Two of the most popular nightclubs in Manchester city centre are to back students’ drink spiking protests by shutting on Wednesday.
Following growing national concern over the rise in drink spiking at nightlife venues across the UK, the two indie nightclubs 42nd Street – known colloquially among students and locals alike as ’42s’ – and The Venue Nightclub will close doors for the night on Wednesday 27 October in support of the boycott – which has been set up by members of the Student’s Union at the University of Manchester in a bid to get spiking taken more seriously.
Student nightlife staple 42s has confirmed it will pay staff in full for their work that evening, despite remaining closed.
In a statement addressing the decision to close posted on the club’s social media pages yesterday, 42 Street said: “After careful consideration, we have decided we are going to close next Wednesday 27th October.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, particularly as we have a lot of staff who rely on their income from 42s [and] as such, we will still be paying our staff for the night, despite being closed.
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“Everyone has the right to feel safe on a night out, it is important our staff and customers know that we take their safety very seriously.
“This is not a knee jerk reaction, we have consistently put our customers and staff at the forefront of our identity.
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“We support the @girlsnightinmanc initiative to improve the safety of people on a night out.”
The closures follow growing national concern over the rise in drink spiking at nightlife venues across the UK / Credit: Unsplash (Antoine Julien)
The Venue Nightclub has also taken the decision to close this Wednesday “in support of the protest taking place requesting nightclubs to take more action on protecting people from harm”, confirming that all ticket holders for Wednesday’s event will be automatically refunded, and that the club is in discussions with the licensing team from Manchester City Council to come up with a solution.
In a statement shared to the club’s Facebook page last week, The Venue said: “Whilst we have taken a number of steps ourselves, nobody should ever feel unsafe whilst on a night out [and] we are in constant dialogue with Manchester Licensing, our Security Team, and our staff to do more to stop what is an increasingly concerning issue.
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“As a Nightlife Operator, our customers safety has always been, and will remain, our number one priority.
“Since increasing reports emerged of these issues, we have already implemented a number of procedures in place to ensure a safe environment, such as increased search policies, welfare policies, promoting awareness to customers and creating an environment where customers feel they are able to report their concerns to staff whilst in The Venue.”
“We stand alongside everyone protesting that this issue must be given focus and eradicated from the nightlife sector,” the statement concluded.
The Venue also said it would “welcome all feedback” on what it can do to make clubbers “feel safer” in the future.
The decisions taken by the two clubs to close their doors on Wednesday in honour of the boycotts have been met with mixed reactions by students, who have taken to the comments sections underneath the social media posts on Facebook and Instagram to voice their opinions, with some welcoming and praising the decision, but others pointing out potential wider motives – including one Instagram user who said: “42s is closing on Wednesday so that you won’t be able to boycott them and they won’t suffer any losses and you’re all eating it up,” – and referencing alleged incidents during previous nights out in each of the establishments.
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The boycotts have been set up by members of the Student’s Union at the University of Manchester in a bid to get spiking taken more seriously / Credit: Flickr
The Manchester-based boycotts form part of the wider ‘Girls Night In’ initiative, which will see protests up and down the country on popular student nights, with people being asked to help encourage leaders to take action against the recent spate of spiking incidents.
“We’d like a response from Manchester Combined Authority, from Andy Burnham and Sacha Lord,” 19-year-old Emily Bennett – Liberation and Access Officer at the University of Manchester’s