This article contains advertising. Our booking links are routed through a partner that adds commission tracking automatically, so if you book through one we earn a commission from the provider, at no extra cost to you. It never affects what we recommend. Affiliate disclosure
On a Friday night in Blackstock Market, three comedy rooms can be running at the same time under one roof: a headliner in the 589-seat main auditorium, a mixed bill in the room next door, and a smaller show in The Barn, with street food and bars in between. Hot Water’s three-room venue has become the centre of the city’s stand-up, and that has changed the scene, not entirely for the better. This guide to comedy clubs Liverpool-wide covers where stand-up actually happens now, what it costs, which nights are worth booking and which famous names you will still find in old guides but not on the street.
It covers Hot Water Comedy Club and its three rooms, the free new-act and lunchtime shows, open mic nights for anyone who wants to try it, the theatres and the arena for touring names, the Royal Court’s comedy plays, and what happened to Laughterhouse and Liverpool Comedy Central. Prices and opening days were checked in October 2026 against the venues’ own listings; ticket prices vary show by show, so treat them as the right order of magnitude and check the show page before you book.
Liverpool Comedy at a Glance
| Where | What it is | When | Tickets (October 2026 examples) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Water Comedy Club, Blackstock Market | Three rooms: 589, 227 and 147 seats. Club nights, tour shows, new acts | Mostly Thursday to Sunday, with occasional midweek shows | Free shows, plus headliners listed at £18–£35 depending on the act |
| Hot Water free shows | Laughs at Lunch, New Act Night, 3 Minutes of Fame, Comedy Roast | Check the listings for days | Free |
| Liverpool Empire | 2,381-seat theatre; big-name touring stand-up between musicals | Occasional dates | Per show |
| M&S Bank Arena | 11,000-capacity arena; the biggest tours | Occasional dates | Per show |
| Playhouse Theatre | Up to 650 seats; regular touring stand-up | Check the season | Per show |
| Royal Court | 1,186 seats; Scouse comedy plays, not stand-up | Most of the year | Per show |
| Liverpool Comedy Festival | Hot Water’s festival, 70+ shows in 2026 | 3–6 September in 2026 | Per show |
Hot Water Comedy Club
If you only go to one comedy night in Liverpool, it will almost certainly be at Hot Water. The club launched in 2010, built its following through years of club nights and a strong presence on social media, and in 2024 opened its own multi-room venue inside Blackstock Market, a food and drink hall on Blackstock Street on the northern edge of the city centre. The full address is 17 Blackstock Street, L3 6ER.
The three rooms
- The Auditorium, 589 seats. The main room, used for headliners and the big weekend shows. Hot Water describes it as tight rows, a low ceiling and a small stage, which is exactly what you want for stand-up: a big room that still feels close.
- Wally’s Room, 227 seats. The mid-sized room, laid out so that each seat has a clear view of the stage.
- The Barn, 147 seats. The smallest room, used for smaller shows and new material.
The building also has podcast studios that the club hires out. The point of three rooms is that there is usually more than one show on a busy night, so if the headliner you wanted has sold out, check what is on in the other two.
When it is open
Hot Water’s regular opening days are Thursday to Sunday, with the occasional midweek show. It opens Thursday from 17:30 to 23:00, Friday from 17:30 to midnight, Saturday from 11:30 to midnight and Sunday from 11:30 to 23:00. Older guides often say “seven nights a week”; that is not the case now, so do not plan a Tuesday comedy night round it. The phone number for the venue is 0151 588 0222.
What it costs
Prices vary by show rather than by night. In October 2026 Hot Water’s listings ranged from free shows to headline tour dates: examples included £18 for a multi-act bill and £20 to £35 for well-known touring comedians. Gift vouchers are sold from £10 to £200. There is no single “Saturday price”, so check the show page for the act you want, and book ahead for any name you have heard of.
The free shows
This is the reason Hot Water is worth a look even on a tight budget. Its listings include free shows: Laughs at Lunch, a daytime show; New Act Night, where newer comedians try out material; 3 Minutes of Fame, which is exactly what it sounds like; and a Comedy Roast. Free new-act nights are hit and miss by nature, and part of the fun is seeing which three-minute set dies and which one suggests a future tour. Check the listings for which days each one runs, because the schedule changes.
