March

C-o-n-t-a-c-t at Salford Quays

Hailed a “gripping thriller” and “pacy outdoor odyssey” – here’s an inventive outdoor performance we can all look forward to in 2021.

PUSH Festival 2021 at HOME

Thrilling and challenging, HOME’s annual festival is a glimmering reminder that new performance continues to be developed, despite ‘you-know-what’.

Deconstruct and Reconstruct: Collage Workshop

Join Lydia Swinney for a thoughtful dive into how we can use collage to deconstruct and reconstruct large ideas.

Manchester Film Festival

Manchester Film Festival is running an online edition for 2021 with a selection of streaming premieres available to watch at home this March.

Do Nothing at YES

Nottingham-based post punk band Do Nothing are bring their ever-changing live show to Manchester in March.

The Picture of Dorian Gray – online

Set in a profile photo-obsessed and filter-fixated world, this contemporary digital reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s classic seems more relevant than ever.

Silverbacks at The Castle

Offering a contemporary take on the NYC art-rock of the late ’70s and early ’80s, Dublin 5-piece Silverback are performing live at The Castle.

Huddersfield Literature Festival

Huddersfield Literature Festival is an annual celebration of books, authors, poetry and performance, spanning 20 venues across Huddersfield.

The Hallé – Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale

Sir Mark Elder conducts a staged performance of Stravinsky’s 1918 masterpiece The Soldier’s Tale, directed by Olivier Award winner Annabel Arden.

Online bedtime story with the People’s History Museum

Head on over to the Little People’s History Museum without leaving your own home… get ready for bed and settle in for a livestreamed story.

Liverpool Biennial 2021 – The Stomach and the Port

The 11th edition of the UK’s oldest and largest festival of contemporary visual art is about to open, with work by over 50 artists.

Tony Phillips: 12 Decades at Bluecoat in Liverpool

Tony Phillips’ 12 Decades continues a survey of modern history that has occupied him over the last 40 years. The series will go on show at Bluecoat in 2021.

Drab City at YES

Signed to Bella Union, enigmatic duo Drab City are bringing their cinematic, disorientating sounds to the basement of YES this March.

On Demand: Vasily Petrenko conducts music by Shostakovich and Beethoven

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra return with their next ‘On Demand’ concert for 2021, as Vasily Petrenko conducts music by Shostakovich and Beethoven.

The Hallé – Trail-blazing Hallé

The Hallé is joined by Boris Giltburg for Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, before the world premiere of Huw Watkins’ Second Symphony.

Psappha: Music for Cimbalom (In Focus) at Hallé St Peter’s

Psappha explores the full range of the lesser-spotted cimbalom with a varied programme that features several world premieres.

Feng Suave at YES

Amsterdam psych-pop duo Feng Suave make silk-smooth music that feels like a warm blanket on a winter’s day. Catch them live at YES.

Sound Stage

An exciting, new audio-digital venture, Sound Stage has been designed by theatre-makers and leading technologists, to give audiences a unique online theatre experience.

Gary, Indiana at YES

Following their signing to Fire Talk Records, Manchester’s newly-formed Gary, Indiana are performing a socially-distanced gig at YES.

The North Will Rise Again at Gorilla and The Invisible Wind Factory

Manchester and Liverpool unite to host The North Will Rise Again, a live-streamed micro-festival headlined by The Charlatans and The Lightning Seeds.

Grayson’s Art Club at Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry presents a major exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery featuring work made by the nation during the initial weeks of lockdown.

Online Meditation with the Manchester Buddhist Centre

As we learn to live with uncertainty now is a better time than ever to explore meditation, let the friendly community at Manchester Buddhist Centre help you on this journey.

Trading Station: how hot drinks shape our lives at Manchester Art Gallery

Trading Station at Manchester Art Gallery charts the history and changing social role of hot drinks in our lives.

The Little Library in Spinningfields

Take your pick from The Little Library’s carefully curated collection of classics and new releases, adding a recently read book of your own as a replacement.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire – Streaming on Mubi

Brittany, France 1770. Portrait painter Marianne (Merlant) is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse (Haenel), a reluctant bride to be who has just left the convent.

