Female-produced Creatures Comedy Festival is returning to Manchester for its third year. Presented by NOMAD and Creatures Comedy Club, the festival creates a space outside London for comedians to preview their shows ahead of the world’s biggest arts festival, giving Manchester audiences exclusive access before they head to the Edinburgh Fringe.
Chelsey Weisz and Jess Johnstone from NOMAD Comedy give us the inside track on this year’s festival, from its exciting line-up and new venues to its continued commitment to championing emerging comedy talent.
Kicking off the summer, the festival will host over 30 shows from acts including: Funny Women Awards alumni Catherine Bohart, Yvette Segan, and a top secret Taskmaster star.
Returning to the festival is Funny Women Stage Award finalist Micky Overman (above) bringing her brand new show which is due to tour in 2027.
“Funny Women was one of the first competitions I did, and the final was in one of the first big rooms I played,” says Micky. “It was a bit of a milestone for me, and I really enjoyed being a part of it”.
“Micky is one of the best in the biz,” say the festival’s producers. “We couldn’t be more excited to have her back at the festival’s third iteration after she sold out our inaugural festival in 2022.”
Creatures Comedy Festival is growing year on year and the club’s venue move in 2023 offered a bigger space last year and created a partnership with Lost Cat to provide a smaller venue for its more up-and-coming acts. The Festival is proudly continuing that partnership this year by introducing two new venues in the Northern Quarter: The Fitzgerald and Rat and Pigeon.
The Festival is committed to championing emerging talent, and its team of female producers recognises how important it is to create safe spaces for female comics who often don’t have the same access to stage time as their male counterparts in the club scene.
“This year we’re particularly excited to platform local rising stars Hatty Preston, Funny Women Awards alumni Kay Nicholson, Natalia Schwartz (as Cilla Blonde), Kat Ronson and Amy Nic alongside more established names such as SNL UK writer and double Funny Women Award winner Lorna Rose Treen (below), viral sensations Yvette Segan and Abi Clark and our super secret Taskmaster star.
“This year we’re also trialling a shiny new festival pass which will allow audience access to select shows across the festival. We’re hoping this will encourage audiences to take a punt on someone they might not have heard of and show some love to acts who are currently taking the local circuit by storm but don’t yet have a glitzy TV credit.”
Manchester’s comedy scene is thriving and Creatures Comedy Festival organisers firmly believe that it can be the UK’s next big comedy destination as Edinburgh and London price out working comedians as well as their audiences. By showcasing rising stars and bringing some of the biggest names in comedy into the city, they are establishing that Manchester is the place for comedy.
“We’re giving Manchester audiences an exclusive ticket to some of the best shows hitting the world’s largest arts festival, how could you say no to that? We’ve got over 30 shows on sale already.”
Creatures Comedy Festival runs from Thurday 23rd July to Saturday 1st August 2026. To book tickets and for more information visit creaturescomedy.com/festival.
