Women in Comedy Festival announces its biggest laugh-packed lineup yet
Manchester is set for eleven days of bold, varied and inclusive comedy as the Women in Comedy Festival returns for its fifteenth annual edition. Running from 1 to 11 October 2026, the festival will present 53 shows across six Northern Quarter venues, alongside a one-off performance in Altrincham, bringing established names and exciting newcomers together.
Key takeaways
The festival runs from 1 to 11 October 2026.
It features 53 shows across six Manchester venues, plus one Altrincham date.
The programme spans stand-up, sketch, musical comedy and compilation shows.
Best Show and Best Newcomer winners will each receive a £500 prize.
The event welcomes cis women, female-identifying performers and non-binary performers.
For Comedy in Your Eye audiences, the festival offers exactly the kind of discovery that makes intimate live comedy special: award-winning professionals alongside performers at the beginning of their journey, all in welcoming grassroots rooms rather than oversized theatres.
A wide-ranging Manchester programme
This year’s selection brings together acts with different backgrounds, perspectives and comedic styles. Irish comedian Emer Maguire will perform her solo show Perfectly Chaotic, following sell-out success and a Channel 4 sitcom commission, while Chloe Reynolds presents her debut Dissonance after winning Leicester Comedian of the Year.
Hannah Byczkowski, winner of the first season of The Traitors and host of the Ghost podcast, brings her debut stand-up hour Killer to Manchester after its Edinburgh Fringe run. Other highlights include Lulu Simons’ working-class memoir-inspired show Zig-A-Zig-Ah and Lady M’s feminist take on sex work in Feminist Pussy – Prostitution Comedy.
Stand-up, sketch and musical comedy
The festival is not limited to traditional stand-up. Diane Spencer will present her latest online special, Coming Together, while CK Nath turns sharp observations about growing up in India into a cast of memorable characters. BBC Comedy Award winner Yuriko Kotani, known for appearances including Mandy, will also bring a work-in-progress show.
Sketch fans can look forward to Sardines, last year’s Sketch Off finalists, alongside sketch bingo from Quirks & Foibles. Bitches in Stiches will deliver a boundary-pushing compilation show, and Northern Irish comedian Teresa Livingstone adds a musical-comedy option to the bill.
Celebrating new talent and live comedy
Manford’s Comedy Club is sponsoring the Best Show award, with a £500 prize, while The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club backs Best Newcomer with the same prize and a club spot. The awards underline the festival’s role in giving emerging performers a serious platform.
Festival programmer Aimee Perry says Manchester’s supportive arts audience and Northern Quarter venues have been central to keeping the event alive. That community-first approach will feel familiar to anyone who enjoys Comedy in Your Eye’s positive, inclusive atmosphere at The Camden Eye: accessible rooms where audiences can discover top-tier comedy up close.
Founded by Hazel O’Keefe in 2012, the festival is now run by Frog and Bucket’s Jess Toomey alongside Perry. Its fifteenth edition continues the original mission of creating more opportunities for women and non-binary performers across the comedy scene.
15th Annual Women in Comedy Festival Line-Up, Beyond The Joke.