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

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 Orme

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

The Abbey
Manchester
Restaurant
The Abbey

Historic Hulme pub with a very good live gig space, brought to you by the very capable team behind YES, Gorilla, Now Wave and Manchester Psych Fest.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Pigeon Beer Wanderer

Pigeon Beer Wanderer brings wine-level ceremony to Manchester’s new “Beermuda Triangle”, courtesy of Joshua Lightfoot and his crack team of booze experts.

Image courtesy of Unitom.
Castlefield
Gallery
UNITOM Projects

The exhibition arm of Manchester indie bookshop UNITOM is a dedicated space for contemporary visual culture in the St John’s neighbourhood.

City Centre
Restaurant
Portfolio

Portfolio is a Champagne boutique on Manchester’s Bridge Street, offering a set menu of fine-dining small bites.

Manchester
Gallery
Bridge 5 Mill

Bridge 5 Mill is a sustainable event space and community hub on Beswick Street in Ancoats, hosting independent cultural projects and ethical supper clubs.

1853 gallery 1
Manchester
Gallery
1853 Studios

1853 Studios and Gallery is a Creative Studios and community of creative professionals occupying the 3rd floors of Osborne Mill, Oldham.

Deansgate
Restaurant
Podium

Podium delivers high-end, seasonal dishes, largely geared around produce and ideas from the British Isles, but with a few deft twists and turns.

Tai Wu
Manchester
Restaurant
Tai Wu

Long-standing, trend-swerving Chinese restaurant on Manchester’s Upper Brook Street, with a reputation for authentic dim sum and traditional Cantonese cuisine.

Manchester
Food hall
BAB Korean Food

A highlight of Manchester’s K-Food space, Bab Korean Food serves up authentic, well-made dishes at the Kargo MKT food hall in MediaCity.

What's on: Exhibitions

Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Redactions at texture

For the four artists in texture’s reopening show, redaction is not absence but method – a way of exploring what’s been officially ignored, coded or suppressed.

Free entry

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