Be it the food and drink, leisure and shopping facilities old and new, bands like Blossom putting the town back on the map, or its growing nightlife scene, the regeneration of Stockport over the last few years has been wonderful to watch — and amongst it all, one place is shining bright: Bask.
Having only just celebrated its first anniversary after opening back in June of 2022, located right outside the train station, Bask is a bar, cafe, music venue and many more things all rolled into one and in the 12 months it’s been open, it’s arguably become the one of it not the best night out in Stockport.
At least for our money, anyway.
So, what makes this spot where people step out of the station to enjoy a coffee, a pint or something to eat so special? Well, it’s partly because of the fact that it never stays simply that place to grab a quick little something for very long — be there long enough and something is always happening.
If you do happen to find yourself stepping out of the station and making the two-yard trip from the doors onto the ever-developing Stockport Exchange, you’ll see Bask’s instantly recognisable orange sign outside a modern glass-panelled unit which used to be a coffee shop with about three people in it.
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Cut to today and you’ll find a large and lovely room lined with bar stool window seats, big speakers, two screens showing sport; plenty of tables as well as comfy booths and wooden benches sturdy enough to support your weight when you clamber on top of them hours later (we’ll get to that).
But before you get to that, you have plenty to choose from when it comes to food and drink in the daytime. Whether it’s a big breakfast to start the day, a steaming hot pie from local favourites Ate Days A Week, fresh butties or a luxurious meat and cheese platter to feel all cultured or just a pint of their house lager, you really spoilt for choice.
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As you peruse the healthy bar selection — stocking lots of booze including their house lager and two custom brands of Stockport Gin — you’ll see a glorious selection of cakes from Manc music legend Clint Boon’s wife, Charlie, who drops off fresh batches of baked goods every week and even hosts regular bottomless brunches and her already legendary
Credit: The Manc Group/BaskThere’s some seriously top scran.
Bask’s live gigs and mega music nights
Speaking of the Boons, the Tea Party isn’t just about scranning cakes and posh coffees: it’s a jumping-off point for what is an absolutely stellar monthly schedule that is regularly packed out with live performances, themed music nights and all-round partying.
From Inspiral Carpets, Reverend & The Makers, The Lottery Winners; The Sherlocks, Ruby J and all manner of massive music names from the North have taken to this stage already over the last year, and it won’t be long before more acts from all over the country cotton on to how mint a venue Bask is to play.
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You’ll also find many members of staff like barman and musician French Coriandah, as well as co-owners Simon Silcock and XS Manchester DJ Gareth Brooks on stage, playing guitar or spinning tracks on the decks — they even had This Is England‘s Thomas Turgoose doing a set the other week, as you do.
They also do their best to promote up-and-coming artists with their weekly Acoustica event every Monday, where aspiring musicians can rock up every week and it’s free entry for the punters. Even when there isn’t live music or, say an 80s-themed night on the cards, they still regularly belt out the best bangers from throughout the ages every weekend and, believe us when we tell you, it’s a vibe in there.
Credit: Bask/Thomas Edwards(via Instagram)We’ve had some absolutely belting nights out in Bask.
Bask Bingo, comedy nights, matchdays and more
And it doesn’t stop there — not even close. From the ‘Baskmaster’ pub quiz to their sellout Bask Bingo and ‘Bask in Laughter’ comedy nights which have seen the likes of Justin Moorhouse, Haley Ellis, Smug Roberts and countless others cracking up locals, they will literally have a stab at anything these lot.
The most impressive part, at least from our experience anyway, is that they always seem to pull it off. This place was originally supposed to open up as just a restaurant but after extraction issues set those plans back, they had to readjust and boy are we lucky they did.
Whether it’s inviting along spoken word artists every month, hosting FIFA tournaments or the Stockport Social Creative Culture and Music Mixer (a bit of a mouthful, we’ll admit), Bask isn’t happy to just be one thing or another and that’s why it’s so good.
