Festivals
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honorary manc Rounding up some happening highlights from Manchester this month Soul Safari – Macharia at Contact theatre Coming to Contact this Friday 17 April, artist Macharia blends her own music with Kenya coastal and Kikuyu folk traditions. The show, performed in Swahili, Kikuyu and English, combines music, storytelling and audience interaction, exploring themes of…
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These stories continue the tale, the titan, the cinematic feast that has been Manchester Film Festival 2026. For Psychopomp, The Good Boy and Father, Mother, Sister and Brother, see Manchester Film Festival 2026 – the stories so far…(part 1) Day 3 – North West Shorts 1 Love me a Short, I do, and this package…
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It’s already been a week of factual, fictional, frictional, emotional, experimental and exceptional big screen content in Manchester. A film-fest, if you will. And I surely have. As has been the case over the last few years, the selection at this year’s Manchester Film Festival has been rich and diverse and with various pulls on…
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honorary manc Rounding up some happening highlights from Manchester and Salford Alfreda at The Lodge, Manchester We start straightaway and today – the weekend isn’t over until it’s over, and this one is no exception. Alt -pop phenomenon, Alfreda, is kicking off her tour tonight, March 15, in, where else, Manchester, at The Deaf Institute…
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honorary manc Rounding up some happening highlights from Manchester and Salford Manchester Jazz Festival Tickets go on sale this Friday 13 February for Manchester’s longest-running music festival, back this Summer for 10 days of jam-packed festival fun and musical vibes across the city this May! Manchester jazz festival (mjf2026) will take place between 15-24 May 2026 at venues and sites across Manchester, celebrating the latest up…
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I think if we were asked to write a list of our triggers, well apart from the very act being very triggering, I bet we wouldn’t automatically be able to put a comprehensive list together. The thing with triggers, is that we don’t always know what our personal ones are. Until they pop up and…
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Imagine me starting a blog post on a dark note. Well now you don’t have to. But when I lost my Dad, I had what was I’m sure a very common reaction to the life event and, indeed, my perspective on what we’re all doing here. What it’s all about and all that jazz. Part…
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I start off by by damning the very brilliant Manchester Film Festival. Damn you very brilliant Manchester Film Festival ,for opening your 11th edition with a feature that was guaranteed to leave me a blubbering mess, but that I knew I’d have to bear witness to as I’m ‘doing it for the blog’. See also…
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It’s that time again, the popular PUSH festival has returned to HOME for a biennial celebration of North West creative talent. As HOME reliably (and accurately) tell us, over two weeks (our) stages, screens and spaces will be dedicated to showcasing fantastic works from around the region, as well as offering opportunities for creatives to…
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I just spoke to my mum, who asked me, “Are you going out tonight?” “No, I went out last night to see a show at the Kings Arms. You know, the cat pub” “Oh yes. How was it?” .”it was really funny, I haven’t laughed quite like that in a while.” “Ah excellent – what…
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Coffee and iPhones and printers and festivals and hammocks and hypothetical letters. The Aldi middle aisle? Maybe, but also just a few of the topics that singer/songwriter, satirist, Chris Tavener treated us to at that glorious little theatre space upstairs at The Kings Arms last night. Thanks to my outrageous decision to spend the first…
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Ah I came out of this screening exclaiming it was one of the best things I’d ever seen. Now I’ve had time to calm down, I would say that it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. I can only imagine the criteria for me to pronounce something ‘best’ is wide, wild and all…
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And just like the Manchester Film Festival and the Renegade Master before that, I’m back and with another Manchester Film Festival blog post! As detailed in my first post of the series, Manchester Film Festival 2024 – The Convert, the 10th edition of the festival arrived last Friday 15 March, and is sticking around at the…
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Just like the Renegade Master, Manchester Film Festival (MFF) is back once again, and for the 10th time! Taking place at the Odeon, Great Northern, until Sunday, 24 March, this celebration of cinema features an incredible lineup of films from across the globe. Read more about the official selection here on the MFF website. Having…
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In part 2 of a blog series I’m calling a series of posts on shorts (well I am and it is), we’re looking at another jewel amongst so many, in the crown that was and is Bolton Film Festival. As discussed in part 1 – Bolton Film Festival -presenting a short series of posts on…
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I’ve never been to Bolton Film Festival. I shamefully didn’t realise it was a thing but was thrilled to discover it was. And what a thing it is. Film festivals are such an indulgent treat and this one is no exception. I write in the present tense as after the ‘physical’ 5-day portion of the…
honorary manc 