Manchester, England, is famous for its irrepressible arts and culture scene, so of course, it has its own Fringe festival, which runs during the summer, specifically all the way through July, though most shows only run for a few days. It’s gradually becoming another essential part of the UK’s thriving fringe theatre scene.
The Greater Manchester Fringe is filled with new talent and experimental acts, and many shows are very budget-friendly. Don’t forget to visit STARBURST’s favourite bar, Fab Café, for pre-show drinks beforehand and afterwards.
The rather fine Salford Arts theatre is the venue for Almost Haunted, a parody of the many corny ‘reality TV’-style paranormal shows that infest low-budget TV. Join Vincenza Van der Ven and his Spectre Quest team as they ask questions no man should ask and suddenly discover that everything has gone a bit Scooby Doo. Solid comedy from the renowned Northern Rep Theatre.
STARBURST was lucky enough to see this show at 2023’s Edinburgh Fringe; it’s a rather fun one-man show in which Santa Claus himself (comedian Terry Victor) gets a little bit drunk and begins on a full tell-all gossip rant about all the scandalous things the world’s most famous North Pole denizen gets up to. Catch it in Manchester if you can.
Tartan Tabletop is one of the hardest-working and silliest actual-play Dungeons & Dragons improv shows on the scene at the moment. Tartan Tabletop in a Dungeons & Dragon Comedy: The Never Ending Quest – The Return might have an unwieldy name, but it’s a smooth little show. We saw it at the Edinburgh Fringe last year and quite enjoyed it. If you’re in Manchester on July 25th, it’s worth checking out.
One of the things that hasn’t really gotten the ‘gritty reboot’ treatment is Sherlock Holmes. Elementary Five Productions’ new show, The Man in the Shadows, seeks to fix that with this original Sherlock story, which sees Holmes and Watson face off against a gruesome murderer.
Charlie’s Angels, but nuns? Sounds like a fantastic bit of fun to us. This rock/gospel/musical sees a trio of holy warriors face their worst foe yet: their personal demons. Expect deeply silly fun.
