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.
Jonathan Schofield’s new walking tour exploring the treasures and famous landmarks of Manchester’s Oxford road.
From £20.00
This free exhibition brings 1980s posters that survived against the odds, from when Manchester was becoming a global music city.
Free entry
Four editions in, the Manchester Open has become both a biennial survey of the region’s creative output and a genuine leveller for artistic talent.
Free entry
Jen Heyes and Kit Green breathe thrilling new life into Virginia Woolf’s modernist classic with an inventive theatrical reimagining.
From £16.20
Manchester’s famous musical legacy comes to life in this walking tour around the city, which will take you from the 1960s to the present day.
From £25.00
Nine centuries of music, one incredible local story, and a Wagner opera that the composer feared would drive people mad.
From £8
Jonny Greenwood plays live the instrument that gave his Oscar-disqualified film debut its unmistakable, unforgettable voice.
From £34.50
Manchester’s premier concert hall celebrates 30 years with the debut of a new orchestra and guest artists drawn from Manchester’s grime, dancehall, drag and jazz scenes.
From £7.00
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.
Refined steakhouse with smart, low-lit decor, boasting some of the finest cuts of meat in the city.
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
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.
From intimate dramas to spectacular outdoor festivals, discover the North West performances worth adding to your diary.
Squeeze the most out of these final weeks of summer thanks to our mid-August guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
Summer isn’t usually a high point in the exhibitions calendar, but Greater Manchester’s small galleries seem to have made a pact to change that this year.
Aphex Twin-endorsed electronica, an eight-hour organ marathon and the most exciting band in Ireland's current folk revival all feature this month.
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
