A new late-night market is coming to Manchester city centre’s new waterside neighbourhood Kampus this June, bringing with it a host of indie street food traders.
The new monthly night market will see Kampus buzzing with much-loved artisan brands, packing out the garden and Little David Street for the perfect laid-back summer evening of food, drink and music.
Open from 6-10pm, it will kick off on Thursday 9 June – bringing down Portuguese custard tard purveyors Just Natas, Japanese street food traders Osaka Local, and Afro-British fusion chefs Bon St Local.
Just Natas will be in attendance at the first Kampus x Ancoats Pop-Up night market. / Image: Just Natas
Elsewhere, there will be art on display from local print artists and a selection of drinks from local distillery Witch Kings Rum.
The limited run of summer night markets will continue throughout the summer – staged on Thursday 14 July, 11 August and 15 September.
The announcement follows the runaway success of a previous collab between Kampus and Ancoats Pop-Up, which saw a weekend day market on the last Sunday of the month already drawing thousands to Kampus, opposite Manchester’s Canal Street.
Osaka Local will be at the night market with its gorgeous okonomiyaki pancakes. / Image: The Manc Eats
Speaking on the new event series, Alice Longson, of Ancoats Pop-Up, said: “This is our first ever night market and we’re chuffed to be bringing something new to Manchester’s thriving independent scene. T
“The Kampus garden is a hidden oasis, it’ll be the perfect place to spend a really chilled evening sampling some of the city’s best street food indies and supporting artisan makers.
Image: Supplied
“Our monthly weekend markets have proved a hit at Kampus and this is a lovely, limited run for the summer to showcase our city’s best creatives on the, hopefully warm, summer nights.”
Adam Brady, of HBD, added: “This summer feels like a real celebration at Kampus. It’s our first proper summer without social distancing restrictions and we’ve a massive programme of pop-ups, events, exhibitions and openings.
“With our residents now fully immersed in neighbourhood life, it’s brilliant to be adding more to the experience of what it’s like to live here, as well as become one of the must-visit destinations in Manchester.”
Feature image – Supplied
City Centre
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – a masterclass in comedy, colour and movement
Danny Jones
To start with, we’re going to begin this review by advocating for going into stage shows with as little knowledge as possible because it only dials up the already exaggerated nature even further – we knew next to nothing about Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat before seeing it in Manchester.
And we truly think it helped.
Now, when we say nothing, we’ve obviously heard the title plenty of times over the years as it remains one of the most celebrated musical productions on the planet, and you don’t need to be an avid theatre buff to know who Andrew Lloyd Webber is. The point being is that all we knew was its reputation.
Going along with a second party several decades older than us who shared the same blindspot and just never quite understood what all the fuss was about makes the next part even funnier: we both loved it.
Colour, colour and more colour.Some impressive yet superbly simple production value.Our review of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Opera House in Manchester. (Credit: Press Tristram Kenton)
We’re not going to dive too heavily into the story as we’re sure plenty of you who are more well-versed in the genre don’t need a synopsis regurgitating for the umpteenth time, but what we will say is that we’re somewhat glad we weren’t aware of its religious themes and numerous biblical references.
Not because we have any particular issue with Christianity nor adapting stories within theologies to turn them into entertainment, but because as atheists we probably would have been less keen to choose this particular text over another.
However, this is why we’re thankful for going in blind as we fear many others have missed out on this long-standing vibrant, energetic, all-singing, all-dancing twist on the tale of Genesis for decades simply due to being non-believers/agnostic.
That being said, we can confidently assure you that not only can you put your thoughts on faith to one side for the duration of the performance but, for us at least, it felt like it was more of an undercurrent than anything else and had little bearing on what a truly joyful evening for all ages.
You also get hand-held through it through the eyes of the children being retold the story right in front of you by the expert narrator, Christina Bianco, whose interventions and comic timing were lethal on a crowd already easily cracked up by a punchline or two – but she had the best of the lot.
Where else to begin than with Joseph himself, played by Adam Filipe, who although we’ll admit to being layman on the subject until last night, feels almost born to play the role.
