Following his sell-out comedy shows I Am Mycock and The Joy of Mycock, writer, academic and performer Dr Andy Mycock unzips the cultural life of the cock across English literature, from medieval metaphor to modern innuendo.
This latest show – The Prose of Mycock – features a stellar lineup of readers, including Arthur Bostrom (Officer Crabtree from ‘Allo ‘Allo!), Neil Pearson (Drop the Dead Donkey) and Rosie Garland. During the performance Mycock will explore how centuries of writers have left their mark, with a mix of academic insight and potty-mouthed humour.
By day, Andy Mycock is a political theorist and academic. By night, he’s the UK’s foremost amateur cockologist, reclaiming a punchline that has followed him around his entire life. His surname has inspired a trilogy of comedy shows, a forthcoming podcast and a new BBC Radio 4 series exploring his life with the world’s most embarrassing surname. The series explores how names shape everything from dating and family life to career paths and features conversations with fellow sufferers of unfortunate monikers.
“Creating shows about my ‘unusual’ surname has opened up space for me to consider the symbolic and cultural power of the cock in public life” Mycock says, “The Prose of Mycock will explore the literary resonance of the phallus, drawing on the Portico’s more salacious tomes. The night offers an opportunity for members (no pun intended) of the library such as Rosie, Arthur, Neil and me to have fun while raising funds and awareness of the Portico Reunited project.”
The Portico Reunited is an ambitious project to reunite all three floors of the historic Portico Library for the first time. The redevelopment will open up new spaces for exhibitions, events and research, ensuring that the 200-year-old Manchester landmark continues to inspire for generations to come.

Thursday 5 February 2026, 7:00–8:30 PM
The Portico Library, 57 Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3HY
theportico.org.uk