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Bumper programme of Christmas events lined up at Manchester’s beautiful Bridgewater Hall

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 7th December 2022

The Bridgewater Hall has unveiled its series of Christmas events, featuring family-friendly events, Christmas carol sing-alongs, and magical ballet. 

The festive season at the beautiful arts venue will be absolutely packed with seasonal cheer and incredible performances. 

Several of the events are geared towards younger theatre-goers, including Raymond Briggs’ animated classic The Snowman and the Halle’s Family Concert. 

On Christmas Eve, people will be invited to sing along to Christmas classics, with an orchestra and a choir. 

Here’s everything included in The Bridgewater Hall’s Christmas events series.

A Dickensian Christmas – 11 December

A Dickensian Christmas at Bridgewater Hall
A Dickensian Christmas at Bridgewater Hall. Credit: Publicity picture

This event will feature a selection of Victorian carols, classics, and readings from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. 

Songs will include Joy to the World, Ding Dong Merrily on High, and In the Bleak Midwinter, plus carols like Good King Wenceslas and O Come All Ye Faithful. 

Find out more and book tickets here. 

Christmas at the Movies – 15 December

The soundtracks from the greatest Christmas films of all time will be brought to life by the Manchester Concert Orchestra at The Bridgewater Hall this month. 

Songs will come from the likes of Elf, Home Alone, Love Actually, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Snowman, Gremlins, White Christmas, The Polar Express, E.T., and Miracle on 34th Street. 

Book your tickets here.

Christmas Spectacular – 19 December

It’ll be festive overload when the ultimate Christmas party returns to The Bridgewater Hall, with special guest singers Kerry Ellis and Ricardo Afonso. 

They’ll be joined by Jingle Bell dancers for an extravaganza of music, song and dance, including Step Into Christmas, Fairytale of New York, and Let It Snow. 

Find out more and grab tickets here.  

Horrible Histories – Horrible Christmas – 20 December

Hit children’s brand Horrible Histories will be back on the stage with a Christmas tale this year. 

They say: “When Christmas comes under threat from a jolly man dressed in red, it’s up to one young boy to save the day – but can he save Christmas? 

“From Victorian villains to Medieval monks, Puritan parties to Tudor treats, join us on a hair-raising adventure through the history of Christmas in the company of Charles Dickens, Oliver Cromwell, King Henry VIII and St Nicholas as they all join forces to save the festive season!”

You can get your tickets here.  

Christmas Carol Singalong – 24 December 

Warm up your vocal cords and get ready for the biggest, most festive sing-along of the year. 

Jonathan Cohen will lead audiences through Christmas songs and seasonal classics like Frosty the Snowman, Merry Christmas Everyone, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and a whole host of carols too. 

Tickets are available now here. 

Last Night of the Christmas Proms – 26 December 

You can extend the Christmas celebrations slightly beyond Christmas, with the Last Night of the Christmas Proms event on Boxing Day.

The Manchester Concert Orchestra will be performing a stellar selection of great classics.

Book your tickets here.

The Music of Zimmer vs Williams – 27 December 

It will be a battle of two musical scores legends on 27 December, as the work of Hans Zimmer and John Williams is performed in an epic concert. 

Expect soundtracks from Gladiator, Jaws, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, Jurassic Park and more. 

Grab your tickets here. 

Glenn Miller Orchestra – 28 December

The UK’s most renowned big band is returning, swinging back in time playing Glenn Miller’s own arrangements of favourite wartime chart toppers and hits from the forties, directed by legendary band leader Ray McVay.

Expect songs like In the Mood, Little Brown Jug, Moonlight Serenade, American Patrol and The Dam Busters March.

Find your tickets here.

The Nutcracker – 2-3 January

One of the world’s best-loved ballets will be back at The Bridgewater Hall, sweeping audiences away to a fairytale world where toy dolls spring to life, the Mouse-king and his mouse-army battle with the Nutcracker Prince and we travel through the Land of Snow to an enchanted place where the magic really begins.

It’s the first time the critically acclaimed Varna International Ballet have performed in the UK.

Pick up tickets here.

Featured image: The Bridgewater Hall

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Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour

Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party. 

This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season. 

It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).

Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know. 

The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’. 

When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.

The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.

The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.

It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.

The House Party. Credit: Ikin Yum
The House Party. Credit: Ikin Yum
The House Party will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
The production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied

Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham. 

Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide. 

The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE. 

Read more

Featured image: Supplied

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Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff

If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away. 

But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time. 

Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.

There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together. 

Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers. 

Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more. 

You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes. 

JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.

There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings. 

Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied

Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home. 

During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life. 

Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.

Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings. 

Find out more HERE. 

Read more: Loads of legendary retro steam trains will be travelling through Greater Manchester next month

Featured image: Supplied

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