Viv Albertine at The Dancehouse

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Book now

Viv Albertine in conversation with Jeanette Winterson

The Dancehouse, Manchester
14 May 2018

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

Viv Albertine at The Dancehouse
Viv Albertine.
Book now

Viv Albertine was the guitarist in the all-girl post-punk band The Slits and her acclaimed first memoir Clothes, Music, Boys, which came out in 2014, charts her role as a woman in a male-dominated music scene. It was shortlisted for the National Book Awards and she has gone on to work as a TV and film director.

This Manchester Literature Festival Spring programme event (see more here) sees the launch of her second memoir, To Throw Away Unopened, written following her divorce and the death of her mother, and exploring her feelings surrounding her roles as a daughter, sister, wife, lover and as a woman in general. From the depths of fear, loneliness and anger, the book reveals that we can rebuild ourselves and engage with the world again.

Viv will be in conversation with the prolific author, head of the Centre for New Writing and UNESCO City of Manchester fan Jeanette Winterson, and we’re told to expect an evening of unflinching honesty about music, love and life.

Where to go near Viv Albertine at The Dancehouse

Manchester
Restaurant
Manchester Wine Tours

Manchester Wine Tours is a relaxed, fun wine tour, full of the city’s best food and drink, led by an effortlessly engaging host.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Thirsty Scholar

Friendly pub under a railway arch serving vegetarian and vegan pub food, as well as hosting regular live music.

Manchester
Music venue
YES

The apple in Now Wave’s eye, YES boasts four floors of live music and DJs, and offers food via two outlets. It also has a huge outdoor roof terrace!

Bakchich
Manchester
Restaurant
Bakchich Manchester

Bakchich does excellent, reasonably priced Lebanese food – including sharwarma, pickles, meshawi grills and baklawa – in a beautifully tiled, high-ceilinged space.

Manchester
Restaurant
Zouk

Manchester has more than one top-tier Indian restaurant, but Zouk is right up there with the best, and counts Drake as a fan.

Gorilla, Whitworth street Manchester
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Gorilla

Gorilla is a good choice for breakfast, lunch or dinner. From a hearty full English to meaty burgers via good vegan and veggie options. It also hosts some of the best gigs and events in Manchester.

Manchester
Music venue
Joshua Brooks

Long-established Manchester bar and nightclub, Joshua Brooks is just off student hotspot Oxford Road. Open until 4am on the weekends with regular DJ-led club nights.

Dog Bowl bowling alley and restaurant Manchester.
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Dog Bowl

A bar and 10-pin bowling alley combined, Dog Bowl is a neon-lit venue that serves up cocktails and Tex-Mex food to go with your time on the lanes.

The Modernist shop
Manchester
Shop
Modernist Society

The bricks and mortar The Modernist shop opened in May 2019 in the Northern Quarter and is the only bookshop in Manchester specialising in architecture and design.

What's on: Literature

Tom Branfoot. Photo Eleanor Hall, Museum of the Home
LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

Free entry
Andrew McMillan and Maria Ferguson
LiteratureLeeds
Leeds Lit Fest 2025

The award-winning Leeds Lit Fest is back, this year running from 14 to 22 June 2025, and bringing together local talent and big-name authors for a lively programme.

From £0.00
SLAMCHESTER Poster
LiteratureManchester
SLAMCHESTER at 53Two

This June, Manchester welcomes the launch of SLAMCHESTER, a one-night-only spoken word slam featuring a a special performance by Jardel Rodrigues.

From £6.00

Culture Guides

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

Isabel Galleymore in conversation
Literature Events in the North

There's a lot of experimentation going on in our Literature guide, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.