Brennan Reece kicks off Creatures Comedy Festival, Erica Jean talks language at Gullivers and Adam Riches is at XS Malarkey in this week’s best Manchester comedy shows.
One of the city’s best comics, Brennan Reece, kicks off another stacked lineup of talent for the Creatures Comedy Festival. Reece brings a brand-new hour of jokes to the Fringe this year, and here he’ll be showcasing some of them for the Creatures audience before a gala showcase performance by some of their favourite acts, who will be putting on shows for the next 10 days or so.
Isn’t it always the way, you wait forever for a Manchester comedy festival and then two come along at once. In fairness, the Greater Manchester Fringe has been going all month but is largely theatre-based. Still, this week there’s a fair amount of interesting comedy shows, including Freya Parker on Tuesday at the Peer Hat, and three free shows from Erica Jean. The polyglot comic speaks seven languages and crafts jokes in dozens more for a unique night of laughs in different accents.
- Words:
- John Stansfield
- Published on:
- Mon 20 Jul 2026
With the end of the World Cup, we can now get down to the serious business of Edinburgh Fringe work in progresses as we barrel towards August. XS Malarkey have been flying the flag for comedy all summer and continue to do so with another fascinating double bill featuring fringe darlings Eric Lampaert and Adam Riches. The penultimate XS double of the season, this one’s a must-see.