Michelle Wolf has been confirmed to headline the closing night of Laughterama as Manchester’s mega-hit comedy festival returns to Castlefield Bowl for five nights of open-air stand-up from 2nd to 6th September.
The primetime Emmy nominee and Have I Got News For You star joins a line-up already stacked with major names, including Jack Dee, Nick Mohammed, Sara Pascoe, Fern Brady, Michelle De Swarte, Stewart Lee, Chris McCausland and Nina Conti. Wolf is known for her sharp wit and unfiltered take on controversial subjects, and organisers say her set will close out an “exceptional week of comedy” at the venue.
Tickets for the 2026 edition are on sale now at £29 each, with the full run taking place at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, M3 4RU, from Wednesday 2nd to Sunday 6th September. Fans can book via manchester.laughterama.com or through the festival’s main site at www.laughterama.com.
Each night presents a compilation-style bill mixing the biggest names in stand-up with Manchester’s street-food and drinks scene, and the wider 2026 line-up runs far deeper than just the headliners. Rose Matafeo, Sarah Keywort, Jen Brister, Tom Rosenthal, Ivo Graham, Elis James, Harriet Kemsley and John Robins all feature across the five nights, alongside breakthrough names such as Vittorio Angelone, Kiran Saggu, Jen Nolan and BBC New Comedy Award finalist Evaldas Karosas.
Laughterama is produced by siblings Will Briggs and Cass Randolph of 57 Festivals, who have spent more than fifteen years running a series of boutique comedy festivals across London and the South of England. Will Briggs said: “We’re thrilled to be returning to Castlefield Bowl with our biggest line-up yet. Every festival we’ve done here has been electric and this year’s is set to be an all-time great! There’s so many incredible acts on each show and we cannot wait to get started.”
Since launching in 2022 with sell-out shows from James Acaster, Aisling Bea and Josh Widdicombe, Laughterama has grown into a fixture of the Manchester summer calendar, drawing over 10,000 comedy fans each year from the city and beyond. The 2026 edition marks the festival’s biggest bill to date, with organisers promising even more names still to be revealed ahead of September.
Wolf’s headline slot adds international star power to a festival that has increasingly leaned on British comedy heavyweights, with Jack Dee and Stewart Lee’s inclusion underlining Laughterama’s pull among the country’s most established stand-ups. Nina Conti, meanwhile, brings her ventriloquism act to the bill as one of the more unconventional additions to an otherwise stand-up-heavy line-up.
AT A GLANCE
- Dates: 2nd – 6th September 2026
- Location: Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, M3 4RU
- Tickets: £29 each
- Website: www.laughterama.com
Image credits: Matt Eachus / The Manc Photographer
In this article:
Disclosures: TheFestivals is funded through advertising and sometimes earns a commission on purchases made through links on this website, including in this article: None
Add as a preferred source