Stories – Brought to Life at MediaCityUK

Johnny James, Managing Editor

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Stories - Brought to Life

2 May 2025

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

tories – BroughttoLife_CharlesDarwin_©Antonio Pagano
Antonio Pagano
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Emmeline Pankhurst. Oscar Wilde. Malala Yousafzai. Just a few of the iconic names that grace the walls of the National Portrait Gallery. But now, you can go beyond the frame – and deeper into their stories – as those lives are brought to vivid life right here in MediaCity.

Stories – Brought to Life is the first-ever immersive experience based on a UK national collection. Created by FRAMELESS and the National Portrait Gallery, it reimagines the gallery visit as something cinematic and sensory – blending visual effects, sound, archive footage and storytelling at a spectacular scale.

Stories - Brought to Life_GraysonPerry
Antonio Pagano.

Step inside a 10,000 sq ft digital gallery and find yourself surrounded by the people who have helped shaped British culture – from William Shakespeare to Audrey Hepburn, Charles Darwin to Dorothy Hodgkin, Mary Seacole to Nelson Mandela – each reintroduced through cutting-edge tech and emotionally rich narratives.

Whether you’re a history buff, a portrait lover, or just curious about the characters that helped make the UK what it is today, this is one for the list.

Where to go near Stories – Brought to Life at MediaCityUK

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