Comedy of the week ft Scott Bennett, Jain Edwards and The Delightful Sausage

Kick start your week with the city’s longest running comedy night as XS Malarkey shows no signs of slowing, even in its 24th year. This week’s offering has the frank and unapologetic New York stand-up Abigoliah Schamaun headlining with support from rising talent Bexie Archer and Leslie Ewing-Burgesse, all overseen by the watchful eye of Toby Hadoke.

For a man who took to his shed to perform weekly stand-up shows during the first lockdown, we imagine Scott Bennett is a man who finds it hard to ‘relax’—so channeling his inability to do so into a show about the idea is no bad way to release that stress. Bennett has long been a comedy club favourite and thanks to his antics in his shed he’s finally getting the wider attention he so richly deserves as a smart, sharp and brutally honest comic. With a Live at the Apollo appearance to come it’s only a matter of time before he leaves the shed for a household name.

The tagline for this night of light chat and bizarre character comedy reads ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ and who are we to deny Jain Edwards that? We’ve been banging the drum for Jain for as long as we’ve been covering comedy in Manchester and that she’s now hosting her own version of a chat show is music to our ears. Flanked by Foxdog Studios, Jack Lewis Evans and Jim John Harkness this is sure to be a feast for fans of the Manchester alternative comedy scene.

If you wanted to see Abigoliah Schamaun on Tuesday night but have a young dependent then good news! Mum’s The Word Comedy Club for parents and babies is back with free entry for those under 18months (though they do have to accompanied by a parent, it’s not a creche). It’s the funniest parent and baby event you’ll ever go to with Katie Mulgrew on hosting duties and Abigoliah joined by Mancunian funnyman Mike Newall for this afternoon treat of a show.

After a number of cancellations due to you know what, The Delightful Sausage are finally able to put on their critically-acclaimed, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show ‘Ginster’s Paradise’. A tale of stardom, co-dependency and a psychotic company mascot, Chris and Amy have created a dense, hilarious and sometimes gross story that rightly won over critics and audiences at the Fringe in 2019. The pair are filming the show for posterity and have promised some extra bonus features on the night.