MAIN EVENT
friendly exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale where children can explore all aspects of the natural world.
Kids can discover the dark swamplands of millions of years ago right up to our future planet and what it might look like.
Dippy will be in Rochdale from February 10 to June 28, 2020.
Back to the Future the Musical world-premiere
THE highly-anticipated Back to the Future The Musical will have its world-premiere at the Manchester Opera House in February 2020.
Based on the 1985 movie and pop-culture phenomenon, theatre-goers will be transported to the stage and promises to send audiences on an “electrifying” ride through time with and all-new score along with the original movie hits including The Power of Love, Johnny B Goode, Earth Angel and Back in Time.
Street Feast to bring street food concept to Manchester
AFTER several years of rumours, Jonathan Downey, co-founder of the iconic London street-food group Street Feast has announced that their flagship food festival is coming to Manchester this year.
Manchester-born Downey is rumoured to be looking at several sites with plans to open possibly three locations in the city-region.
Manchester already has a successful track history of transforming former derelict and disused industrial spaces into buzzing markets and food halls – see Mackie Mayor, GRUB and Hatch – so all eyes will be watching for updates.
Whitworth opens the British Art Show 2020
FIVE years following a £15 million development, the beautiful Whitworth art gallery has so far announced: a new Whitworth Collection show Utopias from January 2020; a major exhibition by the American artist Suzanne Lacy from April 2020; and perhaps most significantly, the Whitworth, HOME and Manchester Art Gallery will be the opening venues of the British Art Show 9 – the biggest touring exhibition of contemporary art in the UK – from October 2020 before it moves on to Wolverhampton, Aberdeen then Plymouth.
WEEK 53 festival to return to The Lowry arts centre
NOW in its third edition, The Lowry’s Week 53 festival will explore the theme of power in its many forms and expressions when it returns to Salford next year.
Through eight new commissions, WEEK 53 will aim to challenge and question dominating structures and hierarchies, in politics, gender, media and culture.
The programme asks the questions: Who has power?
Can power be distributed differently? How do historic power dynamics still influence today’s realities?
A new Le Gateau Chocolat commission called Pandora is the festival’s first announcement and will be Le Gateau Chocolat’s biggest solo show to date, accompanied by a 15-piece orchestra from Manchester Camerata. WEEK 53 also coincides with The Lowry’s 20th birthday. From April 24 to May 3, 2020.
A busy schedule at DEPOT at Mayfield
THE 10,000-capacity venue operated by Broadwick Venues for night life and culture located at Manchester’s historic former railway Mayfield station
As part of the £1 billion regeneration of the Mayfield neighbourhood, the Depot launched in summer 2019 with events as part of the Manchester International Festival 2019 and Manchester Pride and then became the new home of iconic Manchester clubbing series, The Warehouse Project throughout autumn 2019.
In 2020 expect to see the venue animated with a range of special cultural events, seasonal activities and food experiences.
Depot is intended to operate as a venue and arts space while the wider Mayfield neighbourhood masterplan develops around it.
Contact Theatre re-opens AFTER three years of work, the major transformation of the current Contact Theatre building on Oxford Road into a state-ofthe-art performance venue will complete in 2020.
A grand reopening over the weekend of September 12-13, 2020 and will feature a new commission by artist Richard de Dominici.
The opening season will include Paper Cinema’s Macbeth, a retelling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein using beat box, gigs and theatre and a family Christmas show, Forest of Forgotten Discos.
Band on the Wall reopens
Iconic Northern Quarter music venue Band on the
Wall is due to reopen in autumn 2020 following significant expansion plans.
Inner City Music
Limited, the charity that owns and operates the multi-award-winning music venue, will reopen the Victorian Cocozza building at the rear of the venue.
The opening will uncover the social and musical history of the two buildings and the local Northern Quarter and Ancoats neighbourhoods. Plans will see the main venue capacity increased from 340 to 520; new flexible studio classroom and rehearsal spaces; a second 80-capacity venue for live music and film screenings; and digital displays with short films celebrating the history of the Northern Quarter and its communities. There will also be a programme of events for the community, rooted in the music and culture of Manchester’s migrant histories.