If you know anything about comedy in the UK you’ll know that August is a month entirely dominated by the immense gravitic pull of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which hoovers up most of the stand-up acts in the country. See here for our recommendation from the festival. Still, there are still a fair few acts ‘too big’ for Edinburgh at a loose end, and so while London in August is pretty quiet at the club level, you can see some pretty damn starry names, not least that returning Roundhouse Comedy Festival.
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.
The best comedy clubs in London.
The best new theatre shows to book for in London.
What is it? You don’t have to venture all the way up to Edinburgh for a cracking dose of comedy in August. The Roundhouse has been hosting its comedy fest since 2023 and every year curates a line-up full of the biggest stars on the circuit. Across 18 days this year, you can expect gigs from the likes of Joe Lycett, Ed Gamble, Katherine Ryan, Sam Campbell, Ed Gamble, Sara Pascoe and Vittorio Angelone.
Where is it? Roundhouse.
What is it? US comic Patti Harrison is clearly a big fan of London: the high priestess of bizarre, sometimes even nauseatingly out there comedy is a regular visitor and appears to be forgoing a full-length Edinburgh Fringe run in favour of spending the first half of the festival in London. Which is great news for us! Imagine her new show to be a mix of insane shit and insane shit involving guests and you’re probbaly halfway there.
Where is it? Soho Theatre.
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? Neon Nights is the gorgeous Soho Theatre Walthamstow’s monthly showcase spectactular and typiclaly features a big name headliner with stars ion various degrees of rising in support. The August 2026 edition is a ‘summer special’ and features a raft of top notch comics who aren”t heading up to the Fringe, which features the mighty Fern Brady headling over a fine bill of Daniel Foxx, Janine Harouni, Thor Stenhaug, David Alfie Ward and emcee Sikisa.
Where is it? Soho Theatre Walthamstow.
What is it? It was only a decade ago that US comedy megastar Dave Chappelle made his London stage debut – at a slew of dates that were generally hailed as a triumph. It’s hard to deny that in the years since, Chappelle’s edginess has curdled somewhat. Is he still one of the all time great comedians? Well probably, yeah, certainly when on form, and his dedication to playing relatively small venues is heartening, even if the prices are eye-watering. He returns to the Hammersmith Apollo for his second set of London dates in under a year, this time under the aegis of a new show called Pulling Up.
Where is it? Eventim Hammersmith Apollo.
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’.
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