Art & Culture

There are pairs of tickets to a load of events up for grabs as part of ‘The Great Christmas Giveaway’

Could you be among the fortunate ones?

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 8th December 2025

International ticketing platform See Tickets is gifting selected pairs of tickets to a lucky bunch this winter as part of ‘The Great Christmas Giveaway’.

After all, they do call it the ‘season of giving’.

Teaming up with promotion partners, music artists and other organisers, See Tickets has decided to give out a bunch of passes, ranging from gigs and sporting events to theatre and comedy.

We wouldn’t be doing our jobs properly if we didn’t at least try to let you in on the possibility of winning some live entertainment freebies.

Thankfully, there are plenty of them; there are over a dozen tickets up for grabs in total, split across the six different dates running into next year.

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Here’s a quick rundown of what’s on offer:

See Tickets Great Christmas Giveaway – the full list of events

Fancy seeing a Disney classic brought to life on stage? There are a possible four tickets to see Herclues: The Musical to be won, not to mention drinks vouchers and a bonus goodie bag.

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All you need to do is follow @seetickets and @eventimuk on Instagram, like and share the post below to your story; tag a friend and tell your best Christmas joke by 00:01am this Monday, 8 December 2025. You can see a trailer from the highly praised performances down in the capital down below.

Two tickets to see Greg Davies

Yes, the second event revealed by See Tickets as part of this year’s Great Christmas Giveaway is the latest live stand-up tour show by the quite literally massive funny man, Greg Davies.

Playing at the Hammersmith Apollo down in London, this time you need to like, follow, share and tag a friend naming your favourite character by Tuesday, 9 December 2025 – again, before 00:01.

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Take your pick of Take That

In case you somehow missed it, Take That are heading back out on the road for the 10th anniversary of The Circus album and tour – this time, you can pick the show of your choosing.

Same idea again: follow both pages, like and share, tag a friend, and this time, tell them your favourite album by the band. You enter by 00:01 this Thursday, 11 December.

Ticket prices for Take That at Etihad Stadium revealed ahead of The Circus Live Tour

VIP passes for Slam Dunk 2026

This one is for all the rock fans. Slam Dunk Festival celebrates 20 years next summer, and what better way to toast the milestone than to be there not only in the flesh but in VIP?

You can pick either North or South, but let’s be honest – Leeds is the only place to be. Follow the same terms as above, and then just tell the comments which artist you’re most excited to see. Again, entry closes at 00:01 on Thursday (11 Dec).

Never giving up on a Rick Astley gig

Up next, how about seeing a living music legend of the North West on his upcoming arena tour? The one and only Rick Astley isn’t just back on the up, but if confirmed as the winner, you can select the date of your choice.

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Once again, meet the usual requirements listed previously, plus leave your favourite Rick Astley song in the comments. Yes, you can pick that one – just make sure you do it by a minute after midnight on Wednesday, 10 December…

Rick Astley to play Co-op Live on major UK arena tour – with big-name supporting act

Cageside at Cage Warriors

Last but not least, if you’re partial to a bit of pugilism and/or bloodsport, you can watch cult favourite combat sport Cage Warriors at your preferred venue AND win a signed pair of official Cage Warrior gloves too.

With the winner due to be announced just after midnight on Friday, 12 December, make sure you’ve met all the standard entry requirements and let other fans know which fighter you’re most looking forward to seeing. Simple as that!

Best of luck to everyone throwing names into the hat for their event of choice, and let us know in the comments if any of you win!

We’re not done there either; there are plenty of other free tickets coming up in Greater Manchester ahead of the new year, too.

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Find out more down below.

Big Night of Musicals is back in Manchester next month and there’s thousands of FREE tickets

Read more:

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

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/Audio North

Art & Culture

Big Night of Musicals is back in Manchester next month and there’s thousands of FREE tickets

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Thousands of free tickets are set to be released tomorrow as the National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals returns.

Now in its fifth year, and having gone on to become one of the world’s biggest annual theatrical events in the process, Big Night of Musicals will once again illuminate Manchester’s AO Arena this winter, hoping to deliver its most ambitious celebration of British theatre to date. 

Hosted by Manchester comedian and musical theatre star Jason Manford, the event will bring together lots of the UK’s biggest and most beloved musicals for one extraordinary night.  

Audiences can expect mesmerising performances from some of the biggest musicals across the UK, alongside performances from a range of incredible National Lottery-funded arts organisations, all under one roof.

This year’s brilliant lineup of West End and UK-touring shows include the spectacular new production of Miss Saigon, an exclusive performance from Jesus Christ Superstar with Sam Ryder, ahead of him making his West End debut in the role of Jesus, and the legendary musical comedy, Mel Brooks’ The Producers.

