Two local comedy festivals kick off in the next day or so, packing loads of comedians into a venue near you. So long as you're in Ealing or Stockwell.
Weirdly, the two dates that have sold out for Ealing are the two with the fewest acts on the bill. OK, so they were also the nights with the biggest names – sorry, fans of Ed Byrne and Lee Mack, though if you want to see Omid Djalili you can still see him doing a work in progress at Leicester Square Theatre – but we think the other nights are genuinely more interesting. Friday 12 and Saturday 13 July are almost identical with The Boy with Tape on his Face, Paul Chowdhry and Shappi Khorsandi headlining, and Friday 19 July has Andi Osho, Paul Sinha and Tom Wrigglesworth performing. Tickets are £18.50 + booking fee and shows take place in Walpole Park.
The Cavendish Fringe, or Cringe, takes place this weekend (13-14 July) at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell. Saturday is completely free because the comedians aren't that well known, but it's going to be another scorching day so why not mosey down, have a pint in the garden, browse the vintage market and catch an act or two. Sounds like a plan to us. Sunday costs £10 for a full day pass and we can fully recommend Norwegian Daniel Simonsen, Gemma Whelan's prim character Chastity Butterworth and stand-up from Pat Cahill.
Tickets are available for Ealing Comedy Festival at 7.45pm on 12, 13 and 19 July for £18.50 + bf in Walpole Park, W5. Cringe starts at 2pm on 13 and 14 July at Cavendish Arms, 128 Hartington Rd, SW8. Tickets for Sunday can be bought in advance at We Got Tickets and cost £10 + £1 bf.
