The Leopard in My House – September 11

Join multi award-winning, BAFTA-nominated writer and comedian Mark Steel for his new tour The Leopard in My House. The topic? His battle with throat cancer. A battle he is winning (thankfully) and which only his rapier wit could fashion a comedy tour show out of.

Happily, cancer has done nothing to dull Steel’s acute political observations or quash his “frankly bonkers” energy.

Suzi Ruffell: The Juggle – September 13

It’s hard to be good all the time. A good mother, a good daughter, a good partner, a good friend, a good person. To be ambitious but not ruthless; a success but not a sell-out. A gentle parent but not a pushover. To be smashing life and make it look easy.

Ruffell is exhausted and she hasn't even started. This is a stand-up show AND a support group.

John Shuttleworth: Raise the Oof – November 13

Radio 4 favourite, comedy legend, and ‘the 42nd best reason to love Britain’ (The Telegraph) John Shuttleworth, is back with more hilarious stories and songs performed on his trusty Yamaha organ (with built-in auto accompaniment!)

In Raise The Oof Shuttleworth celebrates 40 years in showbiz. Yes, it was 1985 when he met TV’s Clarinet Man – next door neighbour Ken Worthington who came last on New Faces in 73 (Tony Hatch crucified him!)

“When I met Ken he was eating a CurlyWurly” recalls Shuttleworth, “although initially I thought it was a packet of sparklers, so I gave him a wide berth”, and the rest, as they say, is hysterical.

Kerry Godliman: Bandwidth – November 14

While parenting teenagers, bogged down with knicker admin and considering dealing HRT on the black market, comedian, actor, writer and broadcaster Godliman​’s lost her mum bag but can’t remember what was in it as she’s outsourced her memory to her phone. The life of a middle-aged woman who ​hasn’t got the bandwidth ​for any of this.

Josie Long: Now is the Time of Monsters – November 15

Three-time Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominated Comedian Josie Long is back with a new show about discovery, wonder, extinction and how to walk through a landscape of monstrous disaster. There is also a good tip about silt, guaranteed.

Sam Avery: Thunderstorm – November 21

Expect a whirlwind journey through the chaos of the modern world - from parenting disasters to culture wars, conspiracy theories to political morons.

Liverpool Everyman

Rosie Jones: I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying – October 21

Join star of Taskmaster Rosie Jones as she heads back out on the road with her new stand-up show.

She’s talking about the big stuff: being single, the pressures of representing huge sections of the population, and gravy. Oh, and boobs. The BAFTA-nominated Jones returns with her blend of cheek and charm following a nomination for Most Outstanding Show at Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2023. 

James Acaster: A Work in Progress – October 23

James Acaster tries new ideas in front of a Liverpool audience. That’s it basically. However, if you haven't already got a ticket, you'll be disappointed because it's a sell out.

Royal Court/Studio

Michelle De Swarte: The Afters – September 19 (Studio)

Michelle De Swarte is back with her trademark razor-sharp wit and no-holds-barred storytelling. After the main event's highs and lows, De Swarte – star of the BBC’s Spent -  wonders what to do after the party. She's heading to the afters for some brutally honest oversharing about life before social media, trying to scrape the barrel of youth, whether tarot card readers replace actual therapy and when is a good time to pregame perimenopause.

Eddie Fortune: Superdrunk – September 20 (Studio)

A butchered degree, an arrest in Tesco dressed as a cat, red wine, easy hotels, lost jobs, tinnitus and toxic relationships. Every bad decision Fortune has made had been through haze of being blackout drunk.

Dumped by every person he has ever dated, he now lives in his Mum's shed. Is it time the party stopped?

Nick Mohammed is Mr Swallow: Show Pony – October 22

Taskmaster loser and Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed returns as his critically acclaimed alter-ego Mr Swallow (Last One Laughing, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) with a new show.

Show Pony has been described by Mr Swallow as “payback for everyone who didn’t come to the last tour” and “my most personal/libelous show to date” and will cover everything from not having his own sitcom to not having his own sitcom… and everything in between (critical race theory). As per - expect magic, music and a whole load of new mistakes… balanced seamlessly with a story about Tim Henman.

Kieran Hodgson: Voice of America – October 24 (Studio)

America. What happened, man? Ever since he was a little loser kid in a little loser country (yes, England), Hodgson has been putting on an American accent and dreaming a big American dream. But nowadays it's not so simple. Didn't America go completely bananas? Didn't he get too old for dreaming? And when Hollywood comes calling, does Hodgson actually sound American after all?

As seen on Two Doors Down, Prince Andrew The Musical and The Flash.

Epstein Theatre

Kyla Cobbler: Gone Rogue – October 20 and 28

Kyla Cobbler is one of the fastest-rising names in comedy. In her debut show Gone Rogue, Cobbler covers everything from the chaos of Barcelona dating life to navigating a friend crush and the power plays of a barbeque.

Expect fearless honesty, quickfire wit, and a knack for spinning real-life chaos into killer stories.

A second date (October 28) has now been added due to demand for tickets.