The full lineup for Levy Fringe Fest has been confirmed – with music, theatre and exhibitions
Stand-up comedy, horror shows, live tattooing, ghost stories, inspirational speeches and lantern parades are all on the agenda this year, with Levy Fringe adopting an innovative approach to ensure the festival goes ahead in a different guise in challenging conditions.
The popular Levy Fringe festival is going ahead in 2020 – with a full programme of virtual and in-person events being hosted in October.
Organisers have confirmed an exciting-looking mixture of performances, gallery exhibitions and lectures across packed nine-day programme – featuring a combination of local talent and nationwide stars.
Stand-up comedy, live tattooing, ghost stories, inspirational speeches and lantern parades are all on the agenda this year, with Levy Fringe adopting an innovative approach to ensure the festival goes ahead in a different guise in challenging conditions.
Exhibitions will be hosted at the Levenshulme Old Library
Pamela Dementhe, the UK’s most prolific erotic fiction author, will be presenting her latest creation eVULVAlution (described as a ‘cross between Planet of the Apes and Fifty Shades of Grey’) whilst Plaster Cast will be hosting live-streamed show exploring fringe lifestyles, alternative facts and our (dis)connection to nature.
Award-winning show Common Lore will be screening for viewers, with Britain’s Got Talent star Daliso Chaponda and Edinburgh Best Newcomer Nominee Lauren Pattison also stepping up to deliver some side-splitting stand-up comedy sets.
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A socially-distanced edition of the West Point Lantern Parade is also taking place as part of the festival – with a parade moving around West Point so residents can watch from the safety of their front gardens.
Comedian Daliso Chaponda will host a live Zoom session
Exhibitions include wonderful Levenshulme Lockdown Portraits curated by Laura Deene, as well as a gulp-inducing sculpture puppet installation entitled The Sleep Of Reason Produces Monsters – which explores the artist’s nightmarish dream in the work of 19th century painters, including Goya, Henry Fuseli and John Anster Fitzgerald.
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Lectures will also be held on issues such as climate change, nuclear weapons and feminism.
The festival will launch on Thursday 22 October and run right through to Halloween.
You can view the full programme for Levy Fringe here.
Manchester’s new £2.5m indoor activity park is offering 50% off tickets over half term
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s newly-opened indoor activity park is offering families the chance to visit for half price this spring holidays.
In case you missed it, Salford was chosen by Oxygen Activeplay as the location for its next venture, an officially opened the doors to its newest state-of-the-art equipment facility above bustling food hall Kargo MKT, inside the former site of I’m a Celebrity Jungle Challenge down at Quayside MediaCity in mid February.
Since opening to the public, Oxygen MediaCity has already been helping lots of local families stay active and have fun at the same time.
Following a £2.5 million investment, the new park features more than 30 trampolines, a mega-air bag, a high ropes course, a ‘Rollglider’ aerial ride which flies over the facility, and Oxygen’s signature illuminated sensory experience ‘Excite Tunnel’, along with even more “epic” activities.
A series of optional games and dance parties are also on offer during each play session, and the new Manchester park also hosts ‘Peaceful Play’ sessions designed for neurodivergent guests, who prefer a calmer and quieter playing environment, as well as there being a ‘Toddler Venture Zone’.
A cafe serving drinks, snacks, and meals also overlooks the park, so once you’re all bounced out, you can recharge with a full feast from the new menu before heading home.
Manchester’s new £2.5m indoor activity park is offering 50% off tickets over half term / Credit: Jamie McPhilimey
And thankfully, once schools are out for the spring holidays in a couple of weeks time, families can get themselves one of Oxygen at MediaCity’s Easter Holiday Pass, which gives pass holders the chance to visit the park on any five days of the two-week break – including on weekends and bank holidays – for 60 minutes of ‘Open Play’.
For a limited time only, you can save some pennies and take advantage of a half price offer and get your hands on an Easter Holidays Pass for only £30.
Little Simz announces biggest-ever Manchester gig ahead of new album
Danny Jones
The queen of British rap, the one and only Little Simz, is coming back to Manchester for what will be her biggest headline show in this city to date.
A whole three years on from her last album No Thank You, the rapper from Islington is heading back out on the road after wrapping up the recording of her sixth studio LP, Lotus.
The first single ‘FREE’ has already dropped, and despite the release date itself being pushed back, news of a new Little Simz tour later this year more than makes up for it, if you ask us.
Little Simz already has two NME Awards to her name for Best British Solo Act and Best British Album, not to mention a BRIT itself for Best New Artist in 2022; oh yeah, and she won the Mercury Prize as well as a BET Hip Hop Award over in the States for ‘Best International Flow’ – all before she turned 30.
With that in mind, you can understand why so many are frothing at the mouth to hear her new record when it does finally drop.
There doesn’t appear to be any problems with the album itself: Simbiatu Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, to use her full name, is simply busier than ever and has just booked a role in a film because, yes, she acts too.
Lotus will now drop on Friday, 6 June, just in time for fans to get learning the lyrics ahead of festival season, which we have no doubt she’ll play a big part in.
You can hear the first taste of the next chapter down below:
Little Simz returns to Manchester for a Co-op Live debut on 16 October with tour supports still yet to be announced.
Pre-sale goes live on Wednesday, 9 April from 10am for official Co-op members and general admission will be available from the same time on the following Friday (11 April).
The Manc -
1st October 2020 
