Greater Manchester Fringe is back from July 1-31, with a huge range of theatre, comedy, dance, spoken word and even magic shows.
Launched in 2012, GMFringe is an open-access fringe festival showcasing new writers and performers from across Greater Manchester and around the world at a wide variety of small venues.
Shows on offer range from the new and unseen to shows that have been doing the rounds of small regional venues for months or more, while many will also be seen on the world-scale Edinburgh Fringe in August.
Among the attractions is award-winning writer Mike Heath’s new play Faith, about a gay couple clashing with a devout Catholic mother at their wedding, at HOME, Manchester (July 1-3).
Red Brick Theatre presents Bad Moult at HOME (july 4-5), a darkly-comic monologue that takes us into the troubled mind of Roach, who has escaped modern life by living in a commercial waste bin.
Qweerdog Theatre’s Natter, (July 4-5, The Edge, Chorlton), takes the audience back to 1980s Salford, when Helen and Linda grapple with useless husbands, a homosexual son and what’s on telly.
Writer Joe Dennis explores his own personal experiences of autism in his show Tides at Salford Arts Theatre (July 4-5), while The Restaurant features dancers from Portugal and Taiwan (July 5-7) at the Fitzgerald in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Jewel is an autobiographical, one-person musical comedy by Preston-born Muslim comedian Zahra Abbas at Social Refuge on July 8, and features in a double bill with Olivera by trans American writer Jacklyn Jeffries.
Religion and identity feature in Ultimate Jewish Mother with Rachel Creeger (July 11 at the Whitefield Garrick); Lost Girl (July 15-16 at the King’s Arms, Salford); and Rules Schmules - How to be Jew-ISH with Suzie Dupreli (July 21-23 at the King’s Arms).
Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist Nerine Skinner went viral for her political parodies of former Prime Minister Liz Truss in 2022 and at the Social Refuge (July 9) she tries more of the same in Nerine Skinner: The Exorcism of Liz Truss.
Meanwhile Stephen Titley will be talking about the past Labour leader in Oh Jeremy Corbyn, part of a comedy double bill with Goldfish, presented by Nina Gilligan on July 10 at The King's Arms in Salford.
Chris Tavener previously performed with Super Hans from Peep Show and will be Faking Cool in his musical comedy sketch show, (July 10-11, King’s Arms).
Sam Lowe examines imposter syndrome in his magic show The Imposter on July 13 at the King’s Arms in Salford, while at the same venue, award-winning play Dear Eliza returns with an exploration of mental health (July 13-14), featuring Barbara Diesel, directed by Helen Parry.
A dispute over bins is the inspiration for With Love, Mr Gay by Brentwood winner Joshua Val Martin (July 16, Social Refuge).
See new musical, Nuns of Fury (July 17-20) at The Fitzgerald, presented by Greater Manchester-based Rocket Whip Productions.
Life After is a powerful, two-act Northern drama about grief, loss, hope, and change (Whitefield Garrick, July 18-20).
In All Cops Are (July 21-22, The Fitzgerald), an undercover police officer infiltrates the clandestine insurgent Rebel Clown Army as part of a double bill of new drama and monologues.
Meanwhile Mud Rats at the Empty Space, Salford (July 27-28), tells the story of four “Salford Pals’ (one of dozens of regiments culled largely from the same city or area) before the Battle of the Somme in WW1, with their teacher as their sergeant.
For more details and tickets go here, or read more about each show by clicking the links above.