Ah March, the bulbs are up, the daffodils are unfurling, the grass is growing and oh look the hedge needs cutting again... bugger Mother Nature let's see some comedy instead.
One Man Breaking Bad, The Lowry, Sun Mar 1, £18.50
LA based actor Miles Allen with his thoroughly unauthorised tribute to the unfeasibly popular AMC drama Breaking Bad. Allen's is an affectionate parody, a break neck run through the show's characters with a few others thrown in for good measure.
Gein's Family Giftshop, Kings Arms, Mon Mar 2, Free
The visceral and self reflexive skit troupe present their monthly Bargain Basement. They're also at XSMalarkey on the 10th so you've no excuse for not catching them while they're still local and playing nice small venues – with the acclaim they're getting they'll be bigger than the moon. And that's quite big.
Manchester's Alternative Comedy Emporium, Kosmonaut, Wed, Mar, 4, £5
Dead Cat Comedy's Red Redmond presents an new club night in conjunction with one of the Northern Quarter's top bars. This month there's the hilariously curmudgeonly Carl Hutchinson and the unexpected Liam Pickford.
Beth Vyse, The Arms, Wed Mar 4, £8 (£7 conc)
Appearing as her leopard print alter ego Olive Hands, the Cheshire bred Vyse invites us to 'Get Up With Hands'. Appearing in a flaky day time TV show on a dying station, Hands will go to any lengths to stay on the air.
Gary Delaney, The Lowry, Wed Mar 4, £12
In the last few years Delaney has finally received some of the recognition he deserves. He's been well respected on the comedy circuit for ages as a writer of sharp one liners and pun filled gags. 'Purist' showcases his latest collection.
Sham Bodie, Kraak, Thu Mar 5
The eclectic comedy variety night. This time around Ben Tonge introduces the gloriously depressed Michael J Dolan, Tom Little - who won the prestigious Leicester Mercury Comedian of Year last month – and the exuberant Nina Gilligan. Plus music from Dirty Heels.
Vikki Stone, The Frog and Bucket, Thu- Sat Mar 5-7, £16 (£8 conc) advance, £19 (£11 conc) on the door.
The musical comedian is probably most famous for her somewhat obsessive ode to Philip Schofield - check it out on the net if you haven't seen it, especially the clip where she serenades him personally on This Morning. There's plenty more in her arsenal too including a mean Hilary Devey, of Dragon's Den fame, impersonation. Also on the bill is Dan Nightingale, Mike Newall and compere Toby Hadoke.
Group Therapy, Gorilla, Sat Mar 7, £11 (£10 conc)
This month sees a performance from Josie Long. Over the years she transformed from kooky - deriving humour from a George Forman grill and George Stubbs' horse, to embracing science and politics and her latest work 'Cara Josephine,' which promises to be her most personal yet.
Romesh Ranganathan and Suzi Ruffell, The Lowry, Sat Mar 7, £11-£13
Two of the comedy circuit's fastest rising stars team up to showcase their solo shows, Ranganathan's 'Rom Wasn't Built in a Day' and Ruffell's 'Social Chameleon.' Following a couple of significant award nods Ranganathan has clocked up a fair few TV appearances, meanwhile Ruffell has also been making waves including supporting the likes of Alan Carr and Josh Widdicombe on tour.
Dave Spikey, The Lowry, Sun Mar 8, £21
Fresh from performing once more as Jerry 'The Saint' Sinclair in Phoenix Nights Live at the Arena, Spikey's back on tour with 'Punchline.' A former phlebomtomist the seasoned comic has been entertaining audiences for more than two decades and here he explores the comedic possibilities of the unattached joke punchline.
Twisted Comedy, Frog and Bucket, Wed Mar 11, £10 on the door, £8 advance (£5 conc)
The hilariously sadistic comedy night where the head-liner dictates the rest of the bill's material. This time with the only comedian who sports a look akin to a crazed RAF pilot and is just as nonsensical, Tony Law – quite frankly anything could happen. Rumour has it this is the final one, they must do more.
Omid Djalili, Manchester Opera House, Fri 13 and Sat 14, Mar, £26-£42
Djalili has been playing on his Iranian heritage to get affect for years – garnering plenty of stand up material from his roots as well as a plethora of 'dodgy foreigner' roles in Hollywood blockbusters – still, it pays the bills and there's far more to the fun guy than that.
Dylan Moran, The Lowry, Sun Mar 15, £26-£28
Twenty years on Moran's still one of the consistently finest comics around. Often dark, frequently misanthropic and always funny he offers a considered but skewed look at life. 'Off the Hook' is his latest set of stand out stand up. He also appears at the Opera House on 19 March.
Shake With Laughter, The Comedy Store, Mon Mar 16, £12
Charity gig in aid of Parkinson's UK. Well loved and slightly surreal Mick Ferry and musical cleverness from Rob Deering; the charity is particularly close to home for the pair as both their fathers have the disease. They're also bringing a special guest as the night includes a rare live appearance from Johnny Vegas.
Pat Monahan, The Lowry, Wed Mar 18, £13
You're pretty much guaranteed a cuddle at this gig as well as missing your bus home as Monahan is almost as notorious as Ken Dodd for giving more than your money's worth in the performance duration stakes. Here he is with his latest full length (and more) show. It'll be a fab feel good night but be sure to take some cab numbers with you.
John Cooper Clarke, O2 Apollo, Sat Mar 21, £27.50-£32.50
The bard of Salford continues his creative re-emergence on the live scene. Despite being in his sixties now, the punk poet is still a force to be reckoned with; his is brilliantly penned, socially incisive and, of course, witty performance poetry. Back in the 70s he supported the likes of The Sex Pistols and The Buzzcocks, be sure to catch him, he's on an incredible roll.
Sarah Millican, The Lowry, Mon Mar 23, £8
This gig is billed as work in progress but knowing Millican it'll be funny whatever comes out of her mouth. In early gigs - when she used to visit Manchester from her native north east to hone her fledgling material - it was clear that she was a natural talent. That rich cooing South Shields accent just adds to the joy.
XSMalarkey, Pub Zoo, Tue Mar 24, £5 (£3 members)
This week one of Manchester longest running clubs plays host to Silky, a master of musical silliness and a circuit stalwart who additionally promotes a fair few gigs himself. Silky is one of those talents that by rights should be a household name.
Shits and Giggles, Antwerp Mansion, Sun Mar 29, Free
The monthly comedy night at the renovation project that was a former Belgian Embassy just off the main drag in Rusholme. This time around Stockport housewife and mother of five Mrs Barbara Nice raises the roof with her feel good set. With support from West Midlands comic Martin Huburn and Stretford's own Des Sharples.
WitTank, The Lowry, Sun Mar 29, £13
The sketch troupe with the cheeky name (think about it...) return with their latest show 'Old School Secrets.' Intelligent and ridiculous in equal measure the trio continue to plunder the trauma of their school days (for two of them it was boarding school, which explains a lot) to fuel their comedic skits.
Laughing Cows, The Frog and Bucket, Sun Mar 29, £7 advance, £9 on the door
The monthly all female comedy club this time presents the off the wall Holly Burn. Burn has pulled all kinds of inventive stunts – at the Edinburgh Fringe she wandered out of the venue with the audience and another time took them all back to her flat. Who knows what she'll get up to at the Frog.
Words: Marissa Burgess