The award-winning Comedy Sportz show is coming to Stretford this weekend as part of the wider Summer of Sport programme.
With a whole host of events taking place in the nearby Trafford town, the mile-a-minute joke fest lands at Stretford Mall this Saturday (27 July) and is completely free to attend.
The local outfit has grown a loyal cult following with their series of competitive comedy and improv shows, as well as workshops and even musical performances around Greater Manchester.
After picking up the award for Best Alternative Act at the 2023 Manchester Comedy Awards and touring the Edinburgh Fringe Festival circuit, they are now bringing their funny bones back on home turf.
Well, it’s pretty simple really: guests sit down to watch two teams battle it out with quick-witted gags and games, all inspired by suggestions straight from the audience.
There’s even a referee like in any other competitive sport, who is on hand not just to ensure fun for everyone involved but to also dish out penalties for any bad behaviour or wayward jokes.
ADVERTISEMENT
As always, the Comedy Sportz team will come prepared with sharpened wits and ironed kits, and the winning team will be chosen by the audience on the day.
Each team – red vs blue, of course – has three players and this is your last chance to catch them before they jet off to what will be their 17th appearance at the Fringe.
Whether you’re a big comedy fan or just a lover of some friendly competition in general, the show is perfect for all ages.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comedy Sportz takes place at Stretford Mall this Saturday, 27 July from 3-5pm in the former Bonmarché unit and is well worth a go if you’ve never tried it before.
Featured Images — Supplied/Parrot of Doom (via Wikimedia Commons)
What's On
A huge festival dedicated to tequila and mezcal is coming to Manchester this month
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s first-ever Mezcal and Tequila Festival is taking place this month, filling Manchester Cathedral with tastings, masterclasses, cocktails and street food.
The massive event will see the Grade I-listed building transformed into an agave spirits tasting floor, featuring more than 100 varieties of premium tequilas and mezcals from some of Mexico’s best producers including El Jimador, Ojo de Tigre, El Sueno, Los Arcos, Del Maguey, Cazcabel, Komos, Nixta, Tapatio, El Tequileno, Tiempo and many more.
Festival-goers will be able to gain exclusive insights into the craftsmanship behind these spirits, sampling (responsibly, of course) from dozens of stands.
All samples, plus a limited-edition clay tasting copita, will be included in the ticket price – there’s no token system here and no extra charges for samples.
The new Mexican-inspired drinks festival only debuted in Glasgow back in Spring 2023 but it unsurprisingly went down an absolute storm – after all, what’s not to like a big festival full of booze?
Bartenders will stir up cocktails at the bespoke cocktail bar while the crowds are kept fed by delicious street food, including Mexican-inspired Taco Or Don’t, previously featured at the British Streetfood Awards.
And it’d be remiss of you to leave the festival empty-handed when you can take a taste of Mexico home from the exclusive bottle shop provided by Drinkmonger on site (with discount tokens included in the ticket price).
A tequila and mezcal festival is heading on Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Colin Campbell, one of Copita’s co-founders said: “We’re really excited to be bringing Copita to Manchester. It’s gone down brilliantly in Glasgow the last two years so we felt now was the right time to take it on the road and we couldn’t think of a better place than Manchester to head to next!
“It’s a really easy-going event with a great atmosphere, lots of local street food, shopping and music, so whether you’re an aficionado or a casual sipper we’re confident you’ll have a great time.”
The Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival will be at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 14 September.
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 9 – 15 September 2024
Emily Sergeant
We’re into our second full week of September now, and summer is already beginning to feel like a distant memory.
For many people, the end of summer can sometimes mean the end of all the fun and the start of the cosy season, but as we head into autumn, there’s still absolutely no shortage of things for all the family to be getting up to across Greater Manchester.
If you’re finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though, we’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide this week.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
___
Heritage Open Days 2024
Greater Manchester
Monday 9 – Sunday 15 September
Heritage Open Days / Credit: Chris Lacey | Paul Harris (via HODs)
The UK’s largest festival of history and culture has returned this week, and there’s thousands of free events on the lineup.
Back by popular demand, the National Trust’s ‘Heritage Open Days’ are run by thousands of local organisations and volunteers, and they’re all about bringing people together to celebrate their culture, community, and history.
