Fri 7 July at 7pm: Emma Sidi – Telenovela
An extremely welcome return. Two years after she starred in The Crocodile at MIF15, Emma Sidi returns with her Edinburgh sell-out show Telenovela – passionate, obsessive and revengeful character comedy. Book now.

Machynlleth Comes to Manchester

This summer, Manchester International Festival brings a little bit of West Wales to Manchester as the Machynlleth Comedy Festival decamps for a weekend at the Burgess.

Every spring, 6,000 people descend on the tiny Welsh town of Machynlleth (population: 2,235) for one of Europe’s most delightful and unusual comedy events. The small but perfectly formed Machynlleth Comedy Festival encourages comics to experiment and have fun with their material in some very intimate venues, with shows staged everywhere from the local bowling club to the ancient Welsh parliament building.

Don’t miss this series of special shows over three days at the Burgess Foundation with some of the country’s best young comics. Here are the full listings.

Fri 7 July at 7pm: Emma Sidi – Telenovela
An extremely welcome return. Two years after she starred in The Crocodile at MIF15, Emma Sidi returns with her Edinburgh sell-out show Telenovela – passionate, obsessive and revengeful character comedy. Book now.

Fri 7 July at 9pm: Birthday Girls – Sh!t Hot Party Legends
AKA Beattie Edmondson, Rose Johnson and Camille Ucan, Birthday Girls might be the most uproariously funny sketch comedy troupe around today. Book now.

Sat 8 July at 5pm: Brian Gittins – Don’t Feed the Monkey Man
Described by Ricky Gervais as ‘one of the best comedy characters of the decade’, David Earl’s inglorious failure continues his lonely trudge to the top of the comedy tree. Book now.

Sat 8 July at 7pm: Kiri Pritchard-McLean – Appropriate Adult
Sharp, smart and extremely funny, the Manchester-based stand-up follows a successful tour of her 2016 Edinburgh hit Hysterical Woman with this special Festival show. Book now.

Sat 8 July at 9pm: Gein’s Family Giftshop – Volume 3
Piercingly dark and blackly hilarious sketch comedy from the Manchester quartet of Edward Easton, Kath Hughes, James Meehan and Kiri Pritchard-McLean. Book now.

Sun 9 July at 5pm: Alun Cochrane – Alunish Cochranish
As heard every week on Frank Skinner’s Absolute Radio show, and as seen everywhere from Corrie to Have I Got News for You – a master storyteller with an eye for the absurd. Book now.

Sun 9 July at 7pm: Brennan Reece – Everlong (Debut of New Work)
Best Newcomer nominee at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe and recent winner of the English Comedian of the Year Award, the Tameside native comes home for the final show of Machynlleth Comes to Manchester. Book now.