Before you go
The venue’s own pages cover house rules, accessibility and food and drink. Read them before you go, especially if anyone in your group is under 18, uses a wheelchair, or wants to eat before the show. Arrive early enough to find your room: Blackstock Market is a busy building at weekends, and the late arrival walking in front of the stage is every comedian’s favourite target.
Is Hot Water Actually Good?
Mostly, yes. The rooms are built for comedy, the club books a mix of local favourites and touring names, and the scale means there is almost always something on from Thursday to Sunday. For a visitor, that reliability matters more than anything.
The honest caveats are about the format. The weekend club nights in the big room are, inevitably, built for a crowd: they attract hen and stag parties, the comedy is pitched accordingly, and a heckle-friendly Saturday audience is a different experience from a quiet midweek show in a small room. If you want the best comedy rather than the biggest night, book a named act you know you like, go on a Thursday or Sunday, or try a show in Wally’s Room or The Barn. The free new-act shows are the cheapest way in if you go with low expectations and a sense of humour about the misses.
The other thing to know is that Hot Water’s growth has squeezed out much of the competition. That is good for choice under one roof and less good for variety across the city, as the next section explains.
What Closed: Laughterhouse and Comedy Central
If you are reading an older guide to Liverpool comedy, two names will be in it that you can no longer visit.
Laughterhouse, which ran in a custom-built 136-seat room beneath the Slaughter House pub on Fenwick Street, closed in March 2026, with its last show on Saturday 28 March 2026. It had been running for almost twenty years, and the comedy industry site Chortle called it Liverpool’s longest-running comedy club. Its owners cited consistently low attendances and increasing competition from other venues. Occasional one-off comedy nights have since been listed at the Slaughter House under other promoters, so if you see a comedy night advertised there, it is a different show; check the details before you book. The pub itself is on the corner of Fenwick Street in the business district.
Liverpool Comedy Central, a 165-seat club at the Royal Albert Dock, closed in January 2019. Some listings pages and older articles still carry it.
Rawhide, the comedy club that started in the Everyman Theatre foyer in 1995 and later ran in the downstairs space at the Royal Court, appears in a lot of older guides too. Check the Royal Court’s listings or Rawhide’s own channels for any current dates rather than assuming it is running.
Open Mic Nights
Liverpool has a long tradition of open mic comedy in the back rooms of Ropewalks bars, and it is where many of the city’s comedians started. Open mics come and go faster than any other kind of comedy night: they depend on one organiser and one friendly landlord, and both change. The only reliable way to know if a night is running this week is to check the organiser’s own social media on the day.
For a more dependable start, Hot Water’s free New Act Night and 3 Minutes of Fame are run by the club itself and appear in its regular listings. The club also runs a Beginners Comedy Course, listed from £5, for anyone who wants to learn before they try.
Watching an open mic as an audience member is free or close to it, and can be brilliant or excruciating, usually both in the same hour. Go in a small group, buy a drink at the bar, and don’t heckle the nervous ones.
The Big Names: Theatres and the Arena
Touring comedians who have outgrown clubs play Liverpool’s theatres and its arena. These are the venues for a name you have seen on television.
Liverpool Empire
The Empire on Lime Street is a 2,381-seat, two-tier theatre run by ATG, mainly for touring musicals, with big-name comedy in between. The circle gives the best overall view, and for comedy you want to be as close to centre as you can manage, because the room is wide. Our Liverpool Empire guide covers seating in detail.
The Playhouse
The Playhouse on Williamson Square, up to 650 seats on three levels, regularly hosts stand-up alongside its plays and family shows. It is the right size for a comedian with a loyal following, and the sightlines are good from most seats. See our Everyman and Playhouse guide.
M&S Bank Arena
The arena on Kings Dock holds 11,000 and takes the very biggest comedy tours. It is where the arena-level names play, but be honest with yourself about the experience: from the back of an arena you are watching a comedian on a screen, with a very large crowd laughing a fraction of a second late. Our M&S Bank Arena guide covers the bag policy and how to get there.
