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Stewart Lee, Joanne McNally, Jon Richardson and more fill out top-notch Laughterama 2024 lineup

Can hear Castlefield Bowl cackling already. (this article contains affiliate links)

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 16th August 2024

The much-loved Laughterama comedy festival is coming back to Manchester next month and with a lineup as good as this, you’d be a total muppet worthy of heckling not to check it out.

Boasting everyone from venerable veterans of the comedy industry and familiar TV faces to some of the most exciting new stand-ups on the circuit, Laughterama never fails to pack a punch and deliver you all the variety you could hope for.

The return of the five-day laugh-fest marks just the third edition of the event which has already attracted some huge names from all over the UK and across the global comedy scene too.

Running from 4-8 September over at the legendary outdoor Castlefield Bowl amphitheatre, which was packed out for several consecutive weekends for this year’s Sounds of the City, we’re looking forward to a boatload of belly laughs.

Just like every year, Laughterama 2024 has some serious headliners rocking up this time around too, with legends like British Comedy Award winner Stewart Lee, 8 Out of 10 Cats team captain and stand-up master Jon Richardson; the Perrier Award-winning Dylan Moran and SO many more.

We’re talking cult favourite, BAFTA nominee and former Never Mind The Buzzcocks presenter Simon Amstell, Live at the Apollo and Taskmaster stars Phil Wang and Sam Campbell, long-serving Mock the Week host Dara Ó Briain, and the Irish queen of comedy and podcast supremo herself, Joanne McNally.

But if this lineup was a joke, we’re nowhere close to the punchline; we’ve barely scratched the surface when it comes to the funny faces set to take the Laughterama stage for 2024.

Local names include Manchester stand-up Josh Jones and Dan Tiernan, who’ll be battling to be the funniest Manc comics at this year’s festival, and there’s also a fair few international names making the trip over, such as adopted Brit Reginald D Hunter, Kemah Bob, Janine Harouni and tonnes more.

You can see the lineup in full down below.

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The best part about the whole event, though, is that it operates like any other good festival does: by stocking up plenty of bars for laughter-fuelling libations, plus providing some of the best street vendors from around Greater Manchester’s ever-thriving foodie scene and more.

Will Briggs, one of the organisers from 57 Festivals who helps bring Laughterama to life, said ahead of this year’s event: “We can’t wait to get back to Castlefield Bowl, the energy of our Manchester crowds is electric and our acts always feed off that.

“Each show is totally unique and stacked with the absolute best comedians of the moment, this year is going to be another total blast.”

Tickets for Laughterama 2024 are live as we speak and selling out quicker than a one-liner, which is no surprise considering it’s just £25 for a day pass. You can grab yours HERE.

Credit: Laughterama (supplied)

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Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)

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Here & Now – The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Here & Now - The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester

A musical inspired by pop band Steps is coming to Manchester this year, and the principal cast for Here & Now has now been confirmed. 

The musical features Steps’ most beloved hit songs, including Tragedy, Heartbeat, Stomp, the One For Sorrow, Better Best Forgotten, 5,6,7,8, Last Thing On My Mind, Love’s Got A Hold Of My Heart, Chain Reaction, and many more. 

The story is set in seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it’s Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone’s dancing in the aisles. 

But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her friends dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy. Have they all lost their chance of a ‘happy ever after’? Or does love have other plans in store…?

Here & Now has an original book by Shaun Kitchener and is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with choreography by Olivier Award-winning Matt Cole and Matt Spencer-Smith as musical supervisor, orchestrator and arranger.

The show is produced by Steps themselves, ROYO, and pop legend Pete Waterman.

Producers have now confirmed that Rebecca Lock will star as Caz, returning from the original run in Birmingham. 

Here & Now – The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester

Finty Williams will play Patricia, Blake Patrick Anderson will be Robbie, River Medway (fan favourite on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, BBC) is Jem, Edward Baker Duly (The King and I) as Max and John Stacey as Lesley.

There are new cast members joining the principal cast too, including Jacqui Dubois (Ghost The Musical UK tour) as Vel, Chris Grahamson (NOW That’s What I Call A Musical UK and Ireland tour) as Gareth and Rosie Singha (& Juliet UK and Ireland tour) as Neeta.

Set design by Tom Rogers, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Adam Fisher, wigs, hair and makeup design by Sam Cox, casting by Will Burton for Grindrod Burton Casting, Music Technology by Phij Adams with Production Management by Setting Line.

