We recently discovered this new comedian called Russell Brand. Not many people have heard of him, but we think he might just be the next big thing! If you fancy being as zeitgeisty as us, you can see him live next week - but forget about those big venues that seat you so far away from the performer that you might as well be watching a DVD. Instead, you can see him knocking about......

Have we been giving you too many chances to win things of late? Seems no one - NOT A ONE OF YOU - was interested in getting a free copy of a 2 year old comedy DVD, even though it would be free, delivered to your door and make you look like you were interested in human rights as well as laughing. All you had to do was fill in a form and make......

The Secret Policeman is back with his ball and this time he's armed with a blog. No, it's not Cleese behind it or even in front of it this year, we're afraid. But as the pioneering philanthropic performer who paved the way for the first Secret Policeman's Ball in 1979 and spawned the big name benefit gig genre, he deserved a mention and always looks amusing. This year's almost finalised line up is a......

All head to Nunhead, where Pull the Other One, a fortnightly comedy evening, is restarting after a summer break. If you like your comedy slightly off the wall this is definitely one for you. Pierette Socobaz and DJ Ratsmilk host, and the venue is the Ivy House, which is a real pub-lover’s pub, if you see what we mean. Admission £5, kick-off 8.30pm, tel: 020 7635 6426 for more details. The Ivy House, 40, Stuart......

Join the cast of Avenue Q tonight post their main performance for a late night evening of laughter. Joined by fake air steward Pam Ann, magician Pete Firman, Jim Jeffries, Patrick Monahan, and Earl Okin, the Noel Coward theatre will be open late for one night only. Supporting the Myeloma UK charity, the night runs from 11pm - 1am with tickets at £22 including a free interval drink. More here.......

Joan Rivers. Tonight. In an intimate London theatre. We SO had to be there. In a rare fit of splashing out, Londonist emptied its collective wallets onto the floor, booked 'Diamond' tickets ("Best seats; Goodie bag; Get to meet Joan!") and almost sprinted to Leicester Square Theatre. There we saw the mistress of the red carpet swap it for a live stage instead. Could she put on a show of interest and worth for......

With a rainy Saturday night vacuum opening up in front of our terrified eyes we turned to the Camden Fringe programme for salvation and randomly picked two shows to go to, to keep us from "Last Choir Standing" and the rotting contents of the fridge. Happily, we picked well and for a modest £15 total, got served up 2 dollops of funniness in 2 Camden venues and came out beaming. First up: Teak Show's......

The Camden Fringe: It's as good as the Edinburgh Festival, though arguably even better than that lauded Scotch month of mayhem: you only share accommodation if you want to and no one will sneer if you didn't make it to the 2am performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream in an 'ironic' car impound lot. Last year, the small Etcetera Theatre and Liberties Bar hosted 175 performances of 47 different shows... in just 4 weeks.......

The entire capital weeps today, as Londonist presents its final round-up of the week's best Edinburgh Festival previews. You can show your respect by going to these shows and seeing some great comedy at super-cheap prices: Monday 21st: A free gig tonight, from four superlative new comics. In their show Homework for Heroes, they discuss acts of heroism in everyday life, and play with interactive games to create a heart-warming night of comedy. The......

It’s always good to get a sneak preview of what the folk lucky enough to heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival will be seeing and on Wednesday night we caught a glimpse of the madness on offer from the Real Daniel O’Donnell Show, with a frenetic hour of fun called ‘The Clock Hour’. They were meek enough to admit the show still perhaps needed some polish, but if there were any raw edges, it......

In the weeks building up to Edinburgh, there are OVER NINE THOUSAND comedy previews a day. Finding the best ones can be difficult. So it's a good job that Londonist knows its comedy! Go to at least four of these shows this week: Monday 14th: This Sketch Show Belongs to Lionel Richie proved themselves expert at guerilla advertising at the Fringe last year, when hundreds of stickers bedecked lampposts, toilets and vending machines declaring......

The London comedy scene is vast and multifarious at any time of the year, but during the run-up to Edinburgh it explodes beyond all comprehension. Luckily, we - and only we - know what the best shows of the week are. Cancel even the most essential of intrusive surgery to attend any of our recommendations. After all, laughter is the best medicine!! (citation needed) Monday 7th - Dan Antopolski may have crafted the most......

Mwhahaha. The Book Grocer rubs her hands together greedily as she contemplates the week ahead. Festival season kicks off this week, and its offerings may be summarised with one word: excellent. Tuesday: VS Naipaul fans will want to head to Daunt Books tonight to hear Patrick French and AN Wilson discuss French’s recent biography of the Nobel Prize-winning author, The World Is What It Is, heralded as a “magnificent achievement” (7pm, £5). Also on:......

Here's week four of our Edinburgh Festival preview recommendations. This isn't just a random list of events scraped from listings magazines and press releases - this is a genuine list of acts we adore, and that you should definitely see, especially while the price is nice. If you go to just one of these shows this week, we guarantee you'll come away feeling happy. Monday 30th - The Free Fringe has hosted hundreds of......

Here's week three of our pick of the week's best Edinburgh Festival previews, where big name-acts charge small prices while they try out new ideas. Embrace London's comedy scene in June and July like you would embrace your dearest friend, or a delicious pineapple, and see as many shows as you can while the price is "right". You'll do well to start with these four: Tuesday 24th - Top Islington club Fat Tuesdays hosts......

