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There are loads of things to do in March in Manchester and across the North.
In theatre, Back To The Future The Musical at Manchester Opera House continues to make audiences party like it’s 1985 (or should that be 1955?). Figs in Wigs bring a pleasing blend of fierce feminist performance art, dance and avant-garde humour to HOME with Little Wimmin, where you can also see cult cabaret duo Bourgeois and Maurice’s time-travelling comedy Insane Animals. Staged in a former cotton exchange, Rockets and Blue Lights is an award-winning play that confronts an ugly time in history head-on. Then finally RNCM Opera presents a daring adaptation of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, by composer Jonathan Dove and librettist Alasdair Middleton.
In Halifax, Alice Irwin’s giant sculptures at The Piece Hall embody a spirit of play, early innocence and imagination. Yet, People Play also has a more serious side. Gallery Oldham presents a nationally touring exhibition of photographs by Yorkshire-born Syd Shelton, capturing the legendary Rock Against Racism movement. Welsh artist Phoebe Davies presents a new body of work at Sheffield’s Site Gallery inspired by her time spent with a group of teenage female wrestlers. The High Dam at The Tetley in Leeds is the latest new work by upcoming artist Emii Alrai. Towards the end of March, Suzanne Lacy: We Are Here opens at Manchester Art Gallery and marks the only UK stop of a major touring retrospective dedicated to the American feminist artist.
Picturehouse at FACT’s cult strand goes back to the 80s with a mini-season of films by cult auteur, David Lynch. In a similar vein, Grimmfest presents a celebration of David Cronenberg at Stockport Plaza — think you can handle a day-long session? Head to Sheffield’s Reel Steel Cult Weekender Film Festival for three days of action, justice-dealing cyborgs and Studio Ghibli — including rare 35mm screenings.
It’s a great month for classical music with stand-out concerts from BBC Philharmonic who begin March with Beethoven – Mass in C Major, bridging church and concert hall better than almost any other work. The Halle take us Beyond the Score with a breathtaking multimedia experience of Beethoven’s iconic Fifth Symphony. Elsewhere, virtuoso pianist Benjamin Powell joins the Northern Chamber Orchestra for an exciting programme of Shostakovich, Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Handel.
Gig-wise, Manchester-based Julia Bardo is making a big splash with her 1960’s-leaning pop. With rumbles of a breakthrough year ahead, don’t miss the chance to catch her in a venue as intimate as YES. The last decade has seen a new crop of ambient artists come to the fore. One of the most experimentally-minded of these is Steve Hauschildt, who plays The Yard.
Following the success of 16 sell-out seasons of the popular Carol Ann Duffy & Friends evening, the former Poet Laureate is back to introduce a new crop of student writers, plus guest poets Andrew McMillan and Ella Duffy, and a bit of live music to boot.
Finally, Aerial, a new festival of contemporary music, literature and performance takes place in and around the Lake District town of Ambleside.
Why not use the improving weather to take a trip into Manchester and the North for the best things to do in March, ranging from acclaimed music performances to stunning exhibitions and you can find some great places to eat and drink too.
Things to do in March
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Liverpool Biennial 2021 – The Stomach and the Port
Liverpool Biennial has been rescheduled for 2021 – better late than never we say! We cannot wait to see what they have planned.
Still showing this month
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vision & Reality: 100 Years of Contemporary Art in Wakefield at The Hepworth Wakefield
Wakefield’s art collection was established in the 1920s to nurture a public understanding of contemporary art and its relation to modern life – a collecting principle still followed by The Hepworth Wakefield today.
This exhibition will demonstrate how the collection has been strategically developed over nearly 10 years since The Hepworth Wakefield opened.
Vision & Reality features works of art selected in order to address historic imbalances in the collection or to enrich narratives explored by artists in shifting contexts over the decades. A number of previously unseen new acquisitions will go on display for the first time, enabling new stories to be told and showing how contemporary narratives and ideas can cast new light on historical works of art.
The exhibition will also showcase major gifts to Wakefield’s collection, from the War Artists Advisory Committee works gifted in the 1940s, to the first public display of a very significant bequest of ceramics and paintings by Yorkshire collectors Terence Bacon and John Oldham in 2020.
This is a fascinating opportunity to see the ambition and depth embodied in Wakefield’s significant public art collection and how it continues to be a vital and growing resource.
This exhibition is kindly supported by The Hepworth Wakefield Collection Circle.
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.
Related Guides
Online events
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Jazz in Manchester
Some tops picks of weekly live jazz gigs and jam nights from across the city. Whether you’re a jazz player or appreciator, there’s something for everyone.
Nightclubs in Manchester
Manchester today offers such a variety of venues at which to feel young and alive, you’d be a fool not to check out the city’s solid-gold after hours scene.
August Bank Holiday
Looking for things to do over the August Bank Holiday? Near fear, we’ve put together a handpicked list of things to do in Manchester and the North this August Bank Holiday weekend.
Father’s Day
This year’s Father’s Day is Sunday 16th June. Get out and about and spend some quality time with the old man in Manchester.
Music Venues in Cumbria
When the sun goes down and you’ve had your fair share of Cumbria’s great outdoors, head to the area’s music venues to catch folk and jazz sessions, as well as regular performances by touring musicians. We recommend some of our favourites.
Things to do right now
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