Preview season has arrived - and Manchester is laughing first
The best comedy often happens before anyone knows it's brilliant.
The launch of Creatures Comedy Festival drew around 80 comedy fans beneath Oldham Street on Thursday evening. It marked the start of ten days of stand-up across Manchester's Northern Quarter – and a reminder of why the city has become one of the best places in the country to catch comedians before everyone else does.
Tucked away beneath the Northern Quarter, Creatures Comedy Club isn't polished, and that's entirely the point. You descend a narrow staircase into a low-ceiling basement dressed with artificial ivy, the festival's wonderfully odd monster mascot peering out from posters on the walls. It's intimate, a little scruffy around the edges and absolutely packed with personality. The sort of venue where comedy feels close enough to reach out and touch.
Before a single comedian had taken to the stage, there was already a buzz in the room. There was even Nell's Pizza doing the rounds - because somehow comedy always seems better with pizza. It felt unmistakably Mancunian - warm, friendly and completely unpretentious. Compère Evan Desmarais, proudly Canadian and keen to remind everyone of it, had the room laughing within minutes, setting the tone perfectly for the night ahead.
Four comedians followed, each performing around twenty minutes of material - enough to offer a real taste of their latest work without ever outstaying their welcome. Better still, each of them is performing a full-length show elsewhere in the festival programme, making the mixed bill the perfect introduction before deciding who you'd happily spend another hour with.
Brennan Reece opened with razor-sharp crowd work, effortlessly turning one particularly willing audience member into part of the show. Faizan Shah followed with relaxed, quietly confident storytelling, before Charlie Ashton proved that even recruitment consultants can become comedy gold in the right hands. Closing the evening was Hatty Preston, whose sharp, feminist-tinged observations rounded off the showcase perfectly.
If the showcase proved anything, it's that choosing who to see next won't be easy. Brennan Reece, Faizan Shah, Charlie Ashton and Hatty Preston all left me wanting more, and I'd happily book tickets to see every one of their full festival shows. That's perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay a preview night - it sends you straight back to the programme looking for your next booking.
What struck me most was the audience. Preview crowds understand the assignment. Every laugh is feedback, every ripple around the room helping comedians refine material before taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe.
This year, the festival has expanded beyond its basement home into Lost Cat, The Rat & Pigeon and The Fitzgerald, making it feel like a true Northern Quarter festival.
Edinburgh may still be the destination for many of these shows, but Manchester gets first dibs. There's something rather satisfying about seeing comedians here, just before the rest of the country starts talking about them.
Back on Oldham Street, people were still discussing their favourite sets before disappearing into the Northern Quarter for another drink. I found myself doing exactly the same - replaying moments from the evening and, rather unexpectedly, wondering what it might be like to stand behind that microphone myself.
Perhaps that's the real magic of Creatures Comedy Festival. It doesn't just leave you laughing. It leaves you wanting to come back tomorrow night and discover who's next.
Browse the full programme and plan your visit to Creatures Comedy Festival.