Steps are one of the biggest pop bands of a generation, made up of Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Lee Latchford-Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee. 

In their career they achieved 14 top five singles, four number one albums, 22 million record sales, 500 million streams and 11 sold-out national arena tours.  

Steps’ 2017 comeback tour was one of the biggest pop tours of that year, with 300,000 tickets sold, and they’ve continued to release new music.

You can find out more about Here & Now and book tickets HERE. 

Featured image: Supplied

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All the talented winners of this year’s Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson All the talented winners of this year’s Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 

The winners of this year’s Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting have been announced, as the major award continues to elevate new voices.

This year’s overall winner is British-Nigerian writer Tolu Okanlawon, with his debut play SHOOTERS, which follows African American photojournalist Gordon Parks as he documents the lives of a group of teenage boys in 1940s Harlem for Life Magazine. 

In his play, Tolu focuses on the question of who has the right to tell another person’s story, delving into themes of power, vulnerability and accurate representation.

Tolu has received a £20,000 award at the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, with the winners announced at a glittering ceremony at the Royal Exchange Theatre last Monday. 

Previous winners of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting have included Phoebe Eclair-Powell, Duncan Macmillan, Alistair McDowall, Janice Okoh, Nathan Queeley-Dennis and Katherine Soper.

This is a landmark year for the Prize, which is marking its 20th anniversary and celebrating the long-standing collaboration between Bruntwood (one of the UK’s leading commercial property developers), The Oglesby Charitable Trust, and the renowned Royal Exchange Theatre. 

Also announced at the ceremony are the winners of this year’s Prize categories, which champion writers across the globe and at all stages of their playwriting careers. 

The Judges Award, and a £10,000 prize, went to Przewalski’s Horses by Silva Semerciyan, which follows a woman fleeing war-torn Kyiv as she seeks refuge with her estranged grandmother in the radioactive wilderness of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. 

She has previously been shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize, and for the Off West End Awards.

Jesús I. Valles, a queer Mexican immigrant writer-performer from Texas, won The International Award with SPREAD, which follows a group of boys in 9th grade as they navigate the balance of childhood and the ever-present push of adult pressures.

R Lady’s by Daisy Miles received the North-West Original New Voice Award and Residency. 

The Stockport-born writer is currently training with the Royal Exchange Theatre’s Young Company of Writers, and R Lady’s is her first full-length play.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting event at the Royal Exchange Theatre
The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting event at the Royal Exchange Theatre

For the first time, a special commendation has also been awarded as part of the North-West Original New Voice Award, to disabled, hard of hearing, neurodivergent writer and actor Terri Jade Donovan, who was recognised for their play DOG DOG DOG – an unpredictable exploration of the impact of childhood trauma and neglect.

Terri was awarded a £5,000 grant.

Selina Cartmell, Artistic Director at the Royal Exchange Theatre and judge for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, said: “As a judge for this prize in its landmark 20th year, I’ve had the extraordinary privilege of reading work that has challenged, surprised, and moved me in equal measure. 

“Our 15 shortlisted writers represent something remarkable – the courage to imagine different worlds, to ask uncomfortable questions, and to trust us with their most profound creative insights. 

“Each script on our shortlist offers a unique window into who we are as a society, and more importantly, who we might become. SHOOTERS is an extraordinary play beautifully crafted by Tolu Okanlawon, a huge congratulations to him, to our other winners and to every writer who has shared their bold visions with us. 

“None of this would be possible without the remarkable partnership between the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Oglesby Charitable Trust, and Bruntwood. So, let’s celebrate our shortlisted writers, honour our partnerships, and look forward to a future filled with the stories we haven’t yet imagined.”

Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood, added: “The Bruntwood Prize was born out of a deeply held passion that my parents had for theatre, in particular the Royal Exchange, and their recognition that a vital part of its ecology was new writing. 

“20 years later, we are still uncovering incredible new stories and brilliantly talented new writers. The success of this Prize is testament to the wonderful partnership both the Oglesby Charitable Trust and Bruntwood have with the Exchange and is proof that philanthropy is about so much more than making a donation. 

“Together we have created a Prize that now has international reach, putting Manchester on the map as a home for phenomenal new writing. 

“The Prize has continued to champion and recognise the hard work of writers and the impact that plays can have on those who watch them. Today, we get to celebrate more winning writers, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.”

You can find out more and see all the winners HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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