A play about the infamous muscle squeezer Akinwale Arobieke,aka Purple Aki, is coming to Salford next month.
Notorious across the North West for his bizarre requests, the story of Purple Aki is something of an urban legend.
For North West teens growing up in the 80s and 90s, stories of a man asking to feel their muscles were common and Aki wasn’t considered much more than the butt of a joke – but over the years things took a darker turn.
Often seen carrying his signature plastic bag in hand, in 2006 he was officially banned from asking strangers to perform squats for him or from touching, feeling, and measuring muscles after harassing a number of young people.
Facebook groups were even set up in Manchester dedicated to him, with one called Purple Aki Watch 0161 promising to ‘keep Manchester squat free’, and in 2016 the BBC even made a documentary about him entitled The Man Who Squeezes Muscles – Searching For Purple Aki.
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Although Purple Aki was never convicted of a sex offence, he was banned from loitering near schools, gyms, or sports clubs and from entering the towns of St Helens, Warrington, or Widnes without police permission.
In the years that followed, Purple Aki would unsuccessfully attempt to overturn his muscle-squeezing ban, apologise in court to victims for forcing them to perform ‘inverted piggybacks’, and refer to himself as “infamous, notorious, everything from a bogeyman to whatever.”
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Now, his story will be brought to life with a show taking place at The White Hotel in Salford this September.
A description for the play reads: “She’s got the time, the curiosity, the resources—and a thirst for true crime. Meet Aki Browne—online sleuth like no other…
“A one-act play, featuring the hunt for a real-life bogeyman / racist caricature, this is an absurd journey into the obsessive world of a digital detective.”
The Treatment author Michael Nash has called the play a “supercharged drama of love, pursuit and that idea which our culture has done its best to empty of meaning, namely, ‘identity’”, adding: “Collings restores meaning, fiercely, wisely, and above all, with heart.”
Comparing the work to an “ultra-concentrated Moby Dick”, he continues: “The rendering of voices is magnificent and right: this is how the real world sounds! Unlike most writers in this land, Austin Collings is not in breach of the Weeds Act (1959).”
Due to take place on Thursday 21 September at The White Hotel in Salford, tickets are priced from just £10.
Featured image – BBC
Boroughs
The best things to do in Greater Manchester this week | 6 – 12 January 2025
Emily Sergeant
It’s our first full week of January and of 2025.
Christmas has passed us by, and the new year has been rung in, but while all the fun of the festive season may’ve been and gone now, this doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of things to look forward to in 2025, as Greater Manchester‘s events calendar already seems very exciting.
Finding it a bit tricky to pick what to do though? We’ve chosen a few of the best bits for another edition of our ‘what’s on‘ guide to help you out.
Here’s some of our recommendations.
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Wicked The Musical
Palace Theatre Manchester
Monday 6 – Sunday 12 January 2025
Wicked The Musical / Credit: Jennifer DiNoia / Limited Engagement
Wicked The Musical has landed in Manchester, taking over the iconic Palace Theatre stage, and this is your last week to catch it.
Sure, there may be a major motion picture adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande currently on in the cinema right now, but if you’re keen to see the beloved musical production on stage in the way it was originally intended, then you can head on down to the Palace Theatre to see the story of Elphaba and Galinda live.
Of course, this has been one of the hottest tickets in town for quite a while now, but there’ll still some last-minute seats left to get your hands on, so keep your eyes peeled.
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)
Aviva Studios
Monday 6 – Saturday 25 January 2025
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) / Credit: The Manc Group
One of the most influential British artists of the 21st century, David Hockney, is taking you on a personal journey through 60 years of his art in the revolutionary Aviva Studios, and it’s now open for everyone to pay a visit.
This is a real sensory encompassing experience, from the grand and vibrant projections on the walls, to the sound system which will be playing throughout the exhibition.
Hockney opened this installation in London, and this is the first time these pieces of art have left the country’s capital to be viewed by even more spectators.
Fancy making the most of all the January dining deals on offer over these next couple of weeks?
The time has come again for Manchester’s restaurants and bars to slash their prices in a bid to entice customers to keep eating and drinking out all throughout January, and that means hundreds of places are offering up half-price scran, added freebies, or two-for-one offers this month.
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There’s loads of offers beyond Manchester city centre too, as suburban gems are getting in on the action in 2025.
So whether you’re looking for a date night for less, an affordable family dinner, or a cheap eat after work with your mates, we’ve got you covered.
Read our massive round-up of January dining deals here.
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Wild
Manchester Museum
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Monday 6 January – onwards
Wild / Credit: Manchester Museum
A groundbreaking new immersive exhibition exploring our relationship with the natural world is now open at Manchester Museum.
‘Wild’ look at how people are creating, rebuilding, and repairing connections with nature, and how the natural world has traditionally been presented and idealised through Western art, as well as looking at some unique approaches to environmental recovery too.
The exhibition will also crucially look at how we can tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis by making the world more wild.
Stephen Daldry’s multi award-winning National Theatre production of JB Priestley’s classic thriller, An Inspector Calls, is back in Greater Manchester.
