The Edinburgh Fringe is in full swing, but there are still comedians gigging for you in London.
Old Rope
The ever-popular new material night, Old Rope at the Phoenix on Cavendish Square, features Katherine Ryan, Suzi Ruffell, Neil McFarlane and Tiffany Stevenson. Always popular but this week the We Got Tickets link is late, so more chance of getting in on the door (19 August, 7.30pm, £7).
Camden Fringe
The Camden Fringe is still running its North London-based alternative to Edinburgh. We've sifted the listings and recommend Marc Burrows's indie boy guide to sex and girls at the Camden Head (18 and 19 August, 8pm, £6); alphabet sketches with Tasty Combo at the Camden Head (20-22 August, 8pm, £8 / £6); and if you want to check out something new, Herding Cats is an all-female sketch troupe directed by one of Late Night Gimp Fight. Could be promising (Etcetera Theatre, 22-23 August, 9pm, £6 / £5).
Sam Simmons
If you want surreal comedy, check out Australian Sam Simmons at the Soho Theatre until 24 August. You'll be perplexed as much as entertained, but it's absolutely worth it (9.15pm, £12.50-£20).
Headliners, Chiswick
Advance notice for this one: Milton Jones often pops by Headliners to try out new stuff and it always sells out. He's there again on 20 and 21 September with support from Jeff Innocent, Simon Evans and Rainer Hersch MCing (9pm, £10-£14).
Tip us off to friendly, intelligent, alternative comedy around town [email protected], read our guide to watching live comedy in London and our top 10 themed comedy nights.
