A Lovely Weekend
Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor
Production company A Lovely Time has put together an audacious line-up of television names, internet sensations and hotly tipped newcomers for a weekend of brand-new comedy shows in the heart of Manchester at the new arts venue Fairfield Social Club.
With weekend passes and individual show tickets on sale now, this weekend of fresh-off-the-printer comedy will be opened with a gala show on Friday 7 June, hosted by A Lovely Time’s very own Amy Gledhill (Would I Lie to You?, BBC One).
Lucky pass holders will be able to catch work-in-progress performances from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees such as Phil Ellis (Icklewick FM, BBC Radio 4), Olga Koch (Live at The Apollo, BBC One) Paddy Young (BBC New Comedy Award Winner) and Chris Cantrill (Avoidance, BBC One).
There’s hot new gear from Blackpool’s very own Tom Lawrinson (nominated for NextUp’s Biggest Award in Comedy), internet sensations such as Stevie Martin and Abi Clarke, as well as hotly tipped Edinburgh debutante, Hannah Platt. As well as something a bit different from Poppy Hillstead, who’s transferring her podcast to the stage and Geordie sketch supergroup, Metroland.
Split across two venues over three days, A Lovely Weekend is the largest undertaking of comedy production super-duo A Lovely Time, which was created by promoter John Stansfield and comedian Chris Cantrill. It is operated from the newly opened Fairfield Social Club, which has already hosted brilliant shows such as Josie Long, Three Bean Salad, Ashley Gavin and Nick Helm since it opened in March.
A Lovely Time co-Founder John Stansfield said, “We’re so excited to be bringing A Lovely Weekend to Manchester, the city is long overdue a proper comedy festival and across the three days at Fairfield Social Club we’ve programmed some of our absolute favourites to ensure a lovely time for all!”
Full line-up
Friday 7th June:
● Gala Show, hosted by Amy Gledhill, 7.30pm
Saturday 8th June:
● Chris Cantrill: Easily Swayed | The Shed, 12noon
● Amy Gledhill: Make Me Look Fit on the Poster | Fairfield Social Club, 1.10pm
● Fatiha Al-Ghorri: Cockney Stacking Doll | The Shed, 2.20pm
● Abi Clarke: Work in Progress | Fairfield Social Club, 3.30pm
● Phil Ellis: Work in Progress | The Shed, 4.40pm
● Tom Lawrinson: Buried alive (and loving it) | Fairfield Social Club, 6pm
● Olga Koch: Comes for the money | The Shed, 7pm
● Stevie Martin: Clout | Fairfield Social Club, 8.20pm
● Metroland Live | The Shed, 9.30pm
Sunday 9th June:
● Liam Bolton: Work in Progress | The Shed, 12noon
● Paddy Young: If I Told You I’d Have to Kiss You | Fairfield Social Club, 1.10pm
● Kyrah Gray: Work in Progress | The Shed, 2.20pm
● Poppy Hillstead Has Entered The Chat: Live! | Fairfield Social Club, 3.30pm
● Hannah Platt: Defence Mechanism | The Shed, 4.40pm
● Brennan Reece: Me Me Me | Fairfield Social Club, 6.10pm
● Tarot: Shuffle | The Shed, 7.10pm
Pricing:
Shows will be charged individually at £6 but attendees can also see as many shows as they like and save some pennies by plumping for a day or weekend pass. Saturday day passes cost £30, Sunday day passes cost £20 and a weekend pass costs £45 (weekend passes also include access to the gala show on Friday night (£10 individually)).
