Culture Guides
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Unmissable things to do in Manchester and the North
Discover acclaimed music and stand-out exhibitions, groundbreaking theatre, family, cinema and literary events in Manchester and the North.
Our top picks
Manchester International Festival 2017
Manchester International Festival, the world’s first festival of original work and special events, returns in 2017 under new Artistic Director 2017. Here’s our guide to the unique programme, taking place across Manchester.
MIF17: What Is the City but the People? in Piccadilly Gardens
Conceived by artist Jeremy Deller, What Is the City but the People? will see residents parading on a specially designed walkway across Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens to musical accompaniment, capturing the city through its outfits and attitudes.
Sophie Willan: Branded at Contact
Sophie Willan is a pity-free laughter machine, whose mirth-filled self examinations are not to be missed.
IRIS by Marshmallow Laser Feast at The Lowry
The Lowry’s Lyric Theatre is set to be taken over by a stunning spectacle of lasers, light, sound and colour from leading creative studio Marshmallow Laser Feast. Audiences will experience IRIS – a unique digital art installation created using laser technology.
RNCM Big Band with Laurence Cottle at the RNCM
On the 30th anniversary of his death, American bassist Jaco Pastorius is the subject of this Summer Big Band show – featuring collaborations between Laurence Cottle and RNCM students.
RNCM Symphony Orchestra at The Bridgewater Hall
RNCM Symphony Orchestra makes its annual visit to The Bridgewater Hall for a concert that features Tchaikovsky’s monumental and radical Sixth, plus works by Mussorgsky and Prokofiev.
Liverpool(e): Mover, Shaker, Architectural Risk-Taker
Liverpool is a city that can be read like no other as a living, breathing encyclopedia of British architecture. But how has its unique skyline been shaped, and how else might it have looked? These are the intriguing questions asked by RIBA North’s inaugural exhibition.
Refract:17 at Waterside Arts Centre
A festival of light, one that covers the whole spectrum of performance from comedy to kids shows.
Underneath The Stars Festival 2017
This charismatic folk and acoustic music festival in the stunning South Yorkshire countryside has a cracking family friendly arts programme and tremendous food.
Picnic Cinema: Pulp Fiction (18) at Muncaster Castle
Picnic Cinema presents one of the defining films of the nineties. Grab your tasty beverage of choice and enjoy Quentin Tarantino’s effortlessly cool crime flick in the magnificent surroundings of Muncaster Castle.
Picnic Cinema, Cumbria
Picnics, dancing, shenanigans, capers, discos, tomfoolery and great, classic, cult and horror films in extraordinary locations. This year’s selection of films includes Pulp Fiction, The Wicker Man and Boogie Nights.
Bad Language at The Castle Hotel
Live lit regular Bad Language waves farewell to The Castle as it prepares to cross the road to Gullivers for its July event. No open mic this month – just more headliners than you can shake a stick at.
LOVE LIFE: ACT II at Grundy Art Gallery
A radical re-imagining of ‘Punch and Judy’ explores the darker side of the popular Victorian seaside show at Grundy Art Gallery.
MIF17: Ceremony at Bridgewater Hall Car Park
MIF17’s closing event will see the return of Manchester’s adopted son and life-long champion of the working classes, Friedrich Engels, to the city.
Daniel Kitson: Something Other Than Everything at Royal Exchange
Daniel Kitson returns to the Royal Exchange with more sublime thoughts and silly stories.
Culture Guides
Food and Drink
Discover the best food and drink that the North has to offer in our expert guide to food and drink in Manchester and beyond.
Exhibitions
Our top picks this month reflect on the predictable uncertainty of the world – through subversive enamel paintings, a séance for a figure of alternative facts, and an event that will equip its audience with apocalypse skills.
Literature
Novels, narrative non-fiction, new works… June sees a whole host of live literature events in Didsbury, FutureEverything poetry, Bad Language events a-go-go and a look forward to next month…
Destination Guides
Things to Do in Manchester
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