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

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.

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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.

Dimitri's
Castlefield
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Dimitri’s

Longstanding Greek taverna Dimtri’s delivers traditional, fuss-free Greek food, aimed at everyone from courting couples to multi-generational families in Manchester.

Kong's NQ
Manchester
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Kong’s NQ

Kong’s isn’t like other chicken shops. This much-loved Northern Quarter restaurant is all about high-grade ingredients and expert preparation.

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Trading Route

Trading Route serves up time-honoured Sunday grub, in a modern Manchester setting. Worth a visit for the expertly-curated soundtrack alone.

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Burnley Youth Theatre

Burnley Youth Theatre is a vibrant youth arts organisation based at our purpose built venue in Burnley, Pennine Lancashire.

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Arcadia Ale House

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Leeds
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Pasta Romagna

Pasta Romagna is a family owned, independent restaurant in the heart of the city centre. Bringing you homestyle Italian cuisine since 1982.

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Farrands

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George and Joseph Cheesemongers

George and Joseph is Leeds’ only specialist cheesemongers, serving some of the city’s best cheese from its home in Chapel Allerton since 2013

What's on: Exhibitions

Until
ExhibitionsChorlton
All That Matters at The Edge

Alan Jones’s photography exhibition in Chorlton explores fragments of impossibly large systems through images of discarded objects with long afterlives.

Free entry
Brettel Blue
Until
ExhibitionsManchester
Black Country Type II at The Modernist

The Black Country. Not always the first place people associate with colour, design and typography – but Tom Hicks has spent years looking closely enough to challenge that.

Free entry
Until
ExhibitionsMediaCityUK
Curtain Up at Lowry

Lowry presents an exhibition on group communion, featuring artists who capture the energy and anticipation of live audiences.

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Until
ExhibitionsSalford
City Of Making at The New Adelphi

Creativity, making and innovation have long shaped Salford. City of Making traces that legacy from industrial roots to today’s artists, designers and creative technologists.

Free entry

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