From historic houses, factories, and museums, to music halls, formal gardens, and graveyards, countless of places and spaces across the country – including loads here in Greater Manchester – are open to the public, all without having to spend a penny.
Find out more about everything on the lineup here.
___
Injecting Hope: The race for a COVID-19 vaccine
Science and Industry Museum
Monday 9 September – onwards
Injecting Hope: The race for a COVID-19 vaccine / Credit: Science Museum Group
More than 100 objects and stories collected during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic are now on display as part of a new exhibition at the Science and Industry Museum.
The groundbreaking new exhibition, titled Injecting Hope: The race for a COVID-19 vaccine, explores the worldwide effort to develop vaccines at pandemic speed, while uncovering the inspiring stories of scientists and innovators around the globe who collaborated to tackle the worldwide COVID-19 challenge along the way.
A groundbreaking new immersive exhibition exploring our relationship with the natural world is now open at Manchester Museum.
‘Wild’ look at how people are creating, rebuilding, and repairing connections with nature, and how the natural world has traditionally been presented and idealised through Western art, as well as looking at some unique approaches to environmental recovery too.
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
50 Years of the Replica Shirt / Credit: National Football Museum | Admiral Sports
A new exhibition telling the story of the football shirt pioneers, Admiral, is now open at the National Football Museum.
50 Years of the Replica Shirt will take visitors right through the Admiral’s history, from their humble beginnings in a Leicestershire textile town, to the official kit manufacturers for the England national team – with key moments in the company’s timeline highlighted through a range of objects, photographs, and kit designs.
Manc visitors will be able to walk through the iconic Jurassic World gates, explore some richly-themed environments, and encounter a life-sized Brachiosaurus, Velociraptors, and the most fearsome dinosaur of all, the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex.
You can be in with a chance of winning one of hundreds of free prizes just by heading down to Spinningfields this week.
In case you hadn’t heard, Spinningfields has just launched a brand-new app that’s now available to download, and in a bid to mark the occasion and properly celebrate this exciting launch, the city centre leisure and business district will be hosting an epic ‘Spin to Win’ event where “everyone’s a winner” on Tuesday from 8am.
There’ll be free coffee and free prizes to make the most of, all for just downloading a free app.
One of Greater Manchester’s best-loved outdoor dining concepts has returned for 2024, and there’s a proper tasty lineup of traders.
‘Kargo on the Docks’ – which is MediaCity‘s al fresco dining pop-up, in place of the former Box On The Docks – has had itself a bit of a “glow up” and has taken over the waterfront and gardens with a fresh wave of local food traders and stunning artwork by Salford-based creatives, all as the sun shines down on Salford Quays this summer.
Did you see that Bolton has launched its own ‘Hollywood of the North’ TV and film location tours around the town centre?
Merely months after being named Greater Manchester’s new ‘Town of Culture’, Bolton is already proving why 2024 is its year, as the town is celebrating its shiny new title by celebrating all the times it has been chosen as a filming location for dozens of major film and TV productions over the years.
These new behind-the-scenes tours are led by local historian and professional tour guide, Suzanne Hindle, and will feature all of the town’s famous filming spots.
Bolton Film & TV Tours / Credit: Supplied | BBC
Visitors will get to explore places such as court rooms, cells, and Crescent corridors whilst hearing tales of how the industry adapt these unexpected locations to set the scene.
Known and loved for being one of the best musicals the 21st Century – and one of the funniest of all time – having scooped up dozens of coveted awards both in the US and here in the UK in its time, The Book of Mormon is currently out on tour, and the Elders are set to arrive in our city this week for an extended stay.
The hilarious production will be taking over the iconic Palace Theatre stage from this Wednesday until early October, and there’s still chance to grab yourself some tickets too.
A new science and tech festival for all the family is coming to Cheshire this weekend to help “inspire young minds”.
Set to descend on the grounds of Bruntwood SciTech’s Alderley Park – a unique place where world-leading science, innovation, and stylish living all come together in the Cheshire countryside – SciTech Extravaganza will be a day filled full of fun science-themed shows, interactive activities, new skill-building opportunities, and more.
The brand-new family festival is designed to “spark curiosity” and “encourage engagement” through STEM-related learning.
Danny Jones -
25th July 2024 
