Comedy Picks of the Week ft. Kevin Dewsbury, David Stainer, Stephen K Amos

Beat the Frog World Series Final | Frog & Bucket | Mon 28 Oct | 7.30pm | £3 (Free for students)
For those that attend comedy gong shows purely for the schadenfreude of watching a young comics dreams crash and burn before their very eyes this will probably not be the event for you. The best of Beat The Frog have been assembled for your delectation with the always excellent Dan Nightingale MCing and last year’s winner Jay Hampson opening.
dashboard.ticketscript.com

Just Standing | Star and Garter | Tue 29 Oct | 8pm | £5/3
Dead Cat Comedy continue to sprout comedy in whichever venue they throw themselves into with a one night fundraising venture into the Star and Garter. Just Standing supports the London Road Fire Station and its ongoing fight to remain a beautiful piece of architecture, and to keep it away from those nasty rumours that the Warehouse Project might be taking residence there, something that doesn’t bare thinking about. Bringing the funny will be the ubiquitous Red Redmond as your faithful compere, moustachioed mirth maker Will Setchel, Jay Hampson (of the paragraph above fame) and the original Fairy Gothmother Bethany Black. There will also be open mic spots throughout the night to give people the chance to rant about what heritage issues are important to them.
www.londonroadfire.org

Stephen K Amos (pictured) | The Lowry | Wed 30 Oct | 8pm | £17
Drawing plaudits for his feel good comedy style as well as his innate ability to interact and riff with a crowd of strangers, Stephen K Amos has been one of the best comedians on the circuit for the last ten years. A consistant smash at the Fringe Amos has toured worldwide and lands in Salford with his show The Spokesman. The beauty of Amos’ work is how he seamlessly works audience participation into his routines like they were carefully selected plants, such is his talent.
tickets.thelowry.com

Phill Jupitus | The Lowry | Thu 31 Oct | 8pm | £16
Incendiary poet, journalist and stand up Phill Jupitus brings his character based Edinburgh Fringe show to Salford Quays for what amounts to an impressive display of Jupitus’ comedic and indeed acting chops. Taking on three characters (admittedly one is ‘as himself’) and presenting the show to the audience as a Q & A session with these three ‘great’ men shows a side to Porky the Poet you may not have seen before. A great improviser with a keen eye for detail the show is a lot of fun and may change your preconceptions of Phill as the ‘other team captain off of Buzzcocks’.
tickets.thelowry.com

David Stanier’s Silly Party | Kings Arms | Fri 1 Nov | 10pm | £2
The Kings Arms kicks off its Greater Manchester Comedy Festival with a silly party. A fitting way really as no one seemed to know there was such a thing as the Greater Manchester Comedy Festival. Hosting the party will be David Stanier, a wonderfully weird comic, who would be Robin William’s character in Dead Poet’s Society were it set at a primary school. A winner of the BBC New Comedy Wildcard Choice in 2012, Stanier is exactly that, a wildcard. Off the wall funny with jokes that don’t seem like jokes, but are brilliantly funny all the same, Stanier deserves a large crowd for his late night silly party, and hopefully some cake will be available.
www.wegottickets.com

Kevin Dewsbury | Kings Arms | Sun 3 Nov | 8.45pm | £5
Known primarily to the general public as either Stan or James in those betting adverts, Kevin Dewsbury is fast making a name for himself outside the world of online and mobile gambling. Bringing his acclaimed show from the Fringe (isn’t everybody) to The Kings Arms, Dewsbury tackles issues such as stereotyping, bigotry, equal marriage and prejudice with his affable charm. Great observational comedy with warmth, and even a few songs, Dewsbury is certainly one to watch  for the future. Thankfully you can watch him in the present too.
www.wegottickets.com