Also featuring is the extraordinary London production of Wicked ahead of its 20th anniversary in the West End later in 2026.

Many more productions are still to be announced, so keep your eyes peeled.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be hosting Big Night of Musicals by The National Lottery for the fifth-year running,” commented Jason Manford. “The 2026 lineup is phenomenal, some of the biggest shows in the world are coming together for one night only, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience it.

Big Night of Musicals is back in Manchester next month / Credit: Supplied

“This event is also a huge thank you to National Lottery players whose support keeps theatre alive and accessible. Without their contributions, so many productions, training programmes and venue restorations simply wouldn’t be possible.”

As always, 12,000 free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis as a special ‘thank you’ to National Lottery players.

Each player can reserve up to four tickets (a £2 booking fee applies per ticket) when they go on general release tomorrow afternoon (9 December) at 1pm, and proof of purchase of a National Lottery product is required to secure the tickets.

There’ll also be a ‘pre-sale’ from 9am to midday tomorrow too.

Read more:

Big Night of Musicals 2026 is coming to AO Arena on Monday 26 January 2026.

For more information and to register for free tickets, National Lottery players should visit bignightofmusicals.com

Featured Image – Supplied

Art & Culture

Review | The Lion, The Witch and The Beaver* – sorry, Wardrobe

The Manc The Manc The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe review The Lowry Salford Quays

What an enchanting evening at The Lowry as we were transported to Narnia to review the live stage adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in Media City as the production began its festive run in Greater Manchester.

As we entered the playing space, the atmosphere was set with a pianist on stage, slowly drowning out the noise of the outside world and settling the audience in for a night of magic.

Launching ‘Act One’ with a touching rendition of the British wartime classic, ‘We’ll Meet Again’ by Vera Lynne, we meet the large ensemble, multi-instrumentalist cast.

This talented ensemble pivots around multiple roles throughout the performance, creating a shape-shifting atmosphere with some impressive seamless transitions, allowing us to “open our minds” and be absorbed into the mythical world of Narnia alongside The Pevensies.

narnia manchester stage show review
lion witch wardrobe review mcr
Credit: Brinkhoff/Moegenburg

Sweetly played by Joanna Adaran, Jesse Dunbar, Kudzai Mangombe and Bunmi Osadolor, they excel in exploring sibling dynamics such as rivalry, trust, but most of all, loyalty and love.

The most mind-blowing element of this performance, however, was the production; it truly is the unsung hero of the entire show, so we’ll so the singing on their behalf.

Set and costume (designed by Tom Paris), lighting (done by Jack Knowles), puppetry design and direction (by Max Humphries and Toby Olie), sound design (credit to Tom Marshall) and hair, make-up and wig designer (Susanna Perez).

All this carefully curated talent helped create a world where we had no choice but to believe in magic.

For us as an audience, it made things so much easier to immerse and delight in the world of C.S. Lewis’ imagination, as it is so wonderfully presented in front of us.

This was elevated once again by levitation and disappearing acts – the scene was set on the
boards and in the air.

You can see more pictures from the show HERE.

Huge credit goes to Gwen Hales (aerial director) and Chris Fisher (magic and illusions); it felt as if anything was possible, and we needed no convincing that we were in the presence of pure enchantment.

However, arguably the most magnificent moment of the show was the reveal of Aslan himself.
As this grand puppet prowled onto the stage, you could hear gasps echo throughout the theatre.

Manoeuvred by three puppeteers, this skilful spectacle was a credit to bringing the story to
life in live theatre. The seamless, lifelike movements of breath and king-like presence were
both majestic and a credit to the production.

Accompanied by Stanton Wright, we had no doubt that this was the true hero of Narnia.

If you want us to sum up our review of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The Lowry, quite simply, this show is nothing short of a marvel.

narnia pla the lowry salford quays media city uk
Make sure to take home a cuddly lion toy, of course. (Credit: The Manc)

With constant playfulness and wit throughout – mainly brought to you from the broad Northern and oh-so lovable Mr Beaver (Ed Thorpe), and fellow believer in magic, ‘The Professor’ (Kraig Thornber).

It’s the lattermost that left us with a lasting thought, as he warmly reminds the audience that even when times feel dark, “the sun is always up there, we just have to look.”

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is running from The Lowry in Salford Quays all the way up until Sunday, 11 January 2026. Don’t miss the magic and grab your tickets HERE.

If you’re interested in finding out what else we’ve enjoyed at the theatre in Manchester recently, then look no further…

The Tina Turner Musical at Palace Theatre, Manchester – simply the best

Read more:

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

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press shots (Brinkhoff/Moegenburg supplied via The Lowry)

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