The Institute, London
Another excursion into gothic-tinged territory here: a cheerfully ambitious comic horror with an innovative twist. Devised by members of two of the UK's most talked-about sketch groups – the raucously entertaining Pappy's Fun Club and cod-Victorian BBC Radio stars The Penny Dreadfuls – The Institute is a semi-improvised show set in the world of big pharma. Much like Mark Watson's The Hotel (a sizeable hit at this year's Edinburgh fringe), the show dispenses with traditional staging. On arrival at the Pleasance Theatre, attendees will be escorted to a nearby location – supposedly the headquarters of the shadowy Avernus Institute, experts in genetic research. They will then set off on a guided tour of the premises, which includes episodes that are "designed to be disorientating". On past form, the talent involved can be trusted to offset the scares with plenty of inventive, pacey humour.
Pleasance Islington, N7, Sat & Sun
Colin Hoult's Carnival Of Monsters, London
With Halloween upon us, there's an excursion into the realm of the gothic later this week courtesy of half of acclaimed comedy duo Colin and Fergus. Carnival Of Monsters takes its name from an enjoyably kitsch slice of early-70s Doctor Who, but its comic inspiration comes from a much darker place – an amalgam of League Of Gentlemen macabre and the bleak surreal humour of Chris Morris's Jam. Once you enter the Dr Caligari-like world of the Carnival, Hoult introduces you to a series of characters – from grotesques such as the lonely, Frankenstein-esque creature who lurches up to audience members and asks, "Friend?", to even stranger creations like a joyriding tricyclist who has a series of bizarre run-ins with a policeman. An awful lot of thought and artistry has gone into this show (the sound and lighting design alone displays more creativity than some sketch shows manage in their entirety), and even if it doesn't always result in comedy gold, it's a hugely arresting and memorable hour.
Soho Theatre, W1, Thu to 7 Nov
Spitting Image: The Complete Series 1-7, DVD
The seemingly unavoidable prospect of David Cameron and his cat's-bottom mouth taking up residence in No 10 makes this a good time to have a look back at the 1980s. The heyday of the last Tory administration was also a golden age for full-blooded topical comedy, as this new boxset of the viciously on-the-nose Spitting Image proves. Series 1-7 takes us up to the end of the Thatcher years, providing a showcase for the programme's best character in the shape of the red-eyed, power-mad Maggie. What's striking is that celebrities got an easier ride back then (there's nothing as harsh as some of Bo' Selecta's attacks) while the politicos came in for much more aggressive stick. Modern Westminster satire seems to tackle things from a more cerebral angle (think of The Thick Of It or commentators such as Rory Bremner and Marcus Brigstocke) – there's little now that's as rude or angry as Spitting Image's splenetic Punch-and-Judy assaults on Thatcher, Major, Kinnock et al.
Network, £59.99, out on Mon