Meet Todd Barry, a deliciously dry American comedian who is making a long overdue trip to London this week, for a five-night run at the Soho Theatre. His biting, sarcastic outlook on life and deadpan audience banter have lit up comedy festivals around the world. Although some Brits might not recognise the name, comedy fans will know him from Flight of the Conchords as the bongo player that almost split up the band in......

Don't Ever Heckle is a column where Londonist gets drunk with has a chat with the most exciting up-and-coming comedians, who are generating a buzz on the London comedy circuit. Nat Luurtsema is a Londonist favourite - half of the staff here have seen her live at least three times, and with good reason. She's silly but thoughtful, scatty but charming, well read, self-deprecating, twee and whimsical, dark and disturbing, and very funny indeed.......

By the time the Edinburgh Festival rolls around, the 2,000 shows on offer will have been proof-read, practised and polished to perfection. But how do the shows get to be so good? We'll tell you but how - by using Londoners as guinea pigs! We jest, of course. The next six weeks are a fantastic time to see brilliant comedians experimenting with new ideas at super-cheap prices. Here's our second week of recommendations for......

The Edinburgh Festival lasts for three weeks, but we Londoners get two months worth of previews with vastly cheaper ticket prices. Therefore, London wins. Take advantage of this epic victory by going to one, some, none or more of the following: Monday 9th - Andrew O'Neill's Totally Spot-On History Of British Industry promises to be packed full of truth and facts as he re-tells the history of this glorious era. There'll be surreal and......

Resonance FM are putting on a days worth of fund-raising this Sunday at the Arts Theatre, near Leicester Square, with afternoon comedy and evening music. Londonist's favourite radio station is always in need of funds, and is run almost exclusively by volunteers, so we'll be going to support the charity just as much as we'll be going to see the acts. In there afternoon, there's a comedy gig with a very strong bill of......

What if god was one of us... Grow up. A letter written by Einstein, dismissing the idea of god and the bible as "pretty childish" has sold for $400,000 at a Bloomsbury auction. We are living in a material world... and Posh and Paris are competing through a tabloid pout marathon to flog their wares across the West End C'mon feel the noise... and map it for DEFRA Keep on movin':Jazzie B gets OBE......

This Saturday might well be your last chance to catch Missed Connections, the supremely heart-warming, twee, and utterly hilarious show by Terry Saunders. Terry is a stand-up storyteller whose gentle, melancholic and spellbinding stories can make you laugh, cry and laugh again, all in one breath. He's also one of the brains behind laughterinoddplaces, which we recommended in the olden days. Londonist is a big fan of Terry Saunders, and so should you be.......

Imagine a style of comedy which combines a love of life with a quick wit, booming voice, and an encyclopaedic knowledge of every single movie that has ever been made, ever. For many years, people would have chased you out of the city for proposing such a ludicrous paradigm. But we've come a long way since the 70s. Thank goodness that, now we live in more enlightened times, one man has dared to bring......

Don't Ever Heckle... is a new column where Londonist interviews some of the most exciting and original comedians currently working on London's live comedy circuit. Don't ever heckle them, because we think they're great. Our second interview is with James Kettle, who in the past few years has taken his bitter, pessimistic anti-humour and frequently disturbing take on life to all the best clubs in London, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe, and even......

Don't Ever Heckle... is a new column where Londonist interviews some of the most exciting and original comedians currently working on London's live comedy circuit. Don't ever heckle them, because we think they're great. As we're massive comedy geeks, we'll be digging deep, asking why they perform, how they write, what inspires them, and why on earth they do it in the first place. To launch this new column, we talked to Gerry Howell,......

Hooray for 4 day weeks! And hooray for many seasonal celebrations. If only it would stop raining we'd be radiant with joy. This week we definitely can't afford to see the glorious New York City Ballet at the Coliseum (up to £95 a ticket!) so we made do with the reviews. Neither can we cover the costs of a bank holiday break away from the city but, hell - why would we want to......

Last night London's Luvvieland came together for their annual award ceremony, the Oliviers. Having received 11 nominations across 10 categories, it looked like being Hairspray's night. And Londonist is happy to confirm what we already knew: the show is a deserved winner of the Best New Musical accolade. In addition, Leanne Jones (Best Actress in a Musical) rocks as the optimistic teen, Tracy Turnblad; Tracie Bennett (Best Supporting Role in a Musical) is similarly......

Back before there was Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, or Meg Ryan and virtually any other male lead, there was Kate Hepburn and Cary Grant, Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, Kate Hepburn and – well, you get the idea. Never seen the inimitable Ms Hepburn on the silver screen before? Now’s your chance: she and a host of other sharp, witty, irrepressible, and, of course, gorgeous comedic heroines will......

Subtitled 'An ode to the Hawley Arms' this catchy tune by OllyTheOctopus speculates on the possible causes and fallout from the recent conflagration. How will Kate Moss cope with the loss, and will Quinn's down the road, cope with the load? Pertinent questions, but we're most tickled by the notion that 'Noel Fielding's impractical clothes, stopped him getting to the hose'. A work of minor genius.......

We wanted to promote tomorrow's charity comedy night for War on Want at Shepherds Bush Empire for two reasons. Firstly, because it is going to be a spectacular night, with some remarkable comedians, in aid of a very good cause. And secondly, because their press release contains a line which, lacking as it is in context, had us giggling like children for far longer than is socially acceptable: "Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller, with......