Autumn is here and the Edinburgh Fringe is over – two big events in the comedy world, as it heralds both the arrival of big new tours from the likes of Mo Gilligan, but also a rapid transfer of some of the Fringe’s biggest 2026 comedy hits, as the likes of Crybabies and Freddie Meredith surf their great reviews directly down to London. (A curiousity of this autumn is that the many SNL UK stars at the Fringe have had to reshcedule their September dates due the show’s second season – but there‘s still plenty of chuckles to go around)
There are far, far too many one-off, multi-performer comedy nights in London for us to compile a single coherent page with our favouites on, which is entirely to London’s credit. So do check individual bills of comedy clubs online for that sort of thing. But if you’re looking for an individual comedian with a full headline show then this page is here to compile the Time Out editorial team’s top choices, often with our reviews from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
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The best new theatre shows to book for in London.
What is it? Produced by Edinburgh Fringe hitmeister Francesca Moody, The Scaring sees sketch trio Crybabies follow up their very silly sci-fi Bagbeard and absurdist World War 2 show Danger Brigade with what you could probably have correctly guessed to be a rummage around the horror genre. The series of sketches that comprise The Scaring follow a former priest who must team up with a ghost after peril strikes at a creepy hotel.
Where is it? Soho Theatre.
What is it? Nominated for Best Newcomer at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards, Freddie Meredith’s Need a Light? is a by all accounts delightful hour of sketch comedy in which Meredith plays a nerdy, wannabe hip loser who spends 60 endearing minutes trying to start conversations with randoms in the smoking area of a club.
Where is it? Soho Theatre.
What is it? Australian comic McNair’s alternately uplifting and harrowing account of squaring up to childhood sexual abuse was warmly received at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe for its clear-eyed and very funny mix of the silly and the serious. Now it heads to Soho Theatre, whio produced its Edinburgh run.
Where is it? Soho Theatre.
What is it? Conceptual comic Joseph Morpurgo hasn’t been totally absent this last 10 years: he recently brought back his classic 2015 show Soothing Sounds for Baby. However, Highlander 70 is his first new work in nearly a decade although you’d hardly guess it if you didn’t know: he throws himself into a show with truly esoteric subject matter with the breezy energy of a man who pumps out a weirdy Fringe show a year.
Where is it? Soho Theatre.
What is it? The Brit comedy superstar grapples with fame and fortune in his latest show, which kicks off in London in the autumn at the Apollo, heads across the country and throughout Europe, then call in at The O2 for a pre-Christmas victory lap.
Where is it? Eventim Apollo (September) and The O2 (December).
What is it? Joe Kent-Waters’ two wildly acclaimed character comedy shows in the persona of horrifying working men’s club landlord Frankie Monroe (aka ‘Yorkshire’s Biggest Bastard’) were always telling two halves of the same story. And now they’ve been spliced into one presumably relatively seamless whole as Live!!! meets Dead!!! to tell the full story of Frankie’s Mephestopholean pact to save his club, subsequent descent to Hell, and eventual return.
Where is it? Soho Theatre Walthamstow.
What is it? Would a massive injection of alcohol pep up Shakespeare’s timeless romantic tragedy? Let’s see! The infamous Sh!t-faced Shakespeare return with usual gimmick intact: it’s a straight take on one of the Bard’s great plays, only one of the actors has to do it pissed. Let’s hope nobody gets handsy in this abridged version, performed with a six-strong cast.
Where is it? Leicester Square Theatre.
What is it? Sir Lenny Henry has long since transcended being a ‘mere’ comedian – if he ever really was – with a career that has long leant more towards the stage, kids’ books and general elder statesman-ing. He’s still got it, though: aged 67 he heads out on his first stand-up tour in over a decade with Still at Large. His first since 2010, it’s billed as ‘part stand-up, part storytelling and part conversation’.
Where is it? Hackney Empire (in November).
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