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It’s even become a regular haunt for the Stockport County faithful week in and week out (having a few mad Hatters in-house doesn’t hurt), serving pies and pints pre-game, right up until late after it’s finished. While many pubs and bars keep footy fans at a distance, this place welcomes them in with open arms — they were even flying the flag for both teams at Wembley earlier this year.
Credit: BaskThey thrive on two slogans: ‘Stockport isn’t sh*t… it’s forever being beautiful’
It’s been a while since Stopfordians had a place like this. The town centre’s Underbank has gradually been rejuvenating under the Old Town revival and Foodie Friday now seems bigger than ever, but there’s something about having a spot that does all of this right on your doorstep that feels special.
We’re happy to go on record by saying that Bask is not only well worth swinging by at any time during the day but beyond just being the best night out in Stockport, it’s also currently one of the best times you’ll have anywhere in Greater Manchester.
If you’ve never been before, it’s worth heading over and giving it a try — you’ll most likely end up doing what we did the first time around: nipping in for ‘one drink’ and end up staying till 2am. Go on, why not?
Louder for those at the back: ‘Stockport isn’t sh*t’.
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It’s a good little crew this. Pop in and say hello.Credit: Bask/@thomasedwardsphotography (via Instagram)
Featured Image — The Manc Group/Bask (via Instagram)
Feature
Kinky Boots’ message transcends the music at the Palace Theatre in Manchester | Review
Oli Lowe
Kinky Boots strutted into Manchester last night (bet I’m the only reviewer witty enough to come up with an opening line that original) and in doing so encapsulated an audience with its inspiring message.
I want to preface this review by stating that up until last night, I knew next to nothing about Kinky Boots.
Admittedly, even as a born and raised theatre kid, there will always be the odd musical that manages to slip through the cracks and elude me, much like a cinephile who’s never seen Jaws and, shamefully, Kinky Boots is my Jaws. Until now.
This actually gave me a huge sense of excitement going into the press night for the all-new production of Kinky Boots.
It’s very rare that I review a show that I’m not comparing to some form of source material, a different production that I’d already seen, the movie adaptation, the original cast recording, etc.
So, to sit down last night at 7:29 absolutely clueless about what was set to unfold in front of me, was a genuine breath of fresh air.
Kinky Boots is set between the towns of Northampton, London and climatically, Milan. The story follows two lead characters Charlie Price, a Northampton boy who begins the show having just inherited his late father’s shoe manufacturing business.
It’s a fate he’s been trying to run from since his childhood and Lola/Simon, a fierce and powerful drag queen who uses their dress sense and divaesque attitude as a shield from the outside world that wishes to, ironically, drag her down
The two collide when Charlie is inspired to save his late father’s failing business by exchanging the manufacturing of boring brogues for fabulous ‘kinky boots’ that can be fabulous, whilst fully supporting the weight of any drag queen.
His energy has dropped one iota from rehearsals to the tour. (Credit: Press Images)
Johannes Radebe – best known for being one of the professionals on Strictly Come Dancing – was nothing short of absolutely breathtaking as Lola.
I’ll be honest, celebrity castings generally put me off shows more than attract me to them; in some cases, they can feel like desperate pleas to get bums in seats (which given the current state of arts within the UK, production companies can hardly be blamed for).
However, Johannes genuinely seems born to play this role. I was expecting his dancing to be well… professional but I was intrigued to see how his vocals and acting would compare and boy, oh boy, did they compare. He didn’t miss a beat.
His acting was fierce and powerful, just as his character demanded whilst also showing real vulnerability and humility. In terms of individual performances, it’s one of the best I’ve seen at Manchester’s Palace Theatre for a long while.
The supporting cast was just as fabulous, with special shoutouts to Courtney Bowman who played the adorably loveable Lauren, whilst delivering serious powerhouse vocals and to Scott Paige who played George.