The Royal Court: Comedy That Isn’t Stand-Up
The Royal Court on Roe Street is the other place Liverpudlians go to laugh, and it is a different kind of night entirely. The 1,186-seat Art Deco theatre specialises in home-grown Scouse comedy plays, with cabaret-style tables in the stalls and food served at your seat. Its Christmas show, The Scouse Nativity, opens on 6 November 2026.
If you want to understand Liverpool humour, a Royal Court comedy is a better introduction than any club night: the jokes are local, the audience is local, and half the laughs come from recognition. It is not stand-up, and some of the references will fly past a visitor, but it is a very Liverpool evening. Our guide to Liverpool’s entertainment venues covers the Royal Court alongside the other theatres.
The Liverpool Comedy Festival
Hot Water launched its own Liverpool Comedy Festival in 2026, running from 3 to 6 September inside Blackstock Market with more than 70 shows, plus music, street food and fairground rides. The club has said it wants to grow the festival every year. A separate, city-wide Liverpool Comedy Festival ran in earlier years and returned briefly in 2022; the 2026 event is Hot Water’s own. Check Hot Water’s festival page for the 2027 dates.
Comedy for Groups
Comedy is one of the best group activities in Liverpool, and Hot Water’s main room is large enough to seat a group of fifteen together, which most comedy rooms are not. For a hen or stag group, a Friday show is a good way to start a weekend without everyone peaking too early.
Two pieces of advice. First, book directly with the venue. Hen and stag agencies sell comedy tickets as part of packages, but a comedy ticket is one of the easiest things in the world to book yourself, and the agency package is often the same ticket with a margin on top. Second, if your group is going to be loud, the big weekend room is the right place for it, and the small rooms are not. Comedians in a 147-seat room can hear every word your group says to each other.
Our hen, stag and group trips guide covers the rest of a group weekend, and drag and comedy brunches are covered in our bottomless brunch guide.
Planning a Comedy Night
Booking
- Named touring acts sell out first. Book as soon as a date is announced if you want good seats.
- Club nights and mixed bills at Hot Water can often be booked a few days ahead, except on Saturdays in hen and stag season.
- Free shows may still need a ticket or have limited space. Check the listing for how entry works.
- Theatre and arena comedy is booked through each venue’s own box office. Use the official site rather than a resale platform.
Before and after the show
Blackstock Market has food and bars of its own, which makes it an easy evening: eat, watch a show, have a drink, all in one building. For a wider choice of food before a theatre show, the streets round the Ropewalks and Bold Street are a short walk from the Playhouse and the Empire. Our best restaurants guide covers the city centre.
Getting home
Late shows finish close to the time the last trains and buses leave. If you are staying outside the city centre, check the time of your last Merseyrail train or bus before the show, not after, or plan for a taxi. Our getting around guide has the details.
A Comedy Weekend in Liverpool
Because Hot Water runs from Thursday to Sunday, it is possible to build a whole long weekend round comedy without seeing the same kind of show twice. Here is a shape that works; swap in whatever is actually on when you visit.
- Thursday evening: something new. Thursday is a good night for a free new-act show or a smaller bill in The Barn. It is the closest thing left in Liverpool to the old basement-club experience.
- Friday night: a headliner. Book a named act in the Auditorium, eat in Blackstock Market first, and give yourself a proper night out without the full Saturday crush.
- Saturday: the city, then the Royal Court. Spend the day on the waterfront, then see a Scouse comedy play at the Royal Court in the evening. It is the most local laugh in town and a complete contrast with the club.
- Sunday: lunchtime laughs. Hot Water opens from 11:30 at weekends; check whether Laughs at Lunch or another daytime show is on before you head for your train.
If a big name is playing the Empire, the Playhouse or the arena during your stay, that replaces the Friday headliner. Check the listings before you book your travel, because a touring date is the one thing on this list you cannot move.
Comedy on a Budget
Liverpool is a cheap city for comedy if you know where to look.
