Fin Taylor | King’s Arms, Salford | Fri 25 Jul | 7.30pm | £5
As August fast approaches, acts heading to the Scottish capital are putting their final touches on their respective shows ready for a mammoth slog in Auld Reekie. With August coming, July is due to end – that’s the thing with months of the year – and with that the end of Greater Manchester Fringe, which has seen some of the best stand-up previews the UK has to offer. One such show is that of 23-year-old Fin Taylor who has previously supported the likes of Glenn Will and Russell Howard on tour, and aims to dismantle self-righteousness and pretension, while championing profanity above all. A rising star, it might be best to catch him in a small, intimate venue like the King’s Arms.
www.wegottickets.com
Mick Ferry (pictured) | The Comedy Store | Sat 26 Jul | 5pm | £6/£4
Another Fringe preview, and an earlier start to squeeze in before your Saturday night on the steam. One of the UK’s finest comics, Mick Ferry, stops in at The Comedy Store around tea time to perform his Edinburgh show ‘What’s Going On?’ A lovely late afternoon treat, Ferry is flabbergasted at the world surrounding him and finds himself asking the titular question quite regularly. A smart and concise performer Ferry is one of the highlights of the Fringe every year – so save yourself some travel costs by sticking in Manc to watch the best from the fest before they even go up.
etickets.thecomedystore.co.uk
Found Footage Festival | Gorilla | Sat 26 Jul | 8pm | £10/£8
Back in those heady days of the 1980s and 1990s, before the internet and Youtube, there was this thing called VHS that people would watch and share and analyse til the tracking went weird. These relics are so obsolete now that even charity shops don’t want them. Oxfam’s loss is Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher’s gain, however, as they began collecting found videotapes in 1991 after stumbling across a training video entitled ‘Inside and Outside Custodial Duties’ at a McDonald’s in their home state of Wisconsin. Since then, they have compiled an impressive collection of strange, outrageous and profoundly stupid videos. The Found Footage Festival is a one-of-a-kind event showcasing videos found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters throughout North America. Read our full preview here.
www.seetickets.com
Laughing Cows | Frog & Bucket | Sun 27 Jul | 8pm | £7
Tiffany Stevenson headlines another stellar night of comedians who happen to be women. Stevenson was runner-up in ITV’s Show Me The Funny in 2011 and has since embarked on her first nationwide tour. Here she will be previewing her Ed show, ‘Uncomfortably Numb’. We thought Scissor Sisters did pretty much the definitive cover – but Stevenson reckons she can go one further, discussing the ravages of age both on the skin, and something deeper with class hatred, racism and sexism. Pink Floyd will be proud.
www.laughingcowscomedy.co.uk
Kate Smurthwaite | Antwerp Mansion, Rusholme | Sun 27 Jul | 8pm | £5
Antwerp Mansion is becoming quite the unlikely comedy club, with its monthly Shits & Giggles evening hosted by the irascible Roland Gent. This month it welcomes Kate Smurthwaite and her show ‘Leftie Cock Womble’, a shoe-in for title of the fest. Smurthwaite is an adroit politiciszed comedian who pulls no punches. She has featured on Question Time as well as comedy clubs around the country. Not afraid of any topic, she is a passionate, clever and very, very funny stand-up whose soapbox is sure to get much bigger as her career progresses.
www.antwerpmansion.com
Dead Cat Comedy Club | Bar21 | Mon 28 Jul | 8pm | FREE
It’s the final Dead Cat Comedy until September and everyone should be sad about that. Mostly us, as their plethora of shows amounts to approximately 50% of the shows in this weekly round-up. As Red Redmond rather selfishly relocates to Edinburgh for the month of August with his show ‘Blue’, there will be a massive gap left in the comedy calendar next month. However, Mr Redmond has arranged an amazing send-off, as cult heroes The Bob Blackman Appreciation Society will be previewing their Fringe Show and CityLife Comedian of the Year Eddie Hoo will be previewing his. A last chance to see some amazing comedy courtesy of Red and his wonderful free gigs. For a month.
deadcatcomedy.co.uk
An Evening of Filth and Despair | King’s Arms, Salford | Wed 30 Jul | 9pm | £5
One of the highlights of last year’s Fringe, and the Camden Fringe, and the Women in Comedy Festival for that matter, was two-piece sketch act Norris & Parker. Unfortunately Norris is off in the Lakes being a thesp, which has led Sinead Parker to fend for herself and if the title of this show is anything to go by things aren’t going well. Parker presents the Despair portion of the evening, while Jenny May Morgan, as acclaimed-actress-turned-author Pamela de Menthe, will provide plenty of filth.
www.wegottickets.com
Thanks to @johnwinsagain
- Words:
- John Stansfield
- Published on:
- Fri 25 Jul 2014
