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.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Spotlight on

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.

Take me there

Culture Guides

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.
Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.

Literature Events in the North

The autumn leaves might be falling already, but the harvest is plentiful as the live literature scene gets back into the swing of things after a summer break...

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.