Our comedy picks for Manchester in March – including Josie Long, Bridget Christie and Ed Aczel.

Josie Long at The Pub/Zoo

A return to Group Therapy for the loveliest comedian you’re ever likely to find. Peddling whimsy and wild ideas with giddy abandon Long was so popular last year that they had to add a second show. No such luck this year and tickets are flying out fast – so get yours quick to avoid disappointment. Saturday 5 March, 7pm, tickets £13

Bridget Christie at The Lowry

What at first seemed like a promotional tool for Christie’s new book A Book For Her has turned into another on point show about feminism in modern culture. Turns out she didn’t fix it all with her 2013 Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning show A Bic For Her and there are more stark revelations about what it takes to be a woman in the arts, and indeed the world, in this new outing as part of the Wonder Women festival 2016. (Obviously you can also buy her book.) Wednesday 9 March, 8pm, tickets £18

Peter Brush and Jonny Pelham at The Eagle Inn

Two of the North’s most promising talents present a double bill of their forthcoming Edinburgh shows. Though still at a work-in-progress level (hence the £2 admission) both Pelham and Brush received high praise for their debut shows at last year’s festival, so these follow ups will be ones to watch north of the border come August. Pelham’s self-deprecation and the non-more-nebbish Brush are future stars for sure, and a pound per comic is really a steal. Wednesday 16 March, 7.30pm, tickets £2

Stuart Goldsmith at The Pub/Zoo

Possibly best known for his podcast The Comedian’s Comedian, where his easy charm belies an interviewer’s tricks of the trade, Goldsmith is now embarking on his first nationwide tour. Entitled An Hour, the show is exactly that, an hour in the company of a great and ebullient storyteller who just seems ecstatic that he gets to do the job that he does, whilst also doing it very well. Wednesday 23 Mar, 7pm, tickets £8 / £7 Conc.

Ed Aczel at The Lowry

Aczel is a very intelligent man and in his current show The Random Flappings of a Butterfly’s Wings he takes us through the things that help make him who he is, with his love of history taking a main stage and his improvisational skills meaning the audience can get involved with this discussion on the meaning of existence. Heavy stuff with the lightest of touches. Sunday 31 March, 8pm, tickets £12