Bacurau – Streaming on Mubi

The follow-up to Aquarius from director Kleber Mendonça Filho, this time co-directing and co-writing with long term producer Juliano Dornelles merges sci-fi, the western, Brazilian bandit movies (cangaço) and horror for a highly original and ultra-violent look at a town under siege from a mysterious threat.

Dogs Don’t Wear Pants – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

Heart surgeon Juha has lived life at an unengaged distance since his wife’s passing. And although it is often debilitating, his grief also throws up some rather surprising sexual urges.

System Crasher – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

Controversial from the moment it premiered in Competition at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival, documentarian Nora Fingscheidt’s fiction feature debut portrays the life of a chaotic and troubled young girl.

Posters from the Irish civil rights era – Online with the Working Class Movement Library

Working Class Movement Library presents an online exhibition of powerful posters made by young activists fighting for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The Living Planet – Online at FACT, Liverpool

FACT’s year-long programme, The Living Planet, seems even more timely than first imagined – and has been created for people to interact with and enjoy remotely for free online.

What it is to be here: Colonisation and Resistance – Online at The Portico Library

The Portico Library marks 250 years since British explorer James Cook first landed on the shores of what we now call Australia with an online exhibition that explores the history of violence and resistance that followed.

Homemakers

NOW EXTENDED: HOME have invited theatre and live art makers to create new works at home, for an audience who are also at home. 

The Gardener Digs in Another Time – Online at the Whitworth

the Whitworth in Manchester invites you to step into the garden as subject with an online version of its 2016 exhibition, The Gardener Digs in Another Time.

The Irishman – Streaming on Netflix

Martin Scorsese’s epic saga of organised crime in postwar America, The Irishman weaves an engrossing and intricate web of connected events, audaciously cutting back and forth across decades.

Marriage Story – Streaming on Netflix

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson excel as a couple whose once enviable union crumbles under the weight of mounting resentments and divergent needs.

Stop Making Sense – Streaming on BFI Player

Jonathan Demme x Talking Heads. Find out why Stop Making Sense is widely regarded as the greatest concert film ever made.

Black Narcissus – Streaming on Apple TV

Bigger Than Life presents a 35mm screening of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1947 film, Black Narcissus at Stockport Plaza on Sunday 2nd September with an introduction by film scholar, Andrew Moor.

Rafiki – Streaming on BFI Player

Now showing on BFI Player is Wanuri Kahiu lyrical lesbian romance, Rafiki. Notable as the…

Never Rarely Sometimes Always – Streaming on Amazon Prime

One of the most noteworthy films to be released direct to streaming during lockdown so far, Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a vital depiction of women’s rights in the contemporary United States.

Life Drawing Manchester Online Classes

The popular Northern Quarter community, Life Drawing Manchester, have migrated to zoom, opening up their classes to models and artists from all over the world.

Everything that rises must dance with HOME

Produced by Complicité for Homemakers: Join a virtual gathering of women for an online dance project celebrating female movement throughout history.

Hamilton – Streaming on Disney Plus

Politically charged with a hip-hop soundtrack, there is no doubt that this filmed performance is one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of 2020.

Swallows and Amazons For Ever! at Windermere Jetty Museum

Celebrate the spirit of adventure, learn more about the Cumbrian landscape and uncover the inspiration behind Arthur Ransome’s classic tale.

Parasite – Streaming on Amazon Prime

Bong Joon-ho’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning thriller finally hits UK cinema screens this February following months of awards, nominations and critical adulation.

What is Manchester Art Gallery? at Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester Art Gallery reopens with a thought-provoking new exhibition that delves into the history of the public institution and its role within the city.

She Dies Tomorrow – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

After waking up convinced that she is going to die tomorrow, Amy’s (Kate Lyn Sheil) belief begins to spread to those around her.

User Not Found: A Video Podcast with HOME

Exploring digital legacy and online identity, acclaimed theatre-makers Dante or Die are back with a video podcast version of their hugely successful show.

Don McCullin at Tate Liverpool

Tate Liverpool presents a major retrospective of work by Don McCullin, widely considered to be one of the greatest photojournalists of our time.

