Comedy Picks of the Week ft. Rob Auton, Alfie Brown, Ian D Montfort + more

Matt Rees | Tue 17 Feb | The Pub/Zoo | 7.30pm | £5/£3
Nominated as ‘Funniest Person in the World’ is high praise indeed, especially when it comes from iconic California comedy club The Laugh Factory -but Matt Rees has certainly earned his share of plaudits over the last few years. With his awkward demeanour and dark, subtle comedy, he won Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year award in 2012. Also on the bill is the highly rated Will Duggan and John Pendal, with Katie Mulgrew trying out some new material and hopefully a rallying cry for her proposed Buffy the Vampire Slayer quiz.
www.wegottickets.com

Rob Auton | Thu 19 Feb | King’s Arms, Salford | 7.30pm | £8/£6
Luring you in with the catch-all promise that this is a show that applies to anyone who has a face – or knows someone who has a face – Auton’s The Face Show is anything but a straight stand-up show for the masses. A poet and theatrical performer, his shows pull at the frayed edges of narrative to create something not whole but wholly engaging. Auton is a unique comedian who constantly baulks at what stand-up is and can be – much more than face value.
www.skiddle.com

Alfie Brown | Fri 20 Feb | The Lowry, Salford Quays | 8pm | £12
A name you should probably remember, Alfie Brown has been making small but discernible waves on the London comedy scene for a few years now, with intelligent and uncompromising material. He’s also a little bit of a dreamboat. His show Divorced From Reality (And My Wife) is about not just the end of his marriage but bipolar disorder and the manner in which we are taught to behave, and never question the path thought out by our forbearers.
www.thelowry.com

Bethany Black | Sat 21 Feb | The Dancehouse | 8pm | £8
In the game of comedy Risk, Red Redmond has acquired yet more new and fertile land with which to begin a Dead Cat Comedy show – this time with lofty ambitions on a Saturday night at The Dancehouse Theatre. To take on the big guns of weekend comedy though you must pack some considerable heat yourself, and Red has done so with the dark musings of Bethany Black – Woody Allen via Leeds’ Peter Brush and veganarchist Will Setchell. With last month’s MACE at Kosmonaut proving Red can handle a larger show, this is a welcome addition to Saturday night comedy shows.
www.ticketline.co.uk

Ian D Montfort (pictured) and Ivan Brackenbury | Sun 22 Feb | Antwerp Mansion, Rusholme | 7.30pm | FREE
Lowering the price of its comedy club a touch from a fiver to absolute zero, Antwerp Mansion offers up two character comedians for the price of none with psychic Ian D Montfort and hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury. Both intimately and lovingly portrayed by Tom Binns, who won best international act at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in 2013, and was nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award in 2007 for his stint as Brackenbury, this is a double afford you can’t afford to miss.
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Thanks to @johnwinsagain