Comedy Picks of the Week ft. Joel Dommett, Dan Nightingale, Trevor Lock & more

Joel Dommett | King’s Arms, Salford | Fri 4 Jul | 7.30pm | £5
We are now living in a glorious age where people used to be ‘emos’. One such reformed emo is Joel Dommett, MTV News host and star of BBC Three’s Impractical Joker, whose band played one awful gig before breaking up immediately. Now, for the sake of pre-nostalgia and a comedy show, he’s getting the gang back together. Infectiously upbeat (probably why his emo career stalled), Dommett is a great performer with original material and a smile you can’t help but ape.
www.wegottickets.com

Funz and Gamez | Frog & Bucket | Sun 6 Jul | 3pm | £3 (FREE for kidz)
Last year Phil Ellis took a show to the Edinburgh Fringe called Unplanned Orphan. There were walk-outs, fire alarms and reviews that ranged from ‘genius’ to ‘shambles’. A great success to Ellis’ mind – who himself is a great polariser in the mould of Andy Kaufmann – and this August he plans to lose a few more prospective customers with his ‘kids show’, which includes a dog he hates, a bored shiftless elf and his drunk Uncle Mick. You may also notice that the show’s title makes for a rather offensive acronym. What could possibly go wrong? With a little luck, absolutely everything.
frogandbucket.ticketsolve.com

Gein’s Family Giftshop | King’s Arms, Salford | Mon 7 Jul | 8.30pm | FREE
Under the umbrella of the Greater Manchester Fringe, everyone’s favourite serial-killer-homaging sketch act present the show they will perform to all and sundry at next month’s Edinburgh Fringe. A free preview for all those fast enough to act on the invite, the show is sure to be one of the hits of the festival. In Scotland it’s going to be worth £9 – but down in England it’s still free. That’s what an independent Scotland means guys! Expensive comedy! Danny McLoughlin will also be trying out some new material as an extra free treat. Take that, Alex Salmond.
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Dan Nightingale | The Pub/Zoo | Tue 8 Jul | 8pm | £5/£3
Another Fringe preview is headed to Manchester’s best comedy night, XS Malarkey, with Dan Nightingale this time providing the sneak peak of his new show, Dan Nightingale Is Trying Not To Be A Dick. The show is all about reaching an age where you realise you may have been a bad human in certain situations. Touching on atheism, class and alcoholism, Nightingale’s charm and self awareness more than makes up for the times when he has been a bit of a dick. Solid support comes from Harriet Dyer and Edward Easton.
www.wegottickets.com

Trevor Lock (pictured) | The Castle | Thu 10 Jul | 8pm | £7
Performing in Manchester for the first time in five years, the artist formerly known as ‘Cocky Locky’ from the Russell Brand Radio Show, returns for a headline slot at the city’s only, and therefore best, chat show Sham Bodie. Spinning off on wild tangents of comedic minutiae, Lock has been packing them in down in the capital as one of the best stand-ups on the circuit. Also on the bill is Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Rio Bauer, Sheffield’s sketch group Staple/Face and music comes from Liam McClair. Sham Bodie is ably held together by the beard and heart of Ben Tonge.
www.wegottickets.com

Thanks to @johnwinsagain