Wits and Giggles: Where to Find the Biggest Laughs

Dave from down your corridor's Gervais impressions stopped being funny nine hours into freshers' week. Here's where to try your hand at stand-up, or at the very least watch it

Feature by John Stansfield and Debs Marsden | 08 Sep 2014

There’s an old saying about your student days that we just made up, “The one thing you truly learn, is who you are.” Unfortunately the thing most young student comics learn is that they’re a loud, obnoxious douche. So pack that in, and study at the feet of some of the region's top comics (or just go and see some great dirt cheap/free comedy).

Liverpool
On Fridays and Saturdays at The Holiday Inn (Lime Street), Hot Water (hotwater.co.uk) present some of the finest circuit acts on well-constructed bills – ideal for studying the craft you're about to turn upside down. On Sundays (£1.50 for NUS), they throw their doors wide: both to professional acts trying new material, and to those just entering the fiery pit of self-torment and failure that is the life of a budding comedian. They're also kind enough to run a comedy course, should you be wise enough to seek guidance from professionels before diving in face first. 

Once you're up and running as an open spot (this is what you are now. Accept your position on the lowest rung. Get comfortable. You'll be sat there a while, swinging your little legs), you'll be on the hunt for gigs that operate within the catchment area of local buses. Another Comedy Night (facebook.com/AnotherComedyNight), every third Monday at Maguire's on Renshaw Street, is a wonderfully haphazard melting pot where opportunities to test your mettle gladly abound. It's free, and you could even win pizza. Quite the draw if you're doing the 'biscuits and tears' diet. Finally, first Wednesday of the month, Shiny New Comedy is an intimate night in the Lantern Theatre (lanterntheatreliverpool.co.uk). This gig doesn't give you the chance to bound onstage with little to no plan, but it does operate on a bucket system, where you donate what you feel fair (theoretically free, if you're a dreadful person).

Manchester
Every Tuesday a wonderful comedy night defies the odds by, well, still continuing to be on. Some 16 years since it first took on the big guns, XS Malarkey (xsmalarkey.com) remains, nomadic though it may be – currently pitching up at The Pub/Zoo and offering a mix of well-weathered veterans and bright eyed newbies with their t-shirts and haircuts. All for only £3. Learn and dream. 

Red Redmond is slowly taking over every bar in the city with his Dead Cat Comedy stable (deadcatcomedy.co.uk). Variety is key; he offers a sketch night and a comedy crèche, as well as nights for more established acts. On John Dalton Street, The Ape and Apple's Comedy Balloon is Manchester’s longest running free open mic night: a great chance to perform your first set in front of a group of peers (comedyballoon.wordpress.com).

Preston
Lancashire has quite the history of churning out top comedians, many getting their first chance at Preston's Frog & Bucket – sadly, as we went to press, the Frog announced they'd be shutting their doors after five years of making the city laugh, but young, eager comics may make the short train ride to Manchester to compete in that venue's Beat the Frog comp – a friendly gig with cheap drinks and up to ten acts competiting for the prestigious award of, yes, beating The Frog (frogandbucket.com/manchester). On home turf, it's up to Korova Arts to pick up the slack left by the Preston Frog's leap; it's a fantastic little cafe-bar performance space in the heart of the city, hosting sporadic comedy events that make up for their spontaneity with great lineups – search 'KorovaKomedy' on Facebook.

Read reviews, rants and interviews with comics big and small at www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy