The Frog and Bucket Comedy Club finally returns to Preston next month. Manchester’s famed comedy club originally opened a sister venue in nearby Preston in September 2009 running until September 2014 when it then moved to The Guildhall until December 2016.

Now it’s re-opening on Saturday 26th March at Blitz venue and nightclub taking the same format as the Manchester Frog’s Barrel of Laughs nights, featuring four top-flight international acts. The nights kick off with the fab line up of MC Phil Ellis, Britain’s Got Talent runner up Daliso Chaponda, Doctor Who’s Bethany Black and the quick wit of Chester’s Danny McLoughlin. 

Running on the last Saturday of every month, future shows will include Scottish Yorkshireman Alun Cochrane, the deliciously self-deprecating Jamie Hutchinson, escaped from his acclaimed shed (lockdown gigs) Scott Bennett, rising comedy star Lily Phillips, the wonderfully down to earth Chris Washington, established musical comedian Andy Askins, Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2021 Nina Gilligan and our very own World Series winner and reigning Scottish Comedian of the Year Liam Farrelly. 

The original Preston Frog saw performances by the likes of Sarah Millican, Zoe Lyons, Richard Herring, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Mick Miller, Dave Johns, Tom Stade, Paul Sinha, Barbara Nice and Preston’s Entertainer of the Year award winner Dan Nightingale. 

The Frog and Bucket’s Jessica Toomey notes about the long awaited return: “It’s great to be back in Preston, we have some great memories of our previous time there and the club was well loved by acts and audiences alike.  It’s exciting to see what memories and laughs we will create second time round. The audiences were always so great in Preston.” 

The Frog and Bucket was originally opened by David Perkin as a series of comedy nights in 1994 put on in a room above The Britannia pub on the edge of Manchester’s city centre Northern Quarter district. Then just a year later Perkin opened its current location, a dedicated comedy club space in a former bank building around the corner at the top of Oldham Street. 

The club went from strength to strength seeing performances and helping to develop the comedic talents of the likes John Bishop - who performed his first ever gig there, Johnny Vegas, Peter Kay and Jack Whitehall. In addition the likes of Sarah Millican, Lee Mack, Jason Manford, Dave Gorman and Lucy Porter were regulars at the club. Even the customers were comedy royalty as the late Caroline Aherne would pop in on a regular basis.

In 2018 Perkin’s daughter Jessica Toomey took over the full running of the venue and the club has gone from strength to strength since, even of course surviving the very difficult Covid climate of the last two years.

Check out the website for news of all the events coming up at the Frog and Bucket Manchester and Preston at www.frogandbucket.com.

Listings info:

Venue: Blitz, 5 Church Row, Preston PR1 3BX