Palace Theatre

Creative Tourist

Visit now

Palace Theatre

97 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6FT
0844 871 3019
Palace Theatre Manchester
Image courtesy of Palace Theatre Manchester.
Book now

One of Manchester’s greatest theatres:  The Palace Theatre, was originally known as the Manchester Palace of Varieties and opened in 1891. Designed by the architect Alfred Darbyshire, it had an initial capacity of 3,675. However, over the years the seating size has been reduced to accommodate an extended stage and dressing room facilities.

Following its opening on 18 May 1891, The Palace focused on classical works – a spectacular ballet of Cleopatra was the first production to grace the stage. However, the theatre soon found its niche in inviting more popular performers to its stage. Judy Garland, Gracie Fields, Noël Coward and Laurel and Hardy were among the names who played The Palace from the 1930s onwards.

Steeped in history, The Palace took a direct hit from a German bomb during the Manchester Blitz in 1940. Presenting an Italian Renaissance architectural style, the original features – including the impressive façade and round-arch windows – managed to survive. The building then underwent a full refurbishment in the late 1970s and reopened in 1981 with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar.

Many touring productions have opened at The Palace, including the hit Broadway and West End musical, The Producers in 2007 starring Peter Kay. Other notable regional premieres have included Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Mamma Mia! and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Paying homage to its classical roots, the theatre staged the world première of Rufus Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna, in association with Opera North, during the Manchester International Festival of 2009.

With a particular focus on touring productions, musicals, opera and ballet, The Palace Theatre remains one of Manchester‘s major venues and is one of the best-equipped and popular theatres outside London.

What's on near Palace Theatre

The Same Deep Water as You at PINK
ExhibitionsStockport
The Same Deep Water as You at PINK

Get involved in this artistic and ambitious takeover of PINK’s three-storey venue, weaving together live performance, video, sculpture and sound.

Free entry
Walking Tour Stock imagery
Until
ActivityCity Centre
The Manchester Music Walkabout

Manchester’s famous musical legacy comes to life in this walking tour around the city, which will take you from the 1960s to the present day.

From £25.00
Manchester Town Hall
TourManchester
The Magical Mystery Bike Tour

Hop on your bike for this guided cycling tour, exploring fascinating corners of Manchester you may never have seen before.

From £25.00

Where to go near Palace Theatre

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Bundobust Brewery

Launched in 2021, the Bundobust Brewery makes modern beer with their vegetarian and vegan food menu in mind.

The glass atrium inside The Refuge
City Centre
Restaurant
The Refuge

The Refuge is a restaurant and bar based at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, specialising in bright, exciting small plates.

Bundobust Oxford Road
Manchester
Restaurant
Bundobust Oxford Road

Bundobust Oxford Road is the latest addition to the ever-growing alt-Indian food chain. Opens spring in the St James Building on Manchester’s Oxford Road.

City Centre
Restaurant
Real Junk Food Project Manchester

Enjoy a gourmet lunch for whatever price you feel and help fight food waste. Real Junk Food Project Manchester has final found a permanent home, ideally located along Oxford Road, and business is booming.

City Centre
Restaurant
Nudo Sushi Box

Nudo Sushi Box on Manchester’s Oxford Road specialises in freshly-prepared boxes of – you guessed it – sushi.

Ditto Coffee Manchester
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Ditto Coffee Manchester

Ditto Coffee is a coffee shop specialising in independent music and speciality coffee. This Manchester coffee shop is the second from the Liverpool-based Ditto Music company.

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.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
The Temple

Originally called The Temple of Convenience owing to its former life as a public toilet block, this is a tiny bar with some of the finest bathroom graffiti in town.

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.

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.

Society Manchester
City Centre
Society Manchester

Society Manchester is a glorious indoor and outdoor space in the very heart of the city, with five street food vendors to choose from and a range of high-quality drinks.

Culture Guides

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.

Hannah Platt 'Playing Out', courtesy of Threshold, photograph by Jules Lister.
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.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.