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Laughterama 2022 – lineup, location, food and drink traders, last-minute tickets, and more

Laughterama 2022 is gearing up to be "a seriously good time in the heart of the city" - and here's everything you need to know.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 20th September 2022

A brand-new comedy festival is set to arrive in Manchester this week, and there’s some seriously famous names gearing up to bring the laughs.

Laughterama is an all-new five-night festival that’s set to combine a packed lineup of some of comedy’s multi-talented names, with a handful of the city’s best-loved bars and traders from right across the street food scene.

A new venture from the sibling team behind a series of successful comedy festivals running annually across London and the South, comedy fans heading on down to Castlefield Bowl for Laughterama 2022 this week can expect a mix of the biggest names in stand-up to take to the same stage as some of the brightest new talents.

James Acaster, Aisling Bea, and Rosie Jones are just some of the famous names on the lineup.

Laughterama is taking over Castlefield Bowl in Manchester city centre from Wednesday 21 – Sunday 25 September 2022, and it’s promising to be “a seriously good time in the heart of the city”.

Here’s everything you need to know.

The lineup for the brand-new Laughterama 2022 festival / Credit: Laughterama

Lineup & Stage Times

The Laughterama 2022 lineup is absolutely packed with heavy-hitting names and upcoming top talent set to make the people of Manchester laugh across the five-day festival.

Here’s the lineup and stage times for each day of the festival:

Wednesday

Festival opens at 6pm and show begins at 7:30pm.

  • David O’Doherty
  • Rose Matafeo
  • Lou Sanders
  • Josh Jones
  • Daniel Kitson

Thursday

Festival opens at 6pm and show begins at 7:30pm.

  • Nish Kumar
  • Simon Amstell
  • Amy Gledhill
  • Mike Wozniak
  • Catherine Bohart
The unflinchingly funny Jamali Maddix will be taking to the Castlefield Bowl stage / Credit: Supplied
The “comic shooting to fame” Celya Ab, and the joyous Rosie Jones are on the lineup / Credit: Supplied
The hilarious Kiri Pritchard-McLean will also be making an appearance / Credit: Supplied

Friday

Festival opens at 6pm and show begins at 7:30pm.

  • Milton Jones
  • Reginald D Hunter
  • Hannah Platt
  • Stephen Bailey
  • Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Saturday

Festival opens at 2pm and show begins at 3pm.

  • Phil Wang
  • Aisling Bea
  • Fatiha El Ghorri
  • Rhys James
  • Ian Smith

Festival opens at 6pm and show begins at 7:30pm.

  • Josh Widdicombe
  • Ivo Graham
  • Tadiwa Mahlunge
  • Esther Manito
  • John Robins

Sunday

Festival opens at 3pm and show begins at 4pm.

  • Dylan Moran
  • Tim Key
  • Fern Brady
  • Huge Davies
  • Maisie Adam

Festival opens at 6pm and show begins at 7:30pm.

  • James Acaster
  • Josh Pugh
  • Celya AB
  • Rosie Jones
  • John Robins

You can find out more about the full Laughterama 2022 lineup here.

Some seriously famous names are gearing up to bring the laughs at Laughterama 2022 / Credit: Supplied

Food & Drink Traders

As well as catching some uproarious stand up sets, those heading to Laughterama 2022 will also get to feast on some of Manchester’s best street food throughout the event.

Alongside some established food favourites, the festival has also booked up and comer Thief Street, Mexican taco truck Nina’s, top-end kebab kitchen Eat Like a Greek, and beloved bagel company Triple Bagels.

Meanwhile, those with a sweet tooth will be catered to with pancakes from Eat Dutch Lekker or a range of sugary treats from Ravenous Fudge.

Festivalgoers will get to feast on some of Manchester’s best street food throughout the event / Credit: Supplied

Here’s the full lineup of traders:

  • T’arricrii 
  • Eat Like a Greek
  • Eat Dutch Lekker
  • Triple Bagels
  • Thief Street
  • Ravenous Fudge
  • Mi & Pho
  • Nina’s Taco Truck

Find out more about all the food and drink traders at Laughterama 2022 here.

How to get to Laughterama 2022

Laughterama 2022 is taking over Castlefield Bowl in Manchester city centre.

With the unique venue being in the heart of the Castlefield district, this means that the closest train station is Deansgate, the closest Metrolink stop is Deansgate-Castlefield, and there are several bus stops nearby – although, the venue is within walking distance from several of the city’s other major public transport stations.

There is no event parking, but there are many car parks in close proximity.

Festival organisers ask that all festivalgoers check tickets for information about the gate opening and show start times.

You’re also asked to just bring one medium sized bag per person to the event, as this will greatly assist with security checks, and there are also set to be no cloakroom facilities at the festival either so personal belongings will need to be kept with you at all times.

You can plan your trip on the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) website here.

Laughterama is taking over Castlefield Bowl in Manchester city centre / Credit: Supplied

Weather Forecast

As anyone who is familiar with Castlefield Bowl will know well, the venue is an open-air arena with the majority of seating uncovered, which means that all festivalgoers are advised to keep the classic Manchester weather in the front of their minds, and check the weather forecast ahead of time so that you dress accordingly.

Although it could be a little too early to tell, especially as weather is forever changing, at this point, it looks like we’re in for a mixed bag of weather conditions across the five days of the festival.