Not only did he bring respite to an otherwise frenetic (in the best way possible) onslaught of singing with his ability to deliver certain lines as nothing more than perfectly enunciated and emotional speech, but his voice was on point throughout and the way he made full use of the stage from the start was great.
One particularly immature slide up the curved wall of the set in the opening five minutes and we knew all we needed to know about not just movement but the rest of the cast too; pretty much non-stop movement and expression virtually at all times.
The dancing – particularly a rather hilarious ‘can-can’ confusion – was top-notch throughout and no matter which bright, flowing costume he or the ensemble was wearing during a specific number, they all looked the part and didn’t put a foot out of place.
Even a more serious interlude was welcome.We’d have loved more yellow-forward moment and backdrops in the palette but that’s just us being picky…Credit: Press Images
But much to our delight, there really wasn’t one standout performance that stood head and shoulders above the rest, simply because they were all brilliant.
Whether it was the Jacobs and Sons company of brothers bringing both melodrama and some comic relief, or the score of female dancers delivering an elegance and added level of pageantry to proceedings, they all played their part.
However, every time one or more of the kids took to the stage a show-stealing moment was ripe for the picking and they all seized their opportunity, be it in unison or in the select few solo moments in the spotlight. An audience is always going to get up for youngsters shining front and centre.
But, we suppose if we absolutely had to give another special mention to another member of the production and single them out, there’s only one person it could be…
Having previously played the lead role back in 2016 following his X-Factor success, Joe McElderry returns to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the Manc crowd in the role of the Pharoah and boy was he good having passed the baton and shifted gears. So good and so funny.
As well as an expert command of light, colour and choreography, the one thing we were surprised by was just how well-placed the comedy was throughout.
Not too much, not too little and nothing too contrived – a hard balance to strike and one that helps ease in those rare typically theatre-goers prone to a touch of cringe.
All in all, we sincerely urge you to go and see this show for yourselves, especially if you’re like us and have never given it a chance before. You won’t regret it.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is on in Manchester until Sunday, 9 March. You can still grab tickets HERE.
In case you were wondering who stole the show in @JosephMusical at the @PalaceAndOpera, they all did… but we'll admit the Pharoah is a bit of a legend. 😅👏
Man named and charged in relation to Manchester van and tram crash that killed three-year-old girl
Emily Sergeant
A man has been named and charged after a van and a tram collided in Manchester city centre this past weekend.
It comes after emergency services responded to reports of a road traffic collision involving a tram and a van in Mosley Street in Manchester city centre at around 10am this past Saturday (22 February), where it was found that the van collided with the tram, forcing the van onto the pavement where it collided with a pedestrian.
The pedestrian, a three-year-old girl, was rushed to hospital, but despite the best efforts of all involved, sadly passed away from her injuries.
A scene remained in place around the Mosley Street, Booth Street, and Nicholas Street areas whilst officers conducted their investigations over the weekend.
The scene of the incident on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre / Credit: The Manc Group
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) had previously issued a widespread public appeal to find the driver of the van after he fled the scene shortly after, and officers had been following ‘several lines of enquiry’ to locate him.
It was reported that the suspect was ‘identified’ on Monday morning (24 February), and now, GMP has named the driver as Rawal Rehman, of Lambton Road in Manchester.
The 35-year-old has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving and will appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court today (26 February).
#CHARGED | Rawal Rehman (28/11/89) of Lambton Road, Manchester, has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
The charge relates to the death of three-year-old Louisa (Lulu) Palmisano following a collision in Manchester city centre.
The little girl who lost her life in the tragic incident was named Louisa (Lulu) Palmisano.
Her family wrote in a heartbreaking tribute to her yesterday: “Louisa was the sweetest, kindest, and most generous little girl. She was full of creativity and joy, and she absolutely loved going to nursery every day.
“Her absence has left a devastating void in our family – she was our only child, our whole world. We were simply enjoying a happy family day out in Manchester when this unimaginable tragedy struck. In an instant, our lives were shattered beyond repair.
Georgina Pellant -
20th May 2022 
