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2 December 2014

Polly Checkland Harding

Introducing our Advent Calendar – here’s the second post in a cultural countdown to Christmas. Today: theatre and big hands.

Tonight it’s White Rabbit, Red Rabbit at Contact, a play with no director, no set and a different actor for each performance, written by man trapped in his own country. Denied passage for refusing military service in Iran, Nassim Soleimanpour came up with an original concept that has since been guest performed by Juliet Stevenson, Tamsin Greig and Mark Watson. Tonight, actress Shobna Gulati takes to the stage (and tomorrow it’s the turn of John Thomson). Tonight, 7.30pm, £9/£5 conc.

Do more. If you’re after a pre or post theatre drink, Big Hands is just around the corner. Haunt of Guy Garvey and bands fresh from the Academy 1 stage, Big Hands is dark, noisy and a bit of a dive – which is exactly why we like it.

Destination Guides

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
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Walking Tours in Manchester by Jonathan Schofield

Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.

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Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

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.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Cinema in the North

Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.