1. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Palace Theatre Manchester

Monday 9 May – onwards

There are still a few weeks left to catch Disney’s Beauty and the Beast before it departs from Manchester’s iconic Palace Theatre.

Based on the hit 1991 film, this new musical production features some iconic songs from the smash-hit animation, including Be Our Guest, Belle and Beauty and the Beast whilst also uniting some members of its original Broadway team. Spectacular new designs and state-of-the-art technology fuse with the classic story, as the timeless romantic tale is brought to life on stage like never before, with all the charm and elegance audiences expect from Belle and her Beast.

You can find out more and grab tickets here.

2. Manchester Jazz Festival

–  mjf is the city’s longest-running music festival and is an established part of Manchester’s cultural heritage.

About mjf:

First staged in the summer of 1996, the annual festival has grown to feature hundreds of musicians, across 80 – 100 free and charged events each year.

Along with our festival hub, which now runs the length of St Ann’s Square and Exchange Street, we spread the festival across the city in new venues each year as well as established favourites such as RNCM, Matt & Phreds, St Ann’s Church and Band on the Wall.

Come along and see how they celebrate musical innovations, creativity and pushing musical boundaries.

Check out their Programme and shows

 

3. ‘I Am’ by SICK! Festival 2022

St Peter’s Square

Monday 9 May – 31 May

A new free photography exhibition, titled ‘I Am’, featuring candid portraits of domestic abuse survivors is currently on show in Manchester as part of the SICK! Festival 2022.

I Am is a new collection of portraits by award-winning photographer Allie Crewe, commissioned by SICK! Festival and developed in partnership with domestic abuse charity, SafeLives. Her bold and powerful images bear witness to the lives and experiences of survivors of domestic violence from Manchester and across the UK.

SICK! Festival will present 12 images as a public exhibition in St Peter’S Square and across Greater Manchester’s Metrolink network. Taking the project into the heart of the city, they aim to challenge the narratives around domestic abuse and the perceptions of those affected.

When a person leaves a violent or controlling relationship they have often lost their core identity. I Am is an opportunity for transformation, for new identities to emerge and for new journeys to begin.

Allie Crewe is a photographer who seeks narratives of survival and resilience, exploring the stories of those who grow, who build a new lives and embrace change. Through an intensive, research-based approach, she identifies tenderness, beauty and vulnerability in her sitters. In 2019, she won the BJP Portrait of Britain. She has been artist in residence with SafeLives throughout the development of I Am.

You can find out more here.

 

4. New Restaurant in town!

Looking for some new restaurants and bars to try out that have just opened in Manchester city centre this month?

With a whole host of bank holidays stretching ahead of us this month, May gives us plenty of free time on the horizon and even more new restaurants and bars to visit in Manchester city centre and beyond.

   

Think Italian subs, the return of sit-down Lazy Tony’s lasagne, a new Spring Gardens cocktail bar from Gordon Ramsay’s former bars boss, sushi, sashimi and (maybe) even a new dumpling place.

You can read our round-up to find out where to put on your list this month here.

 

5. Cloudwater X Levanter – Ireland

– KAMPUS

Manchester’s neighbourhood KAMPUS will play host to a solid ten weeks of back-to-back block parties from its canalside garden, with each weekend seeing guest DJs take to the decks to spin tunes from different corners of the world – and this weekend’s event is celebrating Ireland and its much-loved culture.

Free-flowing beer will come courtesy of Manchester brewery Cloudwater, and food will be provided by Ramsbottom favourites Levanter serving up tapas, giant paella, and charcuterie boards aplenty.

This weekend, you can expect fresh imported beer from our neighbours, folk music, spoken word artists, and stalls.

You can find out more here.