This October sees the Women in Comedy Festival return for a third year and it’s bigger and better than ever. Running in Greater Manchester from Thursday 15 until Sunday 25 October it features more than 50 shows in numerous venues across the city and boasts actor Maxine Peake and comedians Susan Calman and Isy Suttie as patrons. Hundreds of tickets have been sold so far.

The festival is full to the brim with female comedic talent with around 140 acts confirmed including big names such as ‘The Job Lot’s’ Jo Enright, festival patron and as seen on many a panel show Susan Calman, ITV1’s ‘Show Me The Funny’s’ Tiffany Stevenson and sketch group Birthday Girls.

The festival launch night is at The Frog and Bucket in Manchester city centre on Thursday 15 October and is compered by Calman who introduces a headline set from Jo Enright, Bolton comic Sophie Willan, Laughing Cows’ Kerry Leigh and the bombastic talent of Annette Fagon.

There are a number of acts fresh from the festival performing their Edinburgh Fringe shows including Stevenson, Israeli human rights lawyer Daphna Baram, the diminutive Jo Coffey, the EMMA nominated Joy Carter, the darkly humorous Kiri Pritchard-McLean, sex educator Chella Quint, seasoned pro Sally Anne Hayward, Sara Mason with her shocking Hollywood stories, party girl Eleanor Conway and Swedish Chinese comic Evelyn Mok.

In addition there are solo shows from Hayley Ellis, Harriet Dyer, Kerry Leigh, Sahar Mirhadi, Amy Vreeke, Lara A King, Carol Robson, Pernilla Hammargren, Soula Notos, Ellen Tomlinson and Nina Gilligan. Plus a special exclusive preview of Susan Calman’s brand new show.

Elsewhere in the festival there are open mic nights providing the opportunity for burgeoning talent to develop and for the punters to say, in years to come, that they were there at the beginning when a new telly star or award winning comic was performing their first gig. There are compilation shows, workshops, comedic plays, sketch comedy and a lip synching battle. A book launch, networking events, comedy workshops, family friendly improv, humorous burlesque and stories told in skit and song. Plus there’s work in progress material from Rachel Fairburn, Dotty Winters and Birthday Girls.

The festival culminates with the Laughing Cows wrap night on Sunday 25 October and a fantastic line up with the prolific writer Suzi Ruffell, Stockport’s own Kerry Leigh and skit troupe Birthday Girls.

Now in their 17th year Laughing Cows have opened clubs across the nation and expanded onto the continent playing host to a number of big name female comedy acts whilst also nurturing new talent.

The club began life in London in 1998 when founder Hazel O’Keefe took up the gauntlet thrown down by a well-established club promoter when he confessed that the reason he wouldn’t book two female acts to play the same bill was that, ‘I wouldn’t take that risk’.

O’Keefe set out to prove that female comedians aren’t some kind of bizarre specialist act or, the other common misconception, that all perform the same kind of material but in actual fact are as varied and as myriad performers as any comedian – regardless of gender. In addition, Laughing Cows set out to confound not just those mistaken promoters but some audience members who seem to think that they don’t find women funny.

Patron Maxine Peake commented, “I’m proud to be supporting the UK Women in Comedy Festival as a patron. A festival filled with laughter combined with feminist principles taking place in the North … what’s not to support!”

The full line up can be viewed here – http://www.womenincomedy.co.uk/2015/Calendar.html

September 22, 2015