City Centre

A Planet Earth II screening with a live orchestra is coming to Manchester

The screening will show the most iconic clips from David Attenborough’s Planet Earth II series, accompanied by a live orchestra 


Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 15th March 2022

A screening of the BBC’s breathtaking Planet Earth II series is coming to Manchester AO Arena on 25 March, accompanied by live music performed by an 80 piece philharmonic orchestra.

Viewers will be treated to spectacular scenes from the Bafta and Emmy-award winning series, alongside a live soundtrack scored by Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe.

As part of the event, a philharmonic orchestra will appear on stage alongside science and natural history TV presenter Liz Bonnin. 

There are may be as few as 3500 snow leopards left in the wild. They are famously illusive and difficult to film and have become increasingly threatened by climate change and human disturbance.

Liz will share behind-the-scenes insights from Mike Gunton, the BBC television series’ executive producer, whilst magnificent scenes of natural life are projected onto a giant, state-of-the-art screen for all to see. 

The award-winning series, narrated by national treasure David Attenborough, takes viewers from the frozen tundra in the north to the dry forests of the equator – with Attenborough giving his own unique and compelling perspective on the planet throughout. 

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Now, fans can experience it live in Manchester at the AO Arena as part of this special live tour – this time with narration from Liz Bonnin. 

Showing the wonders of the natural world in breathtaking detail, its 2006 predecessor Planet Earth I was one of the very first nature documentaries to be filmed in.

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Read more: A new £21.5m interactive visitor attraction is opening at Jodrell Bank this summer

Over a decade later, Planet Earth II zoomed in even more on wild and inaccessible landscapes, elusive animal behaviours and the city-dwelling habits of those creatures that have adapted to urban life – making history as the first-ever BBC documentary to be filmed in ultra-high definition. 

Sloths are adept swimmers, as this pygmy three-toed sloth demonstrates. Found only on the tiny island of Escudo de Veraguas, Panama, the pygmy sloth is the smallest of all sloth species and is considered endangered.

Speaking on the upcoming show, wildlife expert Liz Bonnin said: “I’m delighted to be finally on the road with this as it’s been a long time coming. We’ve had to postpone it three times now. 

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“I’ve been just so excited to do it from the moment I was asked, through the initial rehearsals and shaping the script, it’s been really special for me. 


“Especially since the pandemic, to have such a multi-sensory experience that really celebrates not just nature, but the arts and the best aspects of humanity, where we can recognise the beauty of the planet around is something I’m really delighted and grateful to be involved with.”

This alpha male Rhesus macaque rules this part of town. Here in Jaipur, India, he not only takes the food he wants from the street markets but he, and his troop, have also taken over a house and been squatting it for the last 5 years!

Read more: Popular bargain store Flying Tiger is finally opening in Manchester

Conductor Matthew Freeman added: “Seeing the footage in these huge arenas on an enormous LED screen, with all that colour and those underwater worlds so closely photographed, accompanied by a 64-piece orchestra and a 16-voice choir through a huge, state-of-the-art PA system, it really is a phenomenal and powerful experience. 


“We have extraordinary visuals, heightened with music that takes the viewer to another level. It’s really quite emotional.”

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To find out more and book tickets, visit the website here.

Feature image – Supplied

City Centre

Guardian critic Grace Dent raves about ‘pointedly bonkers’ Manchester restaurant Musu

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

The food critic Grace Dent has published a rave review of one of Manchester’s new restaurant openings, Musu, bestowing national kudos on the Bridge Street eatery.

Referred to by the Guardian reviewer as ‘very possibly the most expensive restaurant in Manchester’, in a glowing write up she compares it to ‘the Starship Enterprise, albeit one with geishas on the walls and a £110 seven-course menu’.

Already a favourite of Ilkay Gundogan’s notoriously hard-to-please wife (it’s the only eatery she’s praised since famously saying that the Manchester food and drink scene was ‘horrible’), thankfully, Musu has now found a more discerning reviewer to recommend it.

Dent opens by advising ‘all who have already taken terrible umbrage that Musu even exists’ to ‘abandon reading this review here’, before going on to say she, personally, is ‘rather cheered that there are still people north of Watford who have the faith and gumption to open places as pointedly bonkers as this.’

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

The 55-cover restaurant is described as being ‘as dark in places as Adrian Mole’s bedroom’, with plenty of attention paid to its ‘theatrical’ detailing.

