Comedy Picks of the Week ft. Doug Stanhope, Nick Helm + James Acaster

Quippodrome | Mon 12 Oct | Gullivers | 7.30pm | £4
There’s a wealth of touring talent heading toward Manchester this week – so where better to start than with some proper home-grown, grassroots comedy in the malformed minds that inhabit the Quippodrome. Fast becoming the most exciting and inventive troop on the Manchester comedy scene, Jayne Edwards, Jon Whiteley, Edy Hurst and Jack Evans bring an array of off-key characters to Gullivers once a month to put the tern in alternative. The meta-river of comedy that is Sean Morley offers up typically left-field support.
www.wegottickets.com

Carl Donnelly | Wed 14 Oct | The Old Monkey | 7.30pm | £3
Frankly an absolute steal at just three of your English pounds, Carl Donnelly is one of the best stand-ups currently on the circuit. His successful Fringe show ‘Jive Ass Honkey’ showcased Donnelly’s burgeoning talent as he explored more personal subjects. A great chance to see a top comic in such intimate surrounds as The Old Monkey.
www.wegottickets.com

Nick Helm | Fri 16 Oct | The Dancehouse | 8pm | £12.50 adv/£15 otd
With a voice like he’s spent the last 30 years or so gargling gravel and broken glass, Nick Helm is a bubbling brew of charisma, confidence and a whole heap of curse words. A natural showman, Helm presents his ‘Masterwork in Progress’- a show that even he’s not entirely sure what will be in it. No doubt there will be musical numbers (as in his BBC Three sitcom Uncle) and a lot of misplaced rage. Most importantly it will be very funny and a chance to see Nick before he ‘sells out’.
www.thedancehouse.co.uk

Doug Stanhope (pictured) | Fri 16 & Sat 17 Oct | The Lowry | 8pm | £32
The voice of disgruntled America, Doug Stanhope is primarily known for his vitriolic pokes at his home country on Charlie Brooker’s various ‘-wipe’ programmes. An equal opportunity offender, there are few that escape Stanhope’s drunkenly eloquent ire. Tickets sold out pretty fast for the Saturday, but there are still some remaining spaces on Friday. If you miss out you may find Doug in Soup Kitchen as he recently mentioned a liking for the Northern Quarter canteen and Manchester Wire-faved DJs Swing Ting.
www.thelowry.com

Tiff Stevenson | Sat 17 Oct | Nexus Art Café | 10.10pm | £6 adv/£8 otd
Now in its third year of operation, the Women in Comedy Festival is once more taking over Manchester venues for the last two weeks of October. Tiff Stevenson is a former finalist of ITV1’s Show Me The Funny and one of those hilarious women you hear Andrew Lawrence getting cross at on the internet because their career is going justifiably well. This evening you’ll find her at Nexus Art Café for a solo show filled with her likeable and honest dissection of modern life.
www.womenincomedy.co.uk

James Acaster | Sun 18 Oct | The Lowry | 8pm | £17
Consistently nominated but never quite winning the accolade he so richly deserves, James Acaster is at risk of becoming the Alfred Hitchcock of comedy. For the last four shows he has taken up to the Fringe Festival he has been put forward for the top prize year on year – but the win eludes him. It is a testament to the consistency of Acaster’s low key charm and at only 30 years of age he shows no sign of letting up.
www.thelowry.com

Thanks to @johnwinsagain