Blizzard Comedy Pride Special, featuring Laura Monmoth
  • Castle Hotel
    66 Oldham Street,
    Manchester
    M4 1LE
  • Thursday 22nd August 7:00pm until 11:00pm
Comedy for the malcontent left, in aid of Sparkle for Pride Month

We are back at The Castle Hotel (just opposite our usual home in Gullivers) for our final final show before we go on our autumn break - our Pride Special! We are gathering a line-up of some of the most incredible queer acts on the circuit on Monday 22nd August.

As always, this show is free to book, with a pay-what-you-want option on the door by either cash or card. All the proceeds from this show will go directly to Sparkle, the National Transgender Charity. You can also donate via our GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/blizzard-comedy-raise-money-for-sparkle

Come along and see...

Laura Monmoth
Laura Monmoth, Award-winning comedian. Player of bad games. Occasional speedrunner. Quiz host. Nostalgia-fuelled idiot. Creator of the cursed. Also, puppets and a cat named Clive, is a Multimedia marvel. Mixing slide projections, animations and channelling the energy of comedy greats to deliver first class comedy on everything from retro gaming to gender issues. Expect references to 90s pop culture, karaoke, on, and probably puppets. Niche enough for Gen X'ers that remember their childhood, and accessible enough for those who just want to laugh.

Best Show Winner – Morecambe Comedy Festival
Best New Show Nominee – Leicester Comedy Festival
Breaking Talent Award-winner – 2018 Birmingham Comedy Festival

"Genius!" - Blue Giraffe Comedy
"This show has tons of creativity behind it and was delivered with verve... This is a show well worth seeing." - Notts Comedy Review

With support from
Ben Hodge
Ben Hodge is quickly becoming seen as one of the most exciting new acts on the circuit. His unique outlook as a trans man has seen him earn the title of Liverpool’s Top 30 under 30. Since his debut in November 2018 his comedy has been lit up with positive reviews. Ben has also been in high demand at pride events and LGBT+ focused events along with trial spots for Plane Comedy, CAN Comedy, Trapdoor and Quantum Leopard in London. Ben took his work-in-progress stand-up show to Edinburgh Fringe, It’s a Boy?, which gained a lot of hype for his humorous approach to being trans in today’s society.

"Relatable, even if his experiences are unusual" - Chortle
"Ben is such an exciting act. Tonnes of charm and stage presence all topped off with killer jokes." - Kiri Pritchard-Mclean
"Relatable and likeable and infinitely self aware" - Blizzard Comedy

Marie Goulbourne
Marie Goulbourne is an original, authentic and self effacing comic who speaks candidly about her life as an autistic oddball in the modern world. If you’re averse to swearing, or honesty to the bone, she’s not for you. Dry, refreshing and a little bit different.

“Marie is instantly likeable, dry, smart and above all, funny. A nice change in the sea of comedy beige and definitely welcome back any time” - Harriet Dyer, Barking Tales.

Saeth Wheeler
Saeth is a gay socialist from Yorkshire - but despite that, they're quite nice, really. You can see them delivering their witty, absurdist comedy at venues around the North, including Dodgy Comedy, Complete Joke, and Blizzard Comedy.

"Saeth is a brilliant comic whose friendly and likeable stage presence only serves to hide their pointed fury at the world and themselves." - Bradford Fringe
"Everything wrong with modern Britain" - The Daily Mail

Dan Webber
Dan Webber (he/him) is an award-winning LGBTQ+ poet, promoter and producer based in Derby. He has appeared at numerous festivals across the country including Glastonbury Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Timber Festival.

Collections include ‘Genre Fluid’ (2019) and ‘The Derby Witness’ (2022) both published by Big White Shed and held within The National Poetry Library. Commissions include ‘The Derby Witness’ for Derby Feste, ‘Whispers From The Woods’ for The National Forest, ‘15st 9lbs at time of writing’ for SHOUT Festival (Birmingham), and ‘Boys’ a queer reimaging of ‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’ as part of 1623 Theatre’s Queer Folio Project.

"When faced with material as witty, earnest, and well-observed as this, the last thing that should concern us is which box it goes in." - Out In Print

Mary Cross
After breaking on to the comedy scene in 2022, Mary Cross has quickly become a firm favourite on the circuit with her own brand of high-energy comedy which leaves audiences on a euphoric high.

Longlisted for the Funny Women Awards in 2023, a sellout show in the Women in Comedy Festival and Lancaster Comedy Festival, UK Pun Championship Semi-Finalist in the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2024 and
recently selected for the heats of British Comedian of the Year, Mary's combination of relatable stories, original songs and linguistic acrobats is a sure-fire winner.

"Mary Coss is confident, charming, and charismatic. One of those people who has a real infectious sense of humour, a warm wit that really makes you all feel in on the jokes, not just that they’re being told to you."

and Bobbie Jones
A combination of Dad jokes and Daddy issues, Bobbie-Ann Jones is one of the funniest prediabetic queers ever to come from Walsall. She was the first female Head Writer for the Birmingham Footnotes Comedy Society from 2015-2016. Bobbie has gigged throughout the UK and she is a well-known face on the north-west comedy circuit- she hosted Lolshevism Comedy Club in Leeds from 2018 until 2020. She is currently a Team Captain on Blizzard Comedy’s Broadcast Avalanche. As of April 2022, Bobbie is also a Quantum Leopard Comedy Competition winner.

"One to Watch" - Funny Women 2017
"Obvious talent" - The Student Newspaper 2018
"An absolute powerhouse of a comedian" - Blizzard Comedy 2022
Quantum Leopard Competition Winner - April 2022

with host Jonny Collins
Jonny Collins is an aggressively inclusive Non-Binary comedian, Jonny pulls no punches yet makes everyone feel welcome and represented in their thought provoking, and well constructed deconstructions of gender, sexuality and politics. With radical leftist ideals and a fast and furious delivery style, Jonny Collins is a favourite of socialists, anarchists, feminists (of the trans inclusive variety), and queer activists alike.
“Jonny is a force of nature on stage. A whirlwind of hilarity with a unique viewpoint, they energy and passion personified.” – XS Malarkey
"Jonny Collins is deceptively rapid-fire, with a gag rate that would shame most one-line merchants. They can bring a simmer to a boil with ease, and make a huge mess of your kitchen." – James Ross (Quantum Leopard)

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