Comedy: Terry Alderton at the Lowry

Terry Alderton has had various brushes with fame and notoriety over the years. A former Southend goalkeeper, he’s starred in London’s Burning and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (the TV series) and enjoyed a stint presenting the National Lottery. But he’s spent most of the last few years concentrating on his live act and what an act that is; Alderton’s an accomplished comedian who can mesmerise even the most gin soaked Saturday crowd. His set was already a visual and aural feast when he brought in ‘the voices’ where he turns his back on the audience to converse with the voices in his head. It’s an intriguingly self conscious device that wrings laughs from the room and wrong-foots the crowd in the best possible way.

Sat 30 Mar, The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ, 0843 208 6000, 8pm, £11-£13, www.thelowry.com