The top London comedy shows to see in May

What is it? LA clown princess Natalie Palamides brings her virtuosic one woman romcom Weer back to London for a run of dates at the new 1,000-seat Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

Where is it? Soho Theatre Walthamstow.

Why go? Look, the show is wonderful, a technically audacious but much more twisted than the premise suggests tour de force. But the reason it’s our unhesitating number one choice? Because it’s the show that opens the stunning new Soho Theatre Walthamstow – get a look in as early as you can.

What is it? Jordan Gray’s last show Is It a Bird? – an ebulliant set that featured highly original musings on both superheroes and being transgender – propelled the comic’s star to new hights. Inevitably it also aroused the ire of the not inconsiderable number of people in this country who dislike trans people.

Where is it? Soho Theatre.

Why go? Because Is It a Bird? was wonderful, and while we don’t yet know a huge amount about the follow up yet –  , the inference is it’s about the backlash to Is It a Bird? and also cowboys –it’ll probably a) include songs b) be very funny.

What is it? After a lengthy run last year at the Hammersmith Apollo, the superstar rouhnds up his In the Moment world tour with a splashy final set at The O2 on May 31.

Where is it? The O2.

Why go? Oh the usual: big-hearted, ultra-relatable yarns given a fresh spin by Gilligan’s newfound celebrity status. If you want to see him in a more intimate setting, he’d recording his podcast Beginning, Middle and End at Up the Creek in Greenwich on May 18.

What is it? Hugely acclaimed comic Shah was only supposed to be at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe for a work-in-progress of his show ‘Ends’: but it went so well that it was reclassified as finished and took home the festival’s top comedy award.

Where is it? Soho Theatre Walhamstow.

Why go? The show’s brilliant and if you’ve not yet caught it yet or want to do so again, there’s no better surround than the ultra fancy Soho Theatre Walthamstow. 

What is it? A last hurrah (we assume) for Joe Kent-Waters’s Edinburgh 2024 smash about a Rotherham working men’s club that has been established on a portal to hell.

Where is it? Soho Theatre.

Why go? Because the show’s wonderful – a deranged mix of The League of Gentlemen and Phoenix Nights – and as the follow up Joe Kent-Walters Is Frankie Monroe: DEAD!!! is debuting at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer then this is presumably going to be something of a last chance. 

What is it? With three Netflix specials under her belt following the global headlines she made with her merciless set of Trump-baiting at the 2018 White House correspondents’ dinner, US comic Michelle Wolf is now back for a London show. 

Where is it? Southbank Centre

Why go? Wolf’s wide-eyed delivery contrasts nicely with her sharp one-liners and silly meanderings on topics such as sports, dating, gender and politics. She's ace.

What is it? Virtuoso ventriloquist comic Conti mounts a weeklong West End engagement with her latest show in which she puts her trademark mouth mast on hapless audience members for what is described as ‘an unparalleled, unscripted new show that delves deep into who we are, hijacking faces to spark a bold, hysterical reality warp’. 

Where is it? Duke of York’s Theatre.

Why go? Okay, Conti’s stick is a bit cosy these days: blah blah mask blah blah monkey blah blah audience interaction. But by heck does she get results!

What is it? The absurdly successful comedy theatre troupe Mischief follow up The Play That Goes Wrong, Magic Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery etc etc with a new one about Cold War spies.

Where it it? Noël Coward Theatre.

Why go? Mischief offer solid old fashioned comedy laughs ever time, and while the wheel is never going to be reinvented, they’re nothing if not reliably amusing.