West End shows, great live music and a host of top comics are set to grace the stage in Southampton in February.

A week-long run of Shrek the Musical, the return of Blood Brothers, a Guildhall gig from The Vaccines and appearances from Jimmy Carr and Romesh Ranganathan are among the highlights of packed programmes at both Mayflower Theatre and 02 Guildhall Southampton

Jimmy Carr: Terribly Funny 2.0, which has two shows at 02 Guildhall Southampton on Friday February 2, contains jokes about all kinds of terrible things. It's the latest live offering from the controversial comic, best known for 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Daily Echo: Jimmy Carr will return to Norfolk during his Laughs Funny tour

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The Vaccines and their Southampton born frontman Justin Young are back with their sixth album, Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations, a record packed with euphoric hooks and melodies, as well as deep emotion.

This is the first Vaccines album since the departure of Freddie Cowan, but true to form, a good Vaccines album always sounds like every track should be a single. They'll showcase it at 02 Guildhall Southampton on Valentines Day. 

Romesh Ranganathan is back with a brand-new show examining the human condition... are people inherently good? Is charity always a positive thing? Is hustling the key to success? Or is all this a load of rubbish we've made up to keep people working hard for no reason.

Daily Echo: Romesh Ranganathan will be performing a warm up show in Suffolk ahead of his 'Hustle' UK tour

Join Romesh at Mayflower Theatre on Sunday February 18 as he examines all of these issues and more while providing no real answers.

Get ready to leave your troubles Far Far Away and embark on an unforgettable adventure filled with laughter, love, and ogre-sized fun as Shrek the musical takes to the Mayflower stage from February 20 to 25.

Join Shrek and his trusty sidekick Donkey as they set out on a quest to defeat the fearsome dragon and rescue the beautiful Princess Fiona. With a heartwarming story and a cast of unforgettable characters, this musical extravaganza is a journey you won't want to miss.

Daily Echo: A scene from Shrek the Musical UK and Ireland Tour 2023-4

The show is set to a toe-tapping soundtrack featuring fabulous songs like I'm A Believer, Big Bright Beautiful World and I Know It's Today.