Jon Richardson returns with 'Stand Up for the Week' 2012 London residency and UK shows

Jon Richardson

With the state of just about everything in the world right now, a laugh is what we could all do with. Mercifully, help is at hand courtesy of Channel 4 with the return of its popular "Stand Up for the Week" series on Friday nights. The fourth series returned last week and saw Lancastrian satirist Jon Richardson take up the mantle as host once again, for what promises to be light relief in these heavy times.

With plenty of humorous guests in tow, tomorrow night's show will no doubt deal with the London mayoral elections, the weather and other world-stopping events with a mix of cheeky satire and downright Mickey-taking. Splendid. At some point of course, the collective spleens normally vented on the show will need rehearsal and approval from an independent audience beforehand, so what better way to do this than with a residency at a famous venue, somewhere near the studio itself. All hail, therefore, Greenwich's Up the Creek venue for hosting a season of Stand Up for the Week 'work in progress' gigs during the show's entire run!

The live warm-ups all take place on Tuesdays, right up until 26th June with the next one set to take place on 8th May. As with the TV series, Jon Richardson will introduce regulars from the programme including Andrew Lawrence, Josh Widdicombe, Seann Walsh, Sara Pascoe and Paul Chowdhry. But the best bit is the price.

General admission to all of the Stand Up For The Week 'work in progress' shows cost just £5, which is incredible value, even for a warm-up! Tickets are available right now and will be snapped up very quickly!

In addition to these busy Tuesdays, Richardson, Walsh, Widdicombe and Lawrence will be performing tours, headline shows and festival slots throughout the year - see below for details.

Paul Pledger