A glass-fronted private dining room that, ‘at the touch of a button, turns frosted’, gets a special mention, as does Musu’s bold ‘Japanese murals, globe lighting and […] nakedly open kitchen’.

Read more: Ilkay Gundogan’s wife has finally found a restaurant she likes in Manchester after saying our food and drink scene is ‘horrible’

But the real praise is reserved for the cooking of chef Michael Shaw, formerly of Gordon Ramsay Inc and Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, hailed as ‘minuscule portions of exquisite pleasure that linger in your mind.’

As she reels through the seven-course tasting menu, praising each dish as she goes, things go from great to excellent.

At one point, after digging into Musu’s sashimi (described as ‘ three of the finest pieces of sashimi imaginable’) she proffers: ‘I felt like handing my badge back there and then – it’s over; I won’t ever taste better’, before moving on to another ‘outstanding’ dish.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

If there is a criticism, it’s that upon finishing the seven courses she still finds herself hungry – commenting: ‘Very rarely – in fact, never – do I wish I’d chosen the longer tasting menu, though at £150 plus drinks, that would have been guaranteed to cause a reader revolt.’

This, in turn, leads to some good-natured musing on just who all these people are spending hundreds in ‘mobbed’ Musu on a Friday night, with Dent asking pointedly: ‘Where are they getting their money? None of them seemed to be the type to have Brink’s-Mat gold buried at the bottom of their garden.’

Read more: Historic Salford boozer The Crescent where Karl Marx drank set to reopen

Summarising, she writes: “If you’ve already decided to boycott Musu over the sheer cost, the din and the small portions, I must at this point stress that the food is outstanding.

“Sure, Musu isn’t for everybody, but if someone else is funding your wanton extravagance, then drag them there. It’s unforgettable for many reasons: some of them are hilarious, yes, but mostly they’re just plain good.”

Read more: The best restaurants and bars to open in Manchester in 2022

Feature image – The Manc Eats

City Centre

Manchester brewery Squawk is opening a bar in the Northern Quarter

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Manchester brewery Squawk is opening a new bar in the Northern Quarter this week, taking over the former Beatnikz taproom site.

Called Pelican, it is the first bricks-and-mortar site for the indie brewery favourite which first launched in Manchester ten years ago.

Until now, the brewery’s humble home has been located in an old railway arch in Ardwick and, for the first few years, it was just owner Ollie and his dog Bernie running the ship.

Over the years, though, it has grown into one of Manchester’s best-loved breweries – with Ollie slowly taking on new recruits along the way.

Now, as of this Friday, fans of Squawk’s locally-brewed beers will be able to head down to Dale Street for a taste of its famous fruity IPAs, light lagers and punchy sours.

Image: Squawk
Image: Squawk

The new bar will sit next door to Idle Hands cafe and take over the former home of Beatnikz Republic taproom, which sadly closed its doors in April last year.

Read more: One of Manchester’s best-loved breweries announces ‘incredibly sad’ closure

With 14 keg and 4 cask lines in total, there’s plenty to tempt craft beer and ale fans with lots of room to host Squawk’s own beers alongside a wide variety of rotating guest selections.

As for those who aren’t into craft beer, there’s more on offer too with a beautifully-curated selection of wine and spirits to choose from as well as a mean hangover-curing Bloody Mary.

The bar will also host live music and a number of fringe events, with DJs spinning beats throughout the opening weekend and going forward.

Image: Squawk
Image: Squawk

Punters can also expect film nights, karaoke hosted by Andy Baukham of Wizard King fame, foodie
offerings, games nights and Crafternoons for all and sundry to enjoy at Pelican when it opens its doors this Friday 31 March.

Read more: The award-winning cocktail bar hidden beneath the old Coronation Street cobbles

Oliver Turton, the head brewer and founder of Squawk, first set up the brewery in 2013 after following his own personal journey from barista to chef, to beer-obsessed brewer.

What first began as a hobby soon became a way of life, with Squawk soon moving into its own archway in Ardwick.

Read more: Historic Salford boozer The Crescent where Karl Marx drank set to reopen

Whilst today those archways have become somewhat synonymous with indie breweries, back then Sqwuak was one of the early trailblazers – opening alongside the likes of Blackjack and Marble.

Featured image – Google Maps

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