John Bishop has announced a massive UK tour to celebrate 25 years of his stand-up comedy career, and he’s coming to Manchester.
He’s not only coming to our city once either, but twice.
It’s been well over two decades since the popular Liverpudlian comedian stepped on stage to perform his first ever stand-up gig on 2 October 2000, and so, in a bid to properly celebrate this monumental milestone and the impressive comedy career that’s followed, Bishop will be touring the UK and Ireland in 2025, and will, once again, step foot on that very same stage he first performed on.
And that stage, just so happens, to be the legendary Frog & Bucket comedy club right here in Manchester city centre.
The Frog & Bucket is known for having launched the careers of some of the country’s most well-known and revered comedians over the years, with John Bishop being just one of those famous names, and he’ll certainly be one of the most famous names to perform there again in recent years.
As well as taking to the Frog & Bucket stage for a more intimate live comedy experience on 13 October 2025, Bishop will also be performing a much bigger Manchester venue that same month, the new Co-op Live arena, on 4 October.
Liverpool, Leeds, and Newcastle are some of the other northern locations he’ll be visiting, as well as other major cities like London, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, and more.
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What makes this tour even more special too is the fact that Bishop has vowed that tickets to every show he’ll be performing, wherever the audience member may be sat, will be priced at £25 each to honour his 25th comedy anniversary.
John Bishop: 25 – UK & Ireland Tour Dates 2025
Thursday 2 October – Plymouth Pavilions
Friday 3 October – The O2, London
Saturday 4 October – Co-op Live, Manchester
Wednesday 8 October – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Thursday 9 October – Glasgow, OVO Hydro, Glasgow
Friday 10 October – P&J Live, Aberdeen
Saturday 11 October – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Monday 13 October – Frog & Bucket, Manchester
Thursday 16 October – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Friday 17 October – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Saturday 18 October – Brighton Centre
Sunday 19 October – International Centre, Bournemouth
Thursday 23 October – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
Friday 24 October – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
Friday 31 October – 3Arena, Dublin
Saturday 1 November – SSE Arena, Dublin
“I can’t believe that next year it will be 25 years since I first performed at the Frog and Bucket in Manchester,” John Bishop said as the UK and Ireland tour was announced.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, and I can’t thank the fans enough who have supported me all the way. I wanted to mark the anniversary with a brand-new tour and do something to say thank you, so every ticket throughout the tour will be £25.
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“I really hope you can come and celebrate with me.”
John Bishop: 25 kicks off on 2 October 2025 at the Plymouth Pavilion, and then travels to arenas across the UK and Ireland, before culminating in Belfast on 1 November 2025.
The £25 tickets go on sale this Friday (11 October) at 10am here.
Featured Image – Aemen Sukkar Jiksaw
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Rizzle Kicks are back and they’re playing Manchester on their 2025 UK reunion tour
Emily Sergeant
One of the best-loved musical duos of the last decade are back and hitting the road for special reunion tour next year.
It’s been nearly eight years since Jordan Stephens and Harley Sulé, otherwise known as iconic British duo Rizzle Kicks, released music together and played to audiences of adoring fans nationwide, instead favouring acting and other solo projects in the meantime – but now, the pair is drawing their indefinite hiatus to a close and heading out on a UK tour in 2025.
The duo, which has sold more than one million singles and 600,000 albums in the UK, is set to peform their first headline show in nearly a decade at London’s iconic KOKO in Camden next month, before they hit the road.
The highly sought-after London show sold out in less than a minute, so it’s expected that eager Greater Manchester fans will also quickly snap up tickets to see the duo’s first tour when they go on sale later this week.
Rizzle Kicks will be arriving in Manchester and taking to the beloved O2 Ritz stage in March 2025, as well as headlining other major cities like Birmingham and Brighton.
Rizzle Kicks – UK Tour Dates 2025
Wednesday 19 March – O2 Ritz, Manchester
Friday 21 March – O2 Institute, Birmingham
Saturday 22 March – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
Friday 16 May – Brighton Dome
The pair returned in style with comeback single ‘Javelin’ being released this past summer, and have now followed on with this continuation of their mature and evolved sound with new track ‘Gumdrops’ – which offers a nuanced discussion about masculinity and lad culture.
Both singles are taken from a forthcoming, as-yet-untitled, project that sees Rizzle Kicks return to the pop music space sober, in love, and equipped with life lessons, self awareness, and a maturity they’ve built on separately, while still retaining their sense of humour and humanity that sets them apart from other artists.
Rizzle Kicks will perform take to the O2 Ritz stage in Manchester on Wednesday 19 March 2025, and tickets will go on general sale from this Thursday (10 October) at 10am.
World-renowned Matilda The Musical is coming to Manchester on its major UK tour
Emily Sergeant
The world-renowned Matilda The Musical is set to head out on a major tour of the UK and Ireland from next year.
And, of course, it’ll be stopping off here in Manchester.
It has been announced today that the Royal Shakespeare Company’s smash-hit musical production, which is based on Roald Dahl’s beloved book of the same name, will embark on its second tour of the UK and Ireland in October 2025, and this includes a special four-week run at Manchester’s iconic Palace Theatre.
The critically-acclaimed musical has been seen by 12 million people across 100 cities around the world since it first debuted, and it continues to play to packed houses in London’s West End and on Broadway each week.
Maggots, it's time to be REVOLTING! 🦎@TheRSC's Matilda The Musical is heading back on tour across the UK and Ireland from Oct 2025, returning to a venue near you.
The beloved production about a determined heroine with a vivid imagination has won more than 100 global awards – including 24 for Best Musical.
Written by Dennis Kelly, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin, and developed and directed by Matthew Warchus, the show will be celebrating its 15-year anniversary when it heads out on its UK tour towards the end of next year.
It’ll be opening at Leicester Curve in October, before travelling to other major cities like Bradford, Liverpool, Plymouth, Sunderland, Edinburgh, and of course, Manchester – where it’ll run through March and April 2026.
“When we first started working on the show, our aim was to make a lovely little jewel of a musical for the RSC’s Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon,” explained composer and lyricist, Tim Minchin. “We never imagined that all these years later it would still be running in the West End, have been made into a film, and is now about to embark on its second tour of the UK and Ireland.
“I’m deeply proud of Matilda The Musical, and every single talented person who continues to work on it with passion and enthusiasm.”
Matilda The Musical will be on stage at Manchester Palace Theatre from Thursday 26 March – Saturday 25 April 2026, and tickets go on sale next week.
Priority Booking for RSC and Theatre Members, and ATG Cardholders, will be from 10am on 22 October 2024, with general on sale for all venues, including Manchester, from 10am on 24 October 2024.