January is over and February is already looking pretty bright with another week of excellent comedy shows in the the city featuring the likes of Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Peter Brush and the return of open mic night ‘Stage Time’.

XS Malarkey with Peter Brush | Tue 1 Feb | 7.30pm | £3/6

Peter Brush is one of the best joke writers around and his slow methodical delivery makes for compelling stage presence. That he’s not a household name feels like a staggering oversight but perhaps that’s how he might like it. Still, headlining XS Malarkey is quite the milestone for any comic and one that Brush will no doubt go through at his own pace and with no small amount of big laughs.

The Bread Shed, 126 Grosvenor Street, Manchester M1 7HL
Stage Time at Stage & Radio | Wed 2 Feb | 6.30pm | Free

Jordan Ducharme’s much loved open mic night ‘Stage Time’ makes its first bow of the new year and is the perfect place to spot the up and comers of the Manchester comedy scene. There’s also a chance some more familiar faces might pop down to try out their latest material. And heck if you’re feeling brave enough why not ask if you can get up there yourself. The worst thing to happen is that you realise just how difficult stand-up comedy really is.

Stage & Radio, 43 Port Street, Manchester M1 2EQ
A Lovely Time ft Kiri Pritchard-McLean | Sat 5 Feb | 7pm | £12-14

Another first outing of 2022 as comedy club A Lovely Time take over Chapeltown Picture House on Saturday night. This month host and compere Amy Gledhill will be joined by Kiri Pritchard-McLean, who can be seen on most TV shows and heard on the All Killa No Filla podcast, dark sketch outfit Tarot and rising stand-up star Tadiwa Mahlunge. A lovely time indeed.

GRUB, 50 Red Bank, Manchester M4 4HF
Tue 1 Feb - Sat 5 Feb
Words:
John Stansfield
Published on:
Mon 31 Jan 2022