As we enter the last two weeks before the Fringe, preview season is in full swing and there are excellent shows from Tadiwa Mahlunge, Alice Fraser, Philipp Kostelecky and Alison Spittle all coming to Manchester.

Alice Fraser and Tadiwa Mahlunge at XS Malarkey | Tue 18 Jul | 7.30pm | £6/3

XS Malarkey begins its nomadic summer rather ironically at HOME, with an absolute banger of a double preview from steady Edinburgh hand Alice Fraser and exciting rising star Tadiwa Mahlunge. It’ll be a summer of change before XS are able to settle in their permanent home of 53Two so make sure you support them where you can, especially when they consistently boast lineups as special as this one.

HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester M15 4FN
Alison Spittle at The Laughięnda | Thu 20 Jul | 7.30pm | FREE

Another night, another preview as The Laughięnda finishes off its regular evening of new comedy with a work-in-progress from Alison Spittle. For those that saw her at XS Malarkey back in June it’s a chance to check out what’s changed as Spittle is constantly getting into bizarre scrapes that form her stand-up and for those that didn’t, don’t miss it a second time!

Lions Den Manchester, 253 Deansgate Mews, Manchester M3 4EN
Philipp Kostelecky at Fierce Bar | Sun 23 Jul | 7.30pm | £7

A final work-in-progress show to round out the week with a trip to Fierce Bar on Sunday night to see Austrian-Slovenian-American comic Philipp Kostelecky. With a series of awards and competition wins under his belt, this young cosmopolitan comedian mines his unorthodox cultural background and family structure to pose as an external observer and cultivate an offbeat socio-political perspective.

Fierce Bar, 57 Thomas Street, Manchester M4 1NA
Tue 18 Jul - Sun 23 Jul
Words:
John Stansfield
Published on:
Mon 17 Jul 2023