Psappha 2020/21 Concert Season

Psappha’s 2020–21 season explores the sharpest and smartest sounds in contemporary classical music, presented in concert and streamed online for free.

Aid Workers: Ethics Under Fire at Imperial War Museum North

Aid Workers: Ethics Under Fire at Imperial War Museum North takes a close look at the moral dilemmas surrounding overseas aid.

On the Rocks – Streaming on Apple TV+

Escapades and hi-jinks in moneyed Manhattan, Sofia Coppola’s new film is a pleasurable throwback to the golden age of screwball comedy.

One Man and His Shoes – Streaming on BFI Player

British filmmaker Yemi Bamiro looks stateside as he surveys the Nike Air Jordan phenomenon.

The Sheffield Project at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield

Commissioned in the mid-1980s, The Sheffield Project focused a lens on a unique chapter in the city’s history, when it embarked on a journey of radical change.

Make Up – Streaming on BBC iPlayer

Cornwall has seldom seemed eerier than in Make-Up, the vivid first feature from director Claire Oakley.

Mogul Mowgli – Streaming on BFI Player

Although his cutting lyrics speak provocatively about identity politics, it is not until Zed (Riz Ahmed) returns home after two years on tour that he is called by his real name: Zaheer.

Shirley – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

Josephine Decker’s psychodrama blurs the boundaries of biopic and fiction in exploring the cruel forces that can feed creativity.

L– A City Through Its People at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool

Open Eye Gallery pays tribute to the proud city it calls home with three exhibitions about the people who live there.

Small Axe – Streaming on BBC iPlayer

Small Axe is a brand new series of films set in Londons West Indian community from 12 Years A Slave director, Steve McQueen.

Fabric of the North: Gift Directory

Fabric of the North is a blog with an excellent gift directory. They champion independents maker from across the North who are creating beautiful and ethical work.

Fun & Games: Playtime, Past & Present at The Portico Library and Online

Fun & Games at The Portico Library explores the evolution and traditions of games and play throughout the ages up to today.

#WELCOME? at the People’s History Museum

#WELCOME? at the People’s History Museum explores the wider impact of media coverage and changing immigration controls.

The Hallé Winter Season 2020/21

The Hallé returns to the stage for a streamed Winter Season packed with world premieres, Manchester originals, the familiar and the new.

The Hallé – Fanfare for the Hallé

The first concert in the Hallé’s Winter Season sees Sir Mark Elder conduct two glorious Romantic works plus a world premiere by Huw Watkins.

Obstructions at Castlefield Gallery & Online

Castlefield Gallery presents ‘Obstructions’ – a rather unconventional group show about the freedoms within restriction, and rules that are sometimes there to be broken.

The Hallé – Roderick Williams sings Butterworth

The Hallé is joined by baritone Roderick Williams for a programme of works that reflect on the poignancy and fragility of human life.

Wolfwalkers – Streaming on Apple TV+

Aspiring young aspiring hunter Robyn Goodfellowe arrives in Ireland alongside her father, who has been tasked with exterminating a local wolf pack.

Unhappy at being left behind while her father sets to work, Robyn ventures into the local forest where she meets Mebh (Eva Whittaker) and is inadvertently drawn into the world of the wolfwalkers — an endangered tribe who transform into wolves when they sleep. There have been favourable comparisons with the work of famed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, in part due to the gorgeous two dimensional style which combines woodcut design and free, expressive hand drawing.

Those comparisons also take into account Wolfwalkers’ focus on childhood and fables, as well as its interest in balance in the natural world. Moore is a co-founder of Kilkenny studio Cartoon Saloon who co-produce here with Melusine Productions, and there is a throughline here from his Irish-folklore themed previous features The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea.

The film has been compared to the work of Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli due not only to the beautiful hand drawn animation techniques, but its interest in magic, balance and the natural world. This is absolutely an Irish production though, right from its traditional stylings to the voice work from Kildare’s Eva Whittaker, who graces the film with a wonderfully feral performance as troublemaking wolfwalker, Mebh.

Aliza Nisenbaum at Tate Liverpool

International portrait artist Aliza Nisenbaum will present a new painting at Tate Liverpool this winter, depicting members of the city’s key workers.