- Go free. Hot Water’s free shows (Laughs at Lunch, New Act Night, 3 Minutes of Fame, the Comedy Roast) cost nothing to watch. You will pay for drinks at the bar.
- Pick the smaller act. Local and multi-act bills are generally cheaper than touring headliners, and the best comic on a mixed bill is often someone you have not heard of yet.
- Book direct. The venues sell their own comedy tickets. Agency packages and resale platforms add margin to the same seat.
- Eat before, not during. Blackstock Market’s food is convenient; a cheaper meal elsewhere before the show can save money for a bigger group. Our cheap eats guide has ideas.
For the rest of a low-cost trip, see our Liverpool on a budget guide.
Accessibility
Hot Water publishes accessibility information on its own site; read it before you book, and ring the venue on 0151 588 0222 to arrange a wheelchair space or other help. The theatres have their own access schemes and box-office lines, and the M&S Bank Arena has accessible seating, step-free entrances and an accessible drop-off point on the river side of the building. Our accessible Liverpool guide covers the city more widely.
Which Comedy Night Is Right for You?
| If you want… | Go to… |
|---|---|
| A safe bet on a weekend | A named headliner or a mixed bill at Hot Water |
| Comedy for free | Hot Water’s Laughs at Lunch, New Act Night or 3 Minutes of Fame |
| A big name off the telly | The Empire, the Playhouse or the arena |
| A real taste of Liverpool humour | A comedy play at the Royal Court |
| To try stand-up yourself | Hot Water’s beginners course or an open mic in the Ropewalks |
| A group night out | A Friday or Saturday show in Hot Water’s Auditorium |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best comedy club in Liverpool?
Hot Water Comedy Club at Blackstock Market is the city’s main dedicated comedy club, with three rooms of 589, 227 and 147 seats and shows from Thursday to Sunday. Since Laughterhouse closed in March 2026, it has had little direct competition.
How much are comedy tickets in Liverpool?
Prices depend on the act. In October 2026 Hot Water’s listings ran from free shows to headliners at £18 to £35. Theatre and arena comedy is priced per show; check each venue’s box office.
Is Hot Water open every night?
No. Hot Water’s regular opening days are Thursday to Sunday, with the occasional midweek show, with doors from 17:30 on Thursday and Friday and from 11:30 at weekends.
Where is Blackstock Market?
On Blackstock Street, on the northern edge of Liverpool city centre (Hot Water gives 17 Blackstock Street, L3 6ER). It is a food and drink hall with Hot Water’s three comedy rooms inside.
Is Laughterhouse still open?
No. Laughterhouse, the basement club at the Slaughter House on Fenwick Street, closed in March 2026 after almost twenty years. One-off comedy nights have since been listed at the Slaughter House by other promoters.
Are there open mic comedy nights in Liverpool?
Yes. Hot Water runs free New Act Night and 3 Minutes of Fame shows, and independent open mics run in Ropewalks bars. Independent nights change often, so check the organiser’s social media on the day.
Is there an age limit for comedy shows?
It varies by show and venue: many club nights are for over-18s, while some shows admit younger audiences. Check the age rating on the show’s listing before you book, and bring photo ID.
Related Liverpool Guides
- Liverpool Entertainment Venues
- Liverpool Empire Theatre
- The Everyman & Playhouse
- M&S Bank Arena
- Liverpool Nightlife
- Hen, Stag & Group Trips
- Games Bars & Competitive Socialising
Photo Credits
Liverpool’s Royal Court on Roe Street: Royal Court, Liverpool 1 by Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Slaughter House, Fenwick Street: The Slaughter House, Fenwick Street, Liverpool by Rodhullandemu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Empire’s façade on Lime Street: Empire Theatre, Lime Street, Liverpool (NHLE Code 1252934) (April 2024) (1) by User:Hassocks5489, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Playhouse on Williamson Square: Playhouse Theatre, Williamson Square, Liverpool (NHLE Code 1218642) (April 2024) (2) by User:Hassocks5489, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Mathew Street at night: Mathew Street, intersection with Temple Court, Liverpool (2017-11-18 00.12.15 by Björn Golda) by Björn Golda, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.