Women in Comedy Festival to return | Over 11 days in Manchester this October

Women in Comedy Festival to return

Over 11 days in Manchester this October

The Women in Comedy Festival will return to Manchester  in October, organisers have announced.

Kiri Pritchard-McLean, pictured, Rachel Fairburn, Hayley Ellis, Sara Barron and Olga Koch will be performing between October 1 and 10, with applications still open for other shows.

The festival is now run by Jessica Toomey of Manchester’s Frog and Bucket comedy club with the support of Funny Women. 

She said: ‘ I believe we need this festival more than ever as there has been so little opportunity to champion and showcase women in comedy in the last 18 months.’

The festival was created by Hazel O’Keefe who ran it from its inception in 2013 to 2019, and patrons include  Shameless star Maxine Peake and comedians Jo Enright, Isy Suttie, Jo Caulfield, Susan Calman and more

As Peake noted when she took on the role:  ‘A festival filled with laughter combined with feminist principles taking place in the North… what’s not to support?’

 • Funny Women has announced the judges for the final of its stage awards,  taking place at LBloomsbury Theatre, London, on September 23. They will be Stephen Armstrong (Sunday Times), Dominic Maxwell (The Times), Bruce Dessau (Evening Standard), Sukey Firth (Radio 4 Loose Ends), Nosheen Iqbal (The Guardian), Sharon Lougher (Metro), Steve Bennett (Chortle) and Kate Copstick (Scotsman). 

Published: 22 Jul 2021

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