Operated by by sister company Rising Moon Productions, our dedicated events space can be used for theatre, comedy, live music, events and everything in between.
Events in May–June 2022
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Van Gogh Sunflowers
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Van Gogh Sunflowers
Join for a creative evening of drinking and painting.
No previous experience necessary! Get your creative juices flowing and bush strokes going!
Our experts will guide you step by step to create your own masterpiece
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Saturday Night Special: Silly Boy
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Saturday Night Special: Silly Boy
In his intimate debut hour “SILLY BOY” Rich Hardisty takes us on a journey through the highs and the lows of his unusual life.
Expect anecdotes and observations about mental institutions, missing dads and mania, all from his warm/inquisitive/childlike perspective.
In the show Rich tries his best to convey what mental illness really looks and feels like.
But you won’t find any self pity or loathing here… this is a celebration of the beauty and silliness of it all and the interesting, hilarious and sometimes shocking things his brain is capable of doing (whether he wants it to or not.)
Raw, open and honest but most importantly…FUNNY!
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Dan Nightingale is Working It Out
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Dan Nightingale is Working It Out
Dan Nightingale is Working It Out. A full show of very funny stand-up
comedy from one of the very best circuit comedians in the UK. After
the huge success of Dan's podcast 'Have A Word', he'll be going out on
a national tour in the Autumn of '22, but before he does he'll be
developing that show at preview gigs like this one. With full support
from a comedian mate who's been on the podcast, you know it's going to
be a Smasher."We're laughing. Dan's laughing... Funny as hell." Leicester Mercury
"Magnetic entertaining and wonderfully friendly" Three Weeks -
Verbose with Betty Doyle and Dave Viney
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Verbose with Betty Doyle and Dave Viney
Manchester's award-winning spoken word event - every last Monday of the month at The King's Arms! Verbose brings a vibrant mix of spoken word and live literature from a talented bill of open mic acts and wonderful headliners. Expect poetry, prose and everything in between from a real community vibe that gladly welcomes all newcomers.
Tickets are FREE at the point of service but donation tickets are available and greatly appreciated! To apply for an open mic slot please email us at verbosemanchester@gmail.com -
Entertainment Club
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Entertainment Club
After being name-checked by the Guardian as one of the brightest hopes of the Manchester entertainment scene, Entertainment Club is back, by popular demand! Now in the luxurious upstairs theatre of The King's Arms, Entertainment Club returns with a widescreen cabaret format, welcoming not only stand-up comedy but also (though not limited to) avant-garde noise bands, sinewy performance art, and decadent gothic romance.
Hosted by Jim John Harkness ('Veering towards a breakdown'- The Guardian) the evening is an experimental space for exploding the confines of genre, where the audience bring no preconceptions and expect nothing from the performers, except, perhaps, a compulsory offering of their shimmering soul.£6.00 ADV £8 OTD -
Richard Hardisty: Silly Boy
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Richard Hardisty: Silly Boy
In his intimate debut hour “SILLY BOY” Rich Hardisty takes us on a journey through the highs and the lows of his unusual life.
Expect anecdotes and observations about mental institutions, missing dads and mania, all from his warm/inquisitive/childlike perspective.In the show Rich tries his best to convey what mental illness really looks and feels like.
But you won’t find any self pity or loathing here… this is a celebration of the beauty and silliness of it all and the interesting, hilarious and sometimes shocking things his brain is capable of doing (whether he wants it to or not.)The show culminates in a 10 minute performance piece using a projection, where Rich attempts to show what a manic episode looks and feels like inside his head.
Raw, open and honest but most importantly…FUNNY!
CREDITS:
RICH is a writer / performer who has performed in shows for C4, BBC and Netflix, has developed 2 sitcoms with channel 4, and developed projects with production companies:- Baby Cow , Spelthorne and V.A.L.
He has played Latitude and Wilderness festivals and used to host a show on Fubar radio. -
Verbose - with Talya Stitcher and Alex Calver
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Verbose - with Talya Stitcher and Alex Calver
Manchester's award-winning spoken word event - every last Monday of the month at The King's Arms! Verbose brings a vibrant mix of spoken word and live literature from a talented bill of open mic acts and wonderful headliners. Expect poetry, prose and everything in between from a real community vibe that gladly welcomes all newcomers.
Tickets are FREE at the point of service but donation tickets are available and greatly appreciated! Our open mic bill is now FULL for this event.
HEADLINERS
TALYA STITCHER
Talya is a cat-obsessed, challah-loving, pottery-attempting poet and photographer, whose work has been described as “warm and relatable, with an ability to vibrantly capture the small moments”. She produces Sounds Queer in Sheffield, celebrating and platforming Yorkshire’s queer community. Credits include UK New Artists 2021-22, Homos and Houmous, Ilkley LitFest Slam, Roundhouse Slam, and Leeds Queer Film Festival.
“Cinematic” – Joelle Taylor
@talyastitcher (Instagram)
@soundsqueer.sheffield (Instagram/Facebook)
@sounds_queer (Twitter)
ALEX CALVER
Alex Calver broke out in the poetry scene almost as gradually as he's figured out his identity; slowly at first, and then all at once. Starting in slam poetry, Alex has competed against some of the country's best young poets and even, on occasion, won. He's taken this success to mean that he's finally found something he's good at, and has since worked on giving back to the community that helped him so much.
Launching his own event, Poetry+, in April 2018, Alex has consistently attempted to push the boundaries of what spoken word is, and what can be done with it. Moving away from the Slam style that he grew so accustomed to, Alex's work explores the intricacies of identity, relationships and belonging, and the causes and effects of mental health and LGBTQ+ issues.
Alex is a member of the London Queer Writer's Collective, competed as part of Bath Spa's UniSlam Team for two consecutive years before becoming their co-coach and the UniSlam Social Media Manager, and is currently working on his first collection.
His status as a trans poet has been turning heads across Europe, through his performances at Edinburgh Fringe's acclaimed BBC Slam, Grizzly Pear's 'Community' event where he collaborated with fellow trans poet, Mikey Barnes, and the European Forum Alpbach in Austria where he taught and performed poetry in July 2019.
After taking a pandemic-curated hiatus from spoken word, Alex has returned to the scene reinvigorated, utilising it as a platform for activism through personal and narrative-led poetry.
"Like an old man whispering to his house plants, Alex's gentle presence will guide your mind to the light." - Shaun Hill
"He is the embodiment of a poem." - Rebecca Tantony
"Alex confronts vital themes - scary, but important subjects and sentiments - and does it in a way that will hook your heart strings and pull you into tomorrow." - Jasmine Gardosi