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Guides
What's on
Where to go
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Manchester’s season of Shakespeare

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

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Manchester's Season of Shakespeare

10 September-19 October 2019

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

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RSC: The Taming of the Shrew at The Lowry
Image courtesy of Ikin Yum Photography.
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Shakespeare retellings and adaptations are popping up all over Manchester this autumn. We’ve got a musical take on the ‘star-crossed lovers’, a trio of outstanding performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company and a critically acclaimed production of Macbeth at the Royal Exchange.

& Juliet is a brand new contemporary musical that remixes the story of Romeo and Juliet. Less Romeo and more Juliet. Fresh, fast and with all of your favourite pop anthems, it imagines how Juliet’s life may have panned out if she hadn’t reached for the dagger. Glittering and fabulous.

In a satisfying contrast, Lucy Ellinson takes on the iconic role of Macbeth at the Royal Exchange. Directed by Christopher Haydon, this is an action-packed contemporary version of the bloodthirsty tragedy. With great reviews from the critics and a truly phenomenal cast, this promises to be an unmissable performance.

This season The Lowry will host three of The Bard’s most celebrated plays. Straight from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Company will present As You Like It, Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew. Get your Shakespeare fix – this is a brilliant opportunity to see the Royal Shakespeare Company on The Lowry stage.

Where to go near Manchester’s season of Shakespeare

Balance Taproom
Manchester
Restaurant
Balance Taproom

Manchester has a glut of taprooms, and Balance Brewing’s is far and away the best. Drinks, decor, service – all a cut above.

Richard Hards ‘Strangeways’
Manchester
Gallery
Moon Grove

A Georgian front room in Rusholme houses Moon Grove, an independent gallery with an unusually ambitious international programme.

In Focus: Chinese Contemporary Art.
Manchester
Gallery
New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery

New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery opened in 2016, providing a permanent space to showcase the University of Salford Art Collection within the New Adelphi School of Arts and Media.

Cumbria
Restaurant
1863 Restaurant

1863 offers a seven-course Lake District tasting menu that overdelivers at every turn. Cumbrian ingredients, clever ideas and classical cooking techniques.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
Schofield’s Bar

Schofield’s could be Manchester’s most grown-up bar. Very precise drinks in an upmarket city centre venue. It’s not cheap, hey, but true class costs.

Manchester
Restaurant
Sampa

Sampa’s underground space is the perfect place to learn about both her new mind-expanding dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.

Northern Quarter
Restaurant
Sicilian NQ

Busy backstreet Sicilian restaurant in the Northern Quarter, serving up traditional dishes with well-executed vegan versions that more than match up.

Manchester
Restaurant
Maki & Ramen

Japanese sushi and ramen restaurant on High Street, Northern Quarter, founded by Teddy Lee. House-made noodles, eight-hour broths, plus sushi, donburi and vegan options.

Restaurant Orme
Manchester
Restaurant
Restaurant Örme

A hidden gem in the suburbs of Greater Manchester, serving high-level British small plates to a soundtrack of indie rock and roll.

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What's on: Theatre

Image courtesy of 53two
Until
TheatreManchester
Maria at 53two

The UK premiere of a lesser-known Simon Stephens play explores love, isolation and the search for human connection.

From £15.00
Encounter Festival in Preston
FestivalsLancashire
Encounter Festival in Preston

Preston comes alive with outdoor theatre, live music and family-friendly creativity in one of the North West’s most joyful festivals.

Free entry
Mrs Dalloway at HOME
–
TheatreManchester
Mrs Dalloway at HOME

Jen Heyes and Kit Green breathe thrilling new life into Virginia Woolf’s modernist classic with an inventive theatrical reimagining.

From £16.20
Woodhill at Lowry
–
TheatreSalford
Woodhill at Lowry

LUNG turns real testimony into an unflinching piece of theatre about loss, accountability and the crisis facing Britain’s prisons.

From £13.00

Culture Guides

Exhibitions

Our latest exhibition picks include a lost recording of the Strangeways protest, Manchester's first sound art festival, and queer archives revisited.

Matt Spratt.
Music

Aphex Twin-endorsed electronica, an eight-hour organ marathon and the most exciting band in Ireland's current folk revival all feature this month.

Food and Drink in the North

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.

Woodhill by LUNG Theatre.
Theatre

Contemporary performance, verbatim theatre, dark comedy and a bold vision of Gaza - an eclectic mix for the start of autumn.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

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.

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