Free things to do this weekend ft. Comic FX, A Common Ground + Spoonful

This weekend ticks all the freebie boxes, with comedy, art and music setting you up with some sturdy ways to entertain yourself on the cheap.

Comic FX at Royal Exchange
Comic FX is Royal’s Exchange’s series of free comedy events, nicely wedged into the post-office early evening slot on a Friday. This week welcomes headliner Seymour Mace, a comedian and actor who worked as a clown before making the move into stand-up comedy. Support comes from Dan Nicholas, known for his dark and dry one-liners and surreal style, whilst pun-master John Goodfellow comperes the evening.
Fri 6 Mar, Royal Exchange, St Anns Square, M2 7DH, 6 – 7pm, FREE, www.royalexchange.co.uk

A Common Ground at Touchstones
This weekend marks your last chance to catch A Common Ground, an exhibition that brings together the work of three UK-based, Japanese-born artists, who all draw inspiration from the natural world. Ikuko Iwamuto makes tableware and ceramics based on repetitive patterns like those seen under a microscope, Kayo Saito’s jewellery is based on delicate plants and organic forms, whilst Junko Mori’s (work pictured) metalwork is influenced by tree and plant matter and consists of multiples of individually forged steel. You can read our full preview here.
Until Sat 7 Mar, Touchstones Rochdale, The Esplanade, Rochdale OL16 1AQ, Tue – Sat 10 – 5pm, FREE, www.link4life.org

Spoonful at Odd
Wind down the weekend with Spoonful at Odd, an acoustic evening that takes place every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. With past acts including Boz Hayward, Tom Mitchell and The Thumps, Spoonful features some of the finest new singer-songwriters from across the country, so simply head down from 8pm to join Manchester musician T G Elias and his lovely line up.
Sun 8 Mar, Odd, 30 – 32 Thomas Street, M4 1ER, From 8pm, FREE, www.oddbar.co.uk