Hailed as the theatrical event of its generation, winning more awards than any other production in history, and described as being “more relevant now than ever”, An Inspector Calls has thrilled millions of people worldwide, and it returns to The Lowry stage in Salford this month.
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The play tells the story of Inspector Goole, who arrives unexpectedly at the prosperous Birling family home, with their peaceful dinner party being shattered by his investigations into the death of a young woman.
A huge gaming event is happening in Manchester this weekend.
With more than 160 consoles and hundreds of games to play, Power UP at the Science and Industry takes ticket-holders on a journey through five decades of gaming, with everything from retro arcade games, to state-of-the-art virtual reality, and so much more.
Power UP is taking place each weekend only throughout this month, with each ticket including unlimited play all day.
Could a trip to the theatre could be on the cards this year?
Greater Manchester has firmly earned itself a spot as a place for world-renowned touring theatre productions to make a stop off at.
While the past couple of years amid and post-pandemic may have hit the theatre pretty hard, it’s a beloved industry that has now well and truly bounced-back – with the region’s three main theatres, Palace Theatre Manchester, Opera House Manchester, and The Lowry, all having welcomed some absolute show-stopping productions in 2024.
And 2025 is set to be absolutely no different.
Our region’s theatre events calendar is already jam-packed with award-winning musicals, family-friendly plays, inventive dance productions, and so much more in 2025, so we’ve rounded up 10 of the best shows to see and grab tickets for this year.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known for across the world, it’s music.
Our region is not only a historic musical hub in and of itself, having been the birthplace of so many legendary famous names, but it’s also a major UK stopping point on many global artists’ tour schedules too, thanks to the city’s various sizes of stage and venues.
This means there’s a jam-packed schedule of gigs happening all throughout 2025 – with something for everyone, no matter your taste in music.
From world-famous pop and rock stars, to genre-bending artists, and a few comeback tours too, most-notably by one of Manchester – and the world’s – most famous bands of all time (they’re called Oasis… not sure if you’ve ever heard of them?), 2025 has got it all.
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Read our picks for 13 of the best gigs happening in Manchester this year here.
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Featured Image – Science Museum Group | The Manc Group | Supplied
Boroughs
Andy Burnham urges Greater Manchester residents to ‘switch to the Bee Network’ in 2025
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham is urging Greater Manchester residents to ‘switch to the Bee Network’ in 2025.
With the new year now here, the Greater Manchester Mayor has reflected back on the past 12 months, and has set some goals and intentions for 2025 – which he expects to be a “busy” year full of change and historic milestones for the region.
2025 is, of course, set to start off strong, beginning with the introduction of Bee Network buses to the southern part of Greater Manchester from 5 January.
“Four decades of deregulation will be over,” Mr Burnham declared. “We will finally be back in charge of our entire bus network.”
One week today, GM will make the biggest change yet to our buses – completing re-regulation on time and on budget.
This flurry of delivery should set the tone for the rest of 2025.
The Mayor says that completing this first phase “on time and on budget” is a “huge achievement” for the region, and he hopes this means that 2025 can “begin on a much-needed optimistic note” – adding that in an era where it has felt like “most things are broken or going backwards”, Greater Manchester transport has “bucked the trend”.
He called the Bee Network “the most visible piece of successful public service delivery in recent times”, and said its popularity “proves things can indeed be fixed, moved forward, and made to work better.”
While he conceded that there is likely to be “a bumpy few days” next week until things settle down, Mr Burnham insists he is “confident” that passengers using Bee Network services in the southern half of the region “will soon see a difference”.
This is why he is urging everyone to make full use of it and “leave the car at home”.
Andy Burnham urges Greater Manchester residents to ‘switch to the Bee Network’ in 2025 / Credit: TfGM
Addressing Greater Manchester residents directly as the new year begins, Andy Burnham said: “I hope to ask you to make a New Year’s resolution – switch to the Bee Network in 2025 and to leave the car at home.
“The more that people do this, the longer we will be able to keep our £2 cap in place, hold fares as low as possible, and make the whole transport system flow better for everyone.
“For many years now, Greater Manchester has been growing faster than the UK economy, and our skyline tells the story of that change. But, as with any global city of our stature, congestion is a constant challenge and public transport has to become the priority way of getting around.”
Looking ahead to the highly-anticipated introduction of the London-style transport system in March, Mr Burnham continued: “If people are to buy into [using the Bee Network over a car], I know we have to work even harder to make it feel safer, more reliable and convenient to use. So, on 23 March, Greater Manchester will bring in a London-style tap-in, tap-out payment system, across trams and buses, with a daily cap on what people can spend.
“I hope this flurry of delivery sets a good tone for the rest of 2025.”
Mr Burnham says Greater Manchester is going into the new year “with a spring in our step and a can-do spirit” that he hopes becomes “infectious” to the rest of the UK.
“If the local control achieved with our buses starts to bring similar benefits to housing and skills, then perhaps the country can draw a line under these dysfunctional recent times and start to look to the future with more confidence and optimism,” he concluded.
Georgina Pellant -
11th August 2023 
