Spirit Of Comedy Competition - Manchester Semi-Final - Hosted By Hal Cruttenden 🍸

The Laughienda hosts the Manchester semi-final of the Dutch Barn Vodka Spirit Of Comedy Competition – the nationwide search for the UK’s next stand-up star! 🎤

📅 Thursday 4th Sep '25 

🕡 Doors: 6:30pm | Show: 7:30pm

📍Lions Den, Manchester

With regional heats reaching all corners of the UK we can now bring you ROUND 2 - the best of the best. Hundreds of Acts took part in the first round and are now one stop closer to reaching the FINAL in London on 1st October and potentially opening for RICKY GERVAIS at Wembley Arena!

Hosted by Hal Cruttenden with guest comedians Mat Bragg and Tom Ward...PLUS sets from 12 semi-finalists!

All ticket holders get a complimentary Dutch Barn Vodka cocktail. You will be asked to vote for each act whilst they are on stage. All you need to do is log in to Slido.com and grab the event code once you get to the venue. Without your vote they won’t make that final!

HOTSED BY HAL CRUTTENDEN

Hal Cruttenden is one of the top touring stand up comedians working in the UK and Ireland today, as well as being a highly accomplished writer, presenter and actor.

He has made several appearances on ‘Live at the Apollo’ (BBC1 & 2), ‘Have I Got News For You’ (BBC1), ‘The Royal Variety Performance’ (ITV1), ‘Would I Lie To You’ (BBC1) ‘The One Show’ (BBC1), ‘The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice’ (BBC2 & Channel 4) and ‘The Apprentice: You’re Fired’ (BBC2).

MATT BRAGG

The son of television warm up man Bobby Bragg and one of the most stylish comedians out there, the mod-ish Matt Bragg has been entertaining crowds across the world for the past decade. With a unique, low-energy, deadpan style and meticulously crafted material he has been gaining critical acclaim from audiences, promoters and comedians alike.

After a few years of honing his craft Matt was introduced to the bigger stages performing as tour support in front of arenas and theatres for the likes of Ricky Gervais, Matt Rife, Harry Hill, Lloyd Griffith, Suzi Ruffell, Jason Manford, John Bishop, Clinton Baptiste, Scott Bennett amongst many others.

TOM WARD

Tom Ward is a London-based stand up comedian who rose to prominence by winning the Chortle Best Newcomer Award. He is now a regular performer in the UK’s top comedy clubs and at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival, where his shows ‘Popcorn Lung’ and ‘Return of the Love Machine’ received critical acclaim.

His TV appearances include Live at The Apollo (BBC2), Roast Battle (Comedy Central), Stand Up Central (Comedy Central), Live from The Comedy Store (Comedy Central) and The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2).

With performances from semi-finalists: 

Sapphire Mcintosh, Stefan Harvey, Ravi Saini, Ben Hart, Dave Cantliffe, Henry Micheal, Phil Walker, Valeria Vulpe, Natasha Cluskey, Maxine Wade, Mike Carter, plus one TBA Wild Card!