On Wednesday, you can expect a dry day with cloud cover and temperatures ranging from 11°C-20°C, and then on Thursday, some rain showers are expected, but Friday looks to see the sun poke through the clouds with temperatures in the region of 11°C-19°C.

On Saturday, we’re in for another dry and cloudy day with highs of 19°C, and then to round-out the festival on Sunday, some showers are expected, once again with highs of 18°C / 19°C.

Find out full advanced weather forecasts for Manchester on the Met Office website here.

It’s promising to be “a seriously good time in the heart of the city” / Credit: Supplied

Tickets

Like the sounds of what you’ve heard? Fancy nipping down this week?

Given the immensely-talented lineup of comedy names at Laughterama 2022, and the fact that tickets have been on sale for a good couple of weeks now to popular demand, some of the events and days are unfortunately completely sold out, and there are only a limited number of tickets left on the days that are available.

Tickets will set you back just £25 each, and you can find out more about which shows on the lineup are still available to catch on the Laughterama website here.

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Featured Image – Lloyd Winters (via Supplied)

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Star of hit CBBC show Operation Ouch! to host live Q&A and meet and greets in Manchester this summer

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Little Mancs can meet the star of one of their favourite TV shows at the Science and Industry Museum this summer.

In case you hadn’t heard, Operation Ouch! is back in Manchester again with a fresh new experience for 2025, and this time around, visitors can journey through an ear canal covered in gooey wax, squeeze past sticky snot, and delve deeper into how our brains interpret the world.

Thousands of families from across Greater Manchester and beyond have already visited the city centre museum make the most of the new exhibition, and get stuck into the wide range of immersive and interactive activities it has on offer.

But for those who haven’t been able to pay a visit yet, this summer couldn’t be a more ideal opportunity to do so.

That’s because Dr Xand Van Tulleken – who is one of the presenters of the BBC show Operation Ouch! – will be at the museum in a couple of weeks time to meet visitors as part of his myth-busting mission to answer some of the public’s deepest questions about our senses.

The Science and Industry Museum has unveiled its ‘summer of senses’ programme / Credit: Science Museum Group

Dr Xand Van Tulleken will be at the Science and Industry Museum for one day only, and will not only join mini medics on their voyage through the senses, but will also be on-hand to answer brain teasers from the audience during a series of live Q&As.

Whether it’s banging on a super-sized eardrum, venturing into a massive eyeball, or even taking a whiff of a ‘smell library’, this world-premiere exhibition dives into the science behind hearing, sight, touch, taste, and smell – and Dr Xand will be there every step of the way.

Dr Xand’s visit comes amid a senses-themed summer programme at the city centre museum, where visitors can enjoy everything from silent discos and science shows, to a ‘bogie lab’, brain-boggling challenges, and loads more during six weeks of activities inspired by its latest exhibition.

Book your tickets to visit Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You on Tuesday 12 August, for any of the time slots between 11:30am – 1pm, and 2:45 – 4:15pm for the opportunity to grab a selfie with Dr Xand from inside the exhibition.

Tickets will cost visitors £10 each, with those under three going free, and a range of family discounts available.

Read more:

Find out more about the exhibition and get tickets here.

Featured Image – Science Museum Group

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Aspiring artists can get their work displayed on one of the biggest digital screens in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Printworks student art competition digital ceiling

Are you a budding artist looking to get your work seen or know some who is? Well, you might want to pay attention because there’s an opportunity to have your creation seen by countless passers-by and on one of the biggest displays in the entire UK over at the Printworks.

If you’ve passed through the much-loved hospitality and leisure complex over the past year or so, you’ll have noticed their roof is now no longer a roof at all, really; the striking ceiling is now a constantly moving image and the largest of its kind in all of Europe.

Meaning that anyone who got their artworks on there would effectively be securing one of the biggest displays and public installations on the continent.

You see where we’re going with this…

As Printworks themselves put it: “This isn’t just a screen; it’s an artistic stage viewed by millions of visitors every year, with the power to turn a single artwork into a 360-degree sensory experience.”

With that in mind, they’re giving one lucky individual the chance to grab the spotlight and see their creative expression plastered on the 1,000m² wraparound LED canvas.

Laura Heitzman said of the initiative: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be a judge for the Manchester Printworks Student Art Competition.

“Supporting emerging talent and seeing fresh, creative perspectives is always inspiring, and I
can’t wait to see what these young artists bring to the table! It was so surreal seeing my artwork on the digital.”

Past installations have included the ‘Spaces Up-Above’ exhibition by world-renowned light artist, Rupert Newman, as well as an International Women’s Day showcase by Heitzman herself, as a fellow Manchester-based creative.

In case you need a better idea of the sheer scale of this screen and why this is such an exciting opportunity for up-and-coming local artists, here’s how they celebrated Oasis returning to Manchester for their Heaton Park reunion gigs this week:

Synchronised with sound and added motion effects, the competition is now open to students who are currently enrolled in college, university or art school.

Better still, you don’t even have to be from or based in the area to take part – this is a nationwide competition hoping to spotlight the best talents in the UK.

All you have to do to enter this exciting competition in Manchester is simply provide Printworks your details and upload your artwork of choice HERE by Sunday, 3 August.

Best of luck!

Read more:

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Featured Images — Printworks (supplied)

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