City Guides
Manchester
Theatres
Manchester has a large selection of theatre and performing arts venues, including three large dedicated theatres in the city centre and dozens of small, independent theatre groups. The city also boasts two respected drama schools: The Manchester Metropolitan University School of Theatre, and The Arden School of Theatre. The Royal Northern College of Music, and smaller venues such as The Dancehouse, specialise in dance and musical productions.
The Manchester Opera House, on Quay Street in the city centre, was built in 1912 and has a capacity of just less than two thousand people. The theatre usually hosts large-scale, touring productions of musicals and dance performances, including West End shows. Planned productions for 2007 include ‘Riverdance’, ‘Cats’ and ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’. The box office can be contacted on 0161 828 1700.
The Palace Theatre is a sister venue to the Opera House. The theatre is in a Grade II listed, nineteenth-century building on Oxford Street, further into the centre of the city. Built on three levels, with two balconies and stalls, the auditorium seats around two thousand people. Performances coming up in 2007 include Peter Kay in ‘The Producers’ and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’.
The third of Manchester’s major theatres is the Royal Exchange, in St Ann’s Square, the prestigious shopping district. The Grade II listed building was built as a Cotton Exchange in 1874 and did not become a theatre until 1968. The theatre now stages a variety of classic theatre, contemporary drama and new writing in what the Theatres Trust Guide referred to as: “best and most innovative theatre space created in Britain in the twentieth century”.
In 1996, a lottery grant was obtained and a new Studio Theatre – with a bar and capacity of a hundred-and-twenty – was added to the complex.
The Library Theatre is an intimate venue, located in the basement of the central library. Originally intended as a lecture theatre, the theatre has a capacity of just over three hundred and a small ‘apron’ stage.
Other theatre and performing arts venues include The Lowry in Salford Quays; The Dancehouse, specialising in dance; The Contact Theatre for youth productions, and The Greenroom for fringe productions.
The Manchester Opera House, on Quay Street in the city centre, was built in 1912 and has a capacity of just less than two thousand people. The theatre usually hosts large-scale, touring productions of musicals and dance performances, including West End shows. Planned productions for 2007 include ‘Riverdance’, ‘Cats’ and ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’. The box office can be contacted on 0161 828 1700.
The Palace Theatre is a sister venue to the Opera House. The theatre is in a Grade II listed, nineteenth-century building on Oxford Street, further into the centre of the city. Built on three levels, with two balconies and stalls, the auditorium seats around two thousand people. Performances coming up in 2007 include Peter Kay in ‘The Producers’ and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’.
The third of Manchester’s major theatres is the Royal Exchange, in St Ann’s Square, the prestigious shopping district. The Grade II listed building was built as a Cotton Exchange in 1874 and did not become a theatre until 1968. The theatre now stages a variety of classic theatre, contemporary drama and new writing in what the Theatres Trust Guide referred to as: “best and most innovative theatre space created in Britain in the twentieth century”.
In 1996, a lottery grant was obtained and a new Studio Theatre – with a bar and capacity of a hundred-and-twenty – was added to the complex.
The Library Theatre is an intimate venue, located in the basement of the central library. Originally intended as a lecture theatre, the theatre has a capacity of just over three hundred and a small ‘apron’ stage.
Other theatre and performing arts venues include The Lowry in Salford Quays; The Dancehouse, specialising in dance; The Contact Theatre for youth productions, and The Greenroom for fringe productions.
Entertainment