You could see through Scott’s performance a real sense of pride and shared experience with the story plus his comedic timing was absolutely impeccable, I hope to see more of him in the future.
Kinky Boots boasts a strong supporting cast all-round (Credit: Supplied via Palace Theatre Manchester).
With a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by the legendary Cyndi Lauper, I must admit it’s Harvey who carries the weight in this production.
Whilst catchy enough to tap your feet to, I didn’t leave the theatre with so much as an earworm from Cyndi’s musical offering, however, the heart and passion of the story is something I think everyone should look to experience.
Kinky Boots is about accepting people for who they are instead of seeking to change them and this show does a fantastic job of encapsulating that message, not only from the standpoint of the LGBTQ+ community but for everyone.
The show implores people to accept everyone from the fiercest drag queen to the most bullish, typical ‘blokes’ out there and the way each of those groups manages to come together by the end of the production is a testament to what can happen if we all embrace each other with open arms.
Kinky Boots is only in Manchester until Saturday (8 February), so please, get tickets if you can and go and see this fabulous show. You can grab yours HERE. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get to see a living legend in the flesh like we did…
Featured Images — Press Images (supplied via Palace Theatre and Opera House Manchester)
Feature
Manchester’s Pixel Bar has received a seriously next-gen upgrade
Danny Jones
In case you somehow missed it, even in all of its beaming neon and futuristic glory, Pixel Bar Manchester has recently undergone some serious renovations and we’re not just talking a lick of paint – this is a proper next-gen upgrade if we’ve ever seen one.
One of the city centre’s best activity spots and go-to hubs for gamers, specifically, Pixel Bar has been impressing Manc players since 2021, when it took over the old Bar 21 site – one we were sad to say goodbye to at first.
But in the few short years that we’ve had the pleasure of picking up pads at this place, we’ve slowly managed to get over it and now we’re just as madly in love with the gaming gaff as we were its predecessor.
The bar itself was already pretty engaging to begin with but after more than a few tweaks to the overall hardware and a major refitting downstairs, its videogame offerings are bigger and better than ever.
Let’s start with the first thing that hits you as you come in: those brilliant booths, complete with large LED screens, access to various different kinds of consoles and all manner of titles, all from the comfort of the plush padded seating.
Not only are these ideal for group bookings and parties, as they’re roomy enough to seat plenty of you, but you can also order a wide array of gaming-themed food and drink – still displayed within a cute little disc (cute) directly to your table.
You essentially never need to get up and take a break from playing beyond nipping to the loo.
There are, of course, your classic arcade machines dotted around the main floor as well as downstairs if you prefer old-school.
Credit: The Manc Group
Speaking of downstairs…
Now, this is where the levelling up gets seriously silly as not only have they transformed Bar 21’s old basement room into a shiny new large seating area, perfect for private hires, large groups or just a quieter room out back away from the bustle upstairs.
However, wander even further into the belly of this brilliant gaming venue’s lair and you’ll find there more than a few beasts waiting for you – in a good way.
Part of the former club room has now been turned into a hardcore gamer’s arena with a fully decked-out PC den and some extremely impressive rigs lining the walls.
Credit: The Manc
Boasting Razer keyboards, headsets and mice to boot, this has everything you need to host a proper old-school LAN party or for the esports hopefuls amongst you (and Manchester’s scene is growing fast, believe us), host competitive online tournaments.
Honestly, these guys are taking this stuff as seriously as you’d like them to; pull back a curtain plastered with UltaGear and Riot Games Play Club branding and you’ll even find a dedicated casting booth should you want some to commentate a live event or run a properly presented livestream.
We don’t need to go into the exact specs of what you’ll find down here as we could be here forever but let’s just say you won’t go wanting for much.
God knows how much Pixel Bar pumped into this major refurb of their Manchester site, all we know is we’re impressed and we’ll be coming back here very soon.
Danny Jones -
14th July 2023 
