Rescued from dereliction by the Northern Ballet School in 1990, The Dancehouse was restored to its 1930s Art Deco glory and reopened in 1994 as a theatre and dance studio. The 35, 000 square foot venue stages cabaret acts, comedy shows, talks and cinema screenings as well as functioning as a ballet training institution.
Manchester Punk Festival returns for its 10th year, hosting over 140 bands across multiple venues around Oxford Road.
from £110
The new curatorial project ‘Ecological Borders’ ponders how the body can act as both a barrier and a point of connection with nature.
free entry
An exhibition organised by an all-female team, with an emphasis on celebrating women’s perspectives through the work of four emerging artists
free entry
Poets & Players is a must-go for lovers of words and music, presenting poets established and emerging, with the latest readers Katharine Towers, Sascha Akhtar and Victoria Gatehouse.
free entry
Composer Simon Knighton curates an eclectic evening of sonic invention and boundary breaking new music in Sound Sculptures.
from £5.00
Manchester School of Theatre (Manchester Metropolitan University) are back with a bumper spring season of performance.
from £5.00
To accompany Emma Rice’s reimagined version of North by Northwest, HOME are screening a selection of films from master director Alfred Hitchcock.
from £7.95
‘A Riot In Three Acts’ uses film, installation and sound to explore themes of civil unrest and the social inequalities that trigger it.
free entry
Manchester Wine Tours is a relaxed, fun wine tour, full of the city’s best food and drink, led by an effortlessly engaging host.
Friendly pub under a railway arch serving vegetarian and vegan pub food, as well as hosting regular live music.
Independent Leeds-based brewery North has opened its first Manchester taproom, in Oxford Road’s Circle Square neighbourhood.
The apple in Now Wave’s eye, YES boasts four floors of live music and DJs, and offers food via two outlets. It also has a huge outdoor roof terrace!
Bakchich does excellent, reasonably priced Lebanese food – including sharwarma, pickles, meshawi grills and baklawa – in a beautifully tiled, high-ceilinged space.
Beer, cocktails and Asian street food at one of Manchester’s friendliest bars.
Manchester has more than one top-tier Indian restaurant, but Zouk is right up there with the best, and counts Drake as a fan.
Gorilla is a good choice for breakfast, lunch or dinner. From a hearty full English to meaty burgers via good vegan and veggie options. It also hosts some of the best gigs and events in Manchester.
Panchos Burritos is a Mexican street food vendor in the Arndale Market.
Long-established Manchester bar and nightclub, Joshua Brooks is just off student hotspot Oxford Road. Open until 4am on the weekends with regular DJ-led club nights.
A bar and 10-pin bowling alley combined, Dog Bowl is a neon-lit venue that serves up cocktails and Tex-Mex food to go with your time on the lanes.
The bricks and mortar The Modernist shop opened in May 2019 in the Northern Quarter and is the only bookshop in Manchester specialising in architecture and design.
Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.
Spring is here and the North is buzzing with must-visit new restaurants and bars.
We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.
The outsiders, the oddities and the outrageous – we’re keeping it weird with a hot new batch of underground gigs about to hit Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool.
Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.
Crocodile-themed Easter egg hunts, sense-sational museum trips and more this Easter!
From precarious ceramics to photography festivals, spring is here and brings with it a breath of fresh air in visual art and exhibitions.
If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.
