Art & Culture

Massive Banksy exhibition will open in Greater Manchester next week – how to get tickets

One week to go!

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 13th October 2022

A huge Banksy exhibition is opening in a purpose-built space in Greater Manchester this month, with tickets on sale now.

The Art of Banksy event will take over a 1,200 sq metre structure in the heart of MediaCityUK, celebrating one of the world’s most famous artists. 

It’s set to open on the Piazza space on 21 October and will remain until 8 January 2023.

With his iconic street art-style work including Balloon Girl, Kissing Coppers and Flower Thrower, not to mention paintings like Show Me The Monet, Banksy is up there with the most influential artists of all time. 

The massive new art event, presented in partnership with HOME, will feature 145 authenticated Banksy works from 2002 to 2017, on display in a way not possible in a museum or gallery. 

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Banksy’s Show Me The Monet. Credit: Sothebys

It will also include an extremely rare Banksy art work, Leopard and Barcode, which hasn’t been publicly seen for more than a decade.

The piece was originally sprayed onto the side of a house near Bristol, but after being saved from demolition work by a local architect, spent years wrapped in a blanket under a spare bed. 

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The Art of Banksy will show how art has the power to affect social change, inspire the public and lay bare the undercurrents of social issues. 

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It will be at the Piazza in MediaCityUK between 21 October 2022 and 8 January 2023.

The exhibition has been produced by GTP Exhibitions Ltd and will be presented by The Art of Banksy Touring Ltd in association with HOME. The exhibition is not curated or authorised by Banksy.

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Tickets for The Art of Banksy are priced from £19.50 (concessions available) and can be booked online at artofbanksy.co.uk or over the phone, on 0343 208 1838.

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

Featured image: Supplied

Art & Culture

Fawlty Towers – The Play is coming to Manchester Opera House next year

Danny Jones Danny Jones Fawlty Towers The Play Manchester tickets

John Cleese’s much-loved Fawlty Towers – The Play is landing at the Manchester Opera House next year and we cannot wait.

The critically acclaimed theatre adaptation of the iconic sitcom, still revered as one of the greatest UK comedies of all time, first came to fruition back in 2016 and is now set to land here in Manchester city centre for the first time ever.

We’ve been treated to Fawlty Towers The Dining Experience at The Lowry Theatre in Salford before, but this is the first time the smash-hit West End stage production has headed North and judging by the reviews, audiences are about to be belly-laughing all the way to Torquay.

Coming to Manc crowds this time next winter, you can expect this one to be a sell-out.

Still busy playing a fully booked-up run at London’s Apollo Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue, the twice-extended West End show is packing up its stage for a massive tour across the UK and Ireland.

Announcing dozens of dates next year and well into the summer of 2026, including shows in Leeds, Liverpool, York, Stoke, Sunderland and many more, the show has earned four and five-star reviews from countless publications.

The Arts Desk have hailed it as a “comedy masterpiece [that] makes a seamless transition to the stage”, with actor Adam Jackson-Smith playing the lead role of Basil Fawlty and the entire cast said to leave viewers cackling with some of the best bits from iconic TV series recreated in the flesh.

Speaking on the stage adaptation, John Cleese said: “When we came up with the idea of bringing Fawlty Towers to the stage, I never thought it would get the reception that it has.

“On 23 December it will be 50 years to the day since we recorded the pilot at BBC Television Centre and I’m delighted the audiences we’ve had in the West End still think it’s as funny as ever. The announcement of the tour means many more people will now have the chance to laugh themselves helpless.”

John Cleese, now 85.

Set to hit the road 50 years on from the broadcast of the first episode on BBC Two back in September 1975, before going on to win countless awards including two BAFTAS and even being voted the best British programme of all time as part of a British Film Institute poll, it all feels very full circle.

Brought to life on stage by a creative team consisting of Cleese and fellow writer Connie Booth and directed by Caroline Jay Ranger – best known for her work on Blood Means Nothing (2019), My Week with Maisy (2024), Early Doors: Live (2021) and the Monty Python live show, there’s non-stop talent both on and off the stage.

One of the best part parts about a series that was stretched across just 12 half-hour episodes of TV is that you can just about manage to squeeze in the majority of the most memorable highlights into the approximately 1h50m run-time.

You can see the cast’s recent interview on This Morning HERE and for a short trailer for a better look at what to expect down below:

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Fawlty Towers – The Play comes to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 4 November 2025 and will be there until Saturday, 8 November.

General admission is live as we speak, with ticket options starting from £20 and going all the way up to £147.50 for the best premium seats and experience in the house.

You can grab your tickets HERE.

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

Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)

Art & Culture

IKEA are hosting a wide range of FREE Christmas activities this winter

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia IKEA Christmas events Ashton under Lyne

The flat-pack champions are putting on lots of fantastic events for IKEA members and customers to get involved with this Christmas.

What better way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year than to get stuck in with some festive arts and crafts while spreading Christmas cheer?

Even better still, it’s all free!

IKEA have hosted many free events across the holidays and they’re back again this December running a whole host of holiday craft and creative workshops over at their big Ashton-Under-Lyne branch.

Credit: IKEA

Although there may be no seats left at Santa’s breakfast table on Saturday, 7 December, visitors who book now can expect to decorate some delicious decorations at their ‘Gingerbread Creations’ workshop from 11:30am to 4pm.

The following day, you can try your hand at sprucing up your own Christmas tree (once again 11:30am-4pm) by making personalised ornaments with the help of their ‘Tree-rific Decorations’ event on Sunday, 8 December.

There’s also a chance you can show off your ultimate seasonal style in another free festive event which is even suitable for those who might not have a creative streak in them.

Start curating your best snazzy outfits and frocks this festive period, with the homeware retailer putting on a weekend set to feature more Christmas jumpers than any fashion week ever has.

If you aren’t all Christmas-sed out, from 13 to 15 December, you can also embrace the festivities by sporting your best seasonal stuff in-store from 9am until 5pm for their ‘Festive Wear Weekend’.

Credit: IKEA

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Once again, all these free festive activities are suitable for everyone, especially families, so why not treat yourself to a nice day out and embrace the holiday season in true Swedish fashion? Quite literally.

You’ll have to act fast if you’re planning on getting involved though, as the Scandinavian furniture company is making way for a total of seven free Christmas activities; their ‘Saint Lucia’, ‘Santa’s Christmas Eve Plate’ and ‘Winter Wreaths for Adults’ workshops are all fully booked already.

Anyone looking to stock up on Christmas activities and squeeze in some quality time in their ever-so-hectic December calendar can do so on IKEA’s website HERE.

Featured Images — IKEA/Zboralski (via Wikimedia Commons)

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