Half an Hour of Calm with Mindful Manchester

Join Breathworks teacher Bridget Fitzpatrick on a Wednesday morning or evening for half an hour of calm, where you can focus on just being rather than doing.

Postal Exhibition Print Programme from OUTPUT

OUTPUT in Liverpool launches a new programme of mail-based exhibitions, sending original artwork directly to your home.

African Apocalypse – Streaming on BFI Player

When British-Nigerian poet and activist Femi Nylander discovered Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the novel that Barack Obama claims helped him understand why ‘white people are afraid’, he was immediately drawn to understanding this distorted vision of Africa.

American Utopia – Streaming on Amazon Prime

In his wildly popular Broadway show American Utopia, David Byrne reflects on human connections, life and how on earth we work through it.

The Woman Who Ran – Streaming on MUBI

While her husband is on a business trip, Gamhee meets three of her friends. She visits the first two at their homes, and the third she encounters by chance at a theatre.

Babyteeth – Streaming on Netflix

Babyteeth, the debut feature from Australian director Shannon Murphy, balances heartbreak and humour, with a little grit, as it depicts one teenager’s struggle with cancer.

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema

It’s the final night for Las Vegas dive bar The Roaring 20s, in Bill and Turner Ross’ extraordinary hybrid docu-fiction film Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets.

Discover Buxton Tram Tours

Enjoy a journey through time on Discover Buxton Tour’s unique vintage tram.

Discover Buxton Character Tours

These colourful character guides offer unique and entertaining insights into the history of some of Buxton’s most iconic buildings.

Discover Buxton Walking Tours

Have your history delivered by expert guides whose passion for the heritage of Buxton spills into the unexpected.

Discover Buxton Roman Tours

Join local historian Brian Shepherd for a walk around the town and learn what Buxton may have looked like during Britain’s Roman occupation.

Discover Buxton Audio Tours

Discover Buxton’s audio tours of The Peak cover the area around Buxton and are designed to be enjoyed from the comfort of your own vehicle.

World of Music Choir (Spring 2021)

Join the World of Music Choir to learn a mixture of traditional and modern tunes. With no previous experience necessary and an ethos of no judgement, it’s the most friendly introduction to group singing you could wish for.

Pakui Hardware at BALTIC in Gateshead

Lithuanian artist duo Pakui Hardware presents an immersive art installation about the future and ethics of virtual health care.

Hardeep Sahota: Bhangra Lexicon – Online

The world’s first ‘visual dictionary’ of movements found within Bhangra, compiled by World Bhangra Day founder, Hardeep Sahota.

My First Protest Song online with the People’s History Museum

My First Protest Song goes online. Round up the family and join Matt Hill for this live-streamed event full of toe-tapping tunes.

NQ Jazz Live – Postponed

NQ Jazz have teamed up with The Stoller Hall and The Yard to bring us dozens of COVID-safe jazz events featuring established and emerging artists.

The Hallé – The Event Horizon

The Hallé are joined by poet laureate Simon Armitage, virtuoso saxophonist Jess Gillam and Former Hallé Assistant Conductor Jonathon Heyward.

One Night in Miami – Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

One Night in Miami is a fictional account of one incredible night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered discussing their roles in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 60s.

POSTPONED – AI: More than Human at World Museum Liverpool

Barbican’s major exhibition, AI: More than Human, comes to Liverpool, offering a tantlising look into the future.

Vision & Reality: 100 Years of Contemporary Art in Wakefield at The Hepworth Wakefield

100 years of contemporary art in one sitting? Feast your eyes at The Hepworth Wakefield and discover the story behind its remarkable collection.

No Such Thing – The Distance Edition

Manchester-based award-winning theatre and performance company Quarantine host an online version of their monthly get-together.

The Hallé – Movie Classics

Presented by the BBC’s Petroc Trelawny and conducted by Stephen Bell, the Hallé celebrates classical music on the silver screen.

Science Photographer of the Year online exhibition – part of Manchester Science Festival 2021

Part of Manchester Science Festival 2021, this online exhibition showcases the stand-out entries to the Royal Photographic Society’s prestigious Science Photographer of the Year competition.