Rescued from dereliction by the Northern Ballet School in 1990, The Dancehouse was restored to its 1930s Art Deco glory and reopened in 1994 as a theatre and dance studio. The 35, 000 square foot venue stages cabaret acts, comedy shows, talks and cinema screenings as well as functioning as a ballet training institution.
Voka Gentle return to Manchester with a headline show in YES Basement, bringing new material that pushes their already elastic sound into darker, stranger territory.
From £14.50
Sorry return to Manchester with a new album that finally captures the full strangeness and clarity of a band who’ve spent years ducking easy categorisation.
From £23.25
The Modernist presents a body of acrylic landscapes by Salford-based artist Peter James Houghton, shaped by themes of societal decline, hiraeth and human isolation.
Free entry
Company Chameleon return with Obscura, a physically demanding double-bill exploring the hidden corners of self and society.
Adapting Ken Loach’s acclaimed film, I, Daniel Blake returns to HOME, revisiting a story whose urgency has only sharpened with time.
HOME presents ‘Roots in the Sky’, a group exhibition and curatorial project by British-Nigerian artist Tunji Adeniyi-Jones.
Coinciding with the release of Richard Linklater’s film Nouvelle Vague, this HOME course offers an accessible overview of one of cinema’s most influential movements.
From £65
The Hallé invites audiences to a year of classical masterpieces, world premieres and appearances by some electrifying artists and composers.
From £17
Manchester Wine Tours is a relaxed, fun wine tour, full of the city’s best food and drink, led by an effortlessly engaging host.
Friendly pub under a railway arch serving vegetarian and vegan pub food, as well as hosting regular live music.
Refined steakhouse with smart, low-lit decor, boasting some of the finest cuts of meat in the city.
Independent Leeds-based brewery North has opened its first Manchester taproom, in Oxford Road’s Circle Square neighbourhood.
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 does excellent, reasonably priced Lebanese food – including sharwarma, pickles, meshawi grills and baklawa – in a beautifully tiled, high-ceilinged space.
Beer, cocktails and Asian street food at one of Manchester’s friendliest bars.
HATCH is Manchester’s pop-up retail, food and drink destination on Oxford Road.
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 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
Panchos Burritos is a Mexican street food vendor in the Arndale Market.
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.
Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.
Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.
Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.
Step away from the usual. Tours and activities that spark curiosity, inspire creativity and offer something refreshingly different.
This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.
Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.
There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.
