Sailing dangerously close to National Treasure status, one of the most outspoken politicians of our time embarks on her first ever national tour.

Entertaining, enlightening and as controversial as you would expect, Margaret Thatcher and Craig Revel Horwood collide as Ann lifts the lid on life in Westminster and shares behind-the-scenes gossip from some of the nation’s best-loved programmes, including Strictly Come Dancing, Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Big Brother.

Courtyard Theatre
£22

Ann Widdecombe's Website

•  21 Feb from £22

Comedian, author, cultural icon and - most recently - idiot who agreed to be tortured on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, Shappi Khorsandi is a woman of many parts.

But live comedy is where she's in her element. Expect sharp-tongued gags, cultural observation and whatever else is in her easily distracted mind this time around.

WHY? As heard on Radio 4, read in two warmly-received books and seen sleeping in a hammock

Age guidance: 14+ years

Courtyard Theatre
£15

Shappi's Website

@ShappiKhorsandi
@nordenfarm

•   9 Mar LIMITED

Alan Johnson is one of the most popular politicians of recent times and now a best-selling author.

His memoirs have sold half a million copies to date. This highly entertaining show is inspired by his latest book In My Life. From growing up as an orphan in a West London slum in the 1950s to becoming a postman before rising through the Labour Party ranks to hold several cabinet posts, including Home Secretary.

WHY? Alan tells his personal story with the help of some of the music that has soundtracked his life

Courtyard Theatre
£18

•  16 Mar from £18

Interactive storytelling in the magical story den.

Join in or unwind in the Café Bar with a latte and the Sunday papers, while your little ones get involved in telling stories from all over the world. Age guidance 4 – 7 years.

WHY? A sociable, creative and entirely relaxed way to do Sundays for families with young children

The Story Den
£3.50 per person (45 mins)

•  10 Feb from £350
•  17 Mar from £350

With Angus Deayton, Philip Pope, Michael Fenton Stevens, Helen Atkinson Wood

Presented by So Comedy & Broken Robot Productions.

Angus Deayton (Have I Got News For You, One Foot In The Grave, Nighty Night), Helen Atkinson Wood (Blackadder, The Young Ones, QI), Michael Fenton Stevens (Benidorm, My Family) and Philip Pope (Who Dares Wins, Chelmsford 123, Only Fools & Horses) reunite to take classic scripts from the award-winning BBC Radio 4 show on the road.

Among other classic characters expect to catch up with long suffering radio host Mike Channel, original foodie Anna Daptor and the accident-prone Martin Brown. Also featuring the cast’s original musical creations, responsible for such parody bands as The Hee Bee Gee Bees and Status Quid.

WHY? Heading to Maidenhead following a sell-out and critically acclaimed run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Courtyard Theatre
£20

•   1 Jun from £20

Andrew Doyle is one of the UK’s foremost political satirists.

Friendly Fire is his seventh solo stand-up show. It follows the critically acclaimed Thought Crimes, which ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year and later transferred to the Soho Theatre in London.

Andrew is co-writer of internet sensation Jonathan Pie, and has collaborated with Pie creator Tom Walker on numerous viral videos. Their response to Donald Trump’s election has been viewed online more than 150 million times and a more recent piece was described by Ricky Gervais as “one of the most perfect (and important) pieces of comedy I’ve ever seen."

WHY? 'Comedy gold' Broadway Baby

'Prepare for all your internal organs to burst with laughter' Independent

'One of the country’s most exciting comedic talents' Gay Times

'Utterly hilarious' Fest

Studio
£11

Andrew's Website

•  24 Jan from £11

After a sellout national tour in 2017, Ed Gamble is back with another bracing flurry of idiocy.

He’s been seen on BBC2’s Mock the Week, Sky’s The Russell Howard Hour, Comedy Central at the Comedy Store, Comedy Central’s Drunk History, BBC2’s The Apprentice You’re Fired and more.

WHY? ‘A comic who may be about to become more of a force in the game’ Chortle

Courtyard Theatre
£15

@nordenfarm
@EdGambleComedy

Ed Gamble's Website

•  31 Jan SOLD OUT

These days Justin’s not certain about anything apart from his uncertainty – Brexit looms, it appears the Cold War is being rebooted and that’s before we begin to worry about what’s happening in America…..closer to home he’s starting to feel redundant as a parent. One kid is leaving home, the dog is getting older and doesn’t need much walking, and the youngest kid hits thirteen and cancels the family subscription to The Beano.

On top of this the golden age of the Northern straight white male comedian has gone the way of the dinosaurs. How will he adapt if he wants to survive? What next for this Northern Joker? What can he talk to his daughter about now she cares little for Dennis the Menace and the Bash St Kids?

Hang on. Perhaps nothing has changed that much. When he was thirteen, the Russians were scary, the White House was a madhouse and he’d never been to Europe anyhow. Thinking back this was when his reading habits changed too, more Dark Knight than Desperate Dan, more Catwoman than Minnie the Minx. Perhaps our heroes never went away….they just waited for us to pick them up again. Perhaps she just needs a different type of comic.

WHY? 'Comedic tour-de-force… brought a tear to a critical glass eye' The Herald

'Simultaneously down-to-earth and out of this world' The List

'The amount of first-rate comic craft that goes into his deceptively simple routines is worthy of admiration' Guardian

Age guidance: 14+ years.

Studio
£14 (£12 unwaged)

@justinmoorhouse
@nordenfarm

Justin Moorhouse's Website

•   1 Feb LIMITED