Manchester comedy of the week FT Lorna Rose Treen, Faizan Shah and Liam Withnail

Character comedian Lorna Rose Treen comes to Manchester to headline XS Malarkey for the first time. After wowing at the Fringe with her first two shows, this will be her first performance proper in Manchester and what a place to do it. Expect Reeves & Mortimer-esque levels of absurdity with a modern twist and a knowing nod. LRT is a comic on the rise, so get in on the ground floor.

Dagenham raised, but Edinburgh made stand-up comic Liam Withnail is back in town with his latest tour show and it’s a heck of a tale. Ostensibly the story of his upbringing in the Essex-adjacent town, Withnail imbues the story with a level of pathos and kitchen-sink realism whilst never skimping on pitch-perfect punchlines. His best show to date, it sold out at the Fringe and has just enjoyed another great run at the Soho Theatre. See it while you can.

Creatures Comedy Club has built up a reputation as the place to go for stand-up mixed bill nights in Manchester with its 7 days a week promise and underground NYC vibes. Recently, though, they’ve been delving into different formats of shows, and this new Sunday night venture looks like an absolute doozy as Faizan Shah and Monty Franklin present Bad News, a live topical comedy show. Shah and Franklin have proven themselves two of the more exciting new acts to come out of the city in the last few years, and the various bin fires that represent governing bodies around the world are ripe for a skewering, so join the pair for an incendiary way to end the week.