Things To Do

An award-winning interactive stage play is coming to Manchester’s new neighbourhood

'Mates' will celebrate the culture and lifestyle of both Manchester and Salford.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 4th November 2021

Get Living and Hope Mill Theatre are teaming up to bring an award-winning interactive stage play celebrating Mancunian friendship and community to New Maker Yards.

Normally you’d find the actors of Ancoats’ very-own Hope Mill Theatre company appearing in packed-out productions of an all-female Shakespeare, or even starring in an acclaimed musical such as RENT or the upcoming revival of The Wiz – but their newest immersive play has a very different setting.

The play is taking place across three apartments at New Maker Yards, in Middlewood Locks – a neighbourhood that’s between Salford and Manchester city centres.

To celebrate the launch of a further 500 homes for rent at New Maker Yards, Get Living – the neighbourhood operator – is inviting Mancunians and Salfordians to experience its newest living spaces like never before, where audience members will begin their interactive theatre experience at apartment 114, and will be welcomed into the lives of three friends to explore the bonds of friendship.

Titled ‘Mates’, the play will celebrate the cities’ culture and lifestyle, and feature immersive mediations, spoken word recitals, and a house party complete with live music and a photo booth.

After the performance, audiences will also be able to enjoy a free pint or burger at Seven Bro7thers beerhouse in the neighbourhood. 

The play is celebrating the launch of a further 500 homes for rent at New Maker Yards / Credit: Get Living

Speaking ahead of the play’s arrival next week, Eoin Thomas – Community and Events Lead at Get Living – said: “New Maker Yards’ has such a distinctive, vibrant community, and with 500 more new homes available to rent this autumn, we wanted to showcase what living at New Maker Yards is all about.

“We’re delighted to be working with the incredible Hope Mill Theatre to take this immersive play out of the theatre and into our living rooms.”

Joseph Houston – Co-Founder and Artistic Director at Hope Mill Theatre – added: “We love creating art, and specifically, art that resonates so strongly with the local community [so] this immersive theatre show at Get Living’s New Maker Yards neighbourhood is so special as we get to celebrate Manchester and the people who live here in a way that lets us connect with both residents and those living nearby.”

‘Mates’ is running between 13 – 21 November 2021, and you can grab tickets for free here.

For more information on the new, fully-furnished homes available to rent with Get Living – with no deposits, no fees, and WiFi included – the New Maker Yards website here, or call 0161 826 5961 to speak to a member of the team. 

Featured Image – Get Living

Things To Do

The ‘ultimate’ free-to-attend sandwich festival is coming to Manchester city centre

Danny Jones Danny Jones ultimate sandwich festival Manchester city centre Kampus

An event dubbed ‘the world’s greatest sandwich festival’ is coming to central Manchester, and if there’s one thing you need to know about us, it’s that we love things between bread.

Consider us already there.

Following a hugely successful showcase at Camden Town Brewery down in the capital, the butty bonanza known as ‘Sarnie Party’ is making its way from down in London all the way up to Manchester for the very first time.

Better still, it’s coming to the beloved city centre neighbourhood and ever-growing hospitality district that is Kampus next month, and it’s completely FREE entry.

Sarnie Party is the lovechild of seasoned festival curator Molly Hutchinson and Allie Behr of Hot Sauce Society, who have decided to bring together their passions and expertise once again in another ode to the most versatile and almost universally eaten foodstuff: sandwiches.

Promising “big energy, good vibes and full bellies”, it’s already supported by some of the most recognisable brands you’ll find in Britain, including Heinz, Deliveroo, Kraken rum and more.

All of the above will be featuring at the inaugural Manc sandwich festival in some fashion, but most excitingly, some of Greater Manchester’s best and most beloved sarnie artisans will be taking part.

In addition to the usual suspects like Bada Bing and Rack, Pollen, Madre, and OSMA will also be serving up sandwich specials, as well as Liverpool favourite Derek’s, and The Big Deal’s ‘Bodega’ from Norwich.

Each vendor will be building a unique, never-before-seen (or eaten) sandwich for the 2025 festival, looking to best impress the locals.

And you best believe we know a good butty around here…

rack sandwiches
RACK
bada bing manchester
Bada Bing
Credit: The Manc Eats

Guests can also expect more food and drink specials from existing on-site Kampus businesses, plus an outdoor bar with cocktails from Kraken and Tito’s Vodka, as well as a selection of ice-cold beers.

While admission to Kampus costs nothing, these indie traders are, of course, hoping to cover their costs, so sandwiches will be able to be purchased via tokens.

A single token will cost you £8, or you can buy a three-token Sarnie Party bundle for just £22; let’s be honest, you’re not going to stop at just one, are you?

More importantly, it’s worth reminding you that the stocks won’t last forever, and once these creations are gone, they’re gone, so you’d better make quick work of this scran-fest.

Local radio station, Reform, will also be serving as the resident DJs and entertainers for the day, meaning you’ll have plenty of time and reason to try and burn off all those carby calories – before inevitably consuming more, of course.

butty shop manchester
sarnie party mcr
sandwich festival kampus
Credit: Supplied

Speaking ahead of the festival, Kampus’ general manager, Harriet Downey, said: “We’re looking forward to bringing Sarnie Party to Manchester and hosting so many sandwich lovers in our garden neighbourhood.

“We’re lucky to have some of the best independent food and drink brands in the city here at Kampus, and it’s exciting to have them joined by so many other great operators to celebrate all things sandwich!”

As for the organisers themselves, they have a simple mantra for you to follow: “Come hungry. Leave happy.” Love that.

Spread across a full weekend, Sarnie Party MCR takes place on 12-13 September, with day one getting underway from 4-10pm, and Sunday running from 11am-9pm. We’ll see you there.

And if this doesn’t quite satisfy your food and drink festival cravings, then you’ll be glad to hear that there’s another event dedicated entirely to pina coladas happening here in town, also.

The UK’s only Pina Colada Festival is coming to a town near Manchester this weekend
Praying for equally tropical (but dry) weather.

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Featured Images — Supplied/The Manc Group

Things To Do

Sam Fender – Live From Wythenshawe Park, Manchester: tickets, times, supports and more

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

North Shields indie rocker Sam Fender is making his way to Manchester to play a massive summer date at Wythenshawe Park.

UK singer-songwriter Sam Fender is ready to hear the roars of the Manchester crowd as he heads to one of the city’s biggest outdoor gig venues ahead of the ‘Live From Wythenshawe Park‘ summer series.

The BRT award-winning artist released his third studio album, People Watching, back in February, and you can expect to hear quite a few of this LP’s staple singles like ‘Arm’s Length’ and ‘Rein Me In’.

It wasn’t too long ago that Fender last paid a visit to the music capital of the North with his performance being described as ‘one of the world’s greatest live acts’ (by us, in fairness…) last December.

Gig guide – Sam Fender at Wythenshawe Park: all you need to know

Now, get your ‘Seventeen Going Under’ “Oh woah oh ohs” ready as Mr. Fender is set to play out to a crowd of 30,000 this weekend as he takes on the mighty feat that is Wythenshawe Park.

Sam Fender is playing Wythenshawe Park in Manchester on Saturday 16 August / Credit: Mac Scott
Sam Fender is playing Wythenshawe Park in Manchester on Saturday, 16 August (Credit: Supplied via Mac Scott)

Sam Fender tickets for Wythenshawe Park gig

As you would expect, ‘You’re Not The Only One’ who wants to see this Geordie musical mastermind in action as they’re completely sold out.

However, if you want to ‘Play God’, you can try your best on verified fan ticket reselling platform, Twickets, right HERE. Ok, we’ll calm it with the puns now, promise – we’re just very excited.

As always with second-hand tickets, proceed with caution; it’s never worth getting stung by the touts.

Sam Fender setlist

Although the setlist isn’t confirmed, at recent festivals and events, he’s performed a more condensed collection of the hits and tracks from his newest album.

However, this is his biggest show in Manchester to date – a fair few thousand more than Co-op Live, in fact – so you can expect something closer to a full-blown headline set. Here’s what we’re expecting based on what was played at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park stadium in his hometown:

  1. Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero (Mark Knopfler cover)
  2. UEFA Champions League Anthem
  3. Getting Started
  4. Will We Talk?
  5. Arm’s Length
  6. The Borders
  7. Howdon Aldi Death Queue
  8. Crumbling Empire
  9. Tyrants
  10. Rein Me In (with Olivia Dean)
  11. People Watching
  12. Get You Down
  13. Spit of You
  14. Seventeen Going Under

Encore:

  • Remember My Name (with Easington Colliery Brass Band)
  • The Dying Light
  • Something Heavy (with CMAT, Liam Fender and Niles Krieger)
  • Hypersonic Missiles

One very stunning solo support act for Sam Fender at Wythenshawe Park

Olivia Dean is supporting Sam Fender amid his 'Live From Wythenshawe Park' gig this weekend / Credit: Supplied
Olivia Dean is supporting Sam Fender amid his ‘Live From Wythenshawe Park’ gig this weekend / Credit: Supplied

You might have noticed one rather big name among the setlist there, and you’d be right to have paid attention because she makes this a truly great value-for-money live music billing.

Opening up for Mr. Fender is no easy feat, but this rising soul singer and incredibly talented ‘Lady Lady’ will no doubt take it in her stride.

London-based Olivia Dean is travelling up North to kick things off with her neo soul prowess, airy vocals and lovestruck tracks like ‘Nice to Each Other’, ‘It Isn’t Perfect But It Might Be’, ‘Carmen’ and more.

But that’s not all…

Sam Fender has two more support slots, which are confirmed to be indie/punk artist Bugman and folk singer-songwriter Charlie Noordewier.

It really is shaping up to be one of the biggest and best nights of the year, and we’re quite literally counting down to the moment Olivia Dean joins Sam on stage for ‘Rein Me In’.

What are the stage times for Sam Fender at Wythenshawe Park?

Gates for this gig are opening from 4pm, with Bugman ‘Getting Started’ at 5:15pm and Charlie Noordewier slowly after at 6:25pm.

Olivia Dean takes to the stage at 7:35pm, with the main man himself gracing us with his presence from 9pm onwards.

With a curfew of 11pm, this should give you plenty of time to get back home and tucked in bed – though we’re sure there’ll be little room for sleep as you replay the night over and over again.

Here’s a little taster of one of the warm-ups, Bugman.

How to get there

Last but not least, there’s just the small matter of getting there. While we’d always recommend travelling as green as possible/using public transport where you can, there are still some car park tickets that you can buy online from the Live From Wythenshawe website.

As for those of you catching a ride, there is yellow signage to the north of the site, which will lead you to the pick-up/drop-off point on Wythenshawe Road, M23 0AB.

There are also three tram stops to choose from: Wythenshawe Park, Moor Road and Baguley. However, it’s worth noting that both Wythenshawe Park and Baguley will be closed from 9pm, so you won’t be able to get back home this way.

Big Green Coaches travelling to the gigs will also be available from various locations.

Finally, you can always catch one of the shuttle buses back into the city centre. The service will be operating in a loop from Sale and the city centre, running from 1pm-8pm on the way to Wythenshawe Park and then from 8pm-1:30am when heading home.

For more information, you can find all the up-to-date travel stuff HERE, or check out (TfGM) Transport for Greater Manchester’s full guidance via the Bee Network app.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images – Niall Lea/Sarah Louise Bennett/Press shots (Supplied)/ Raph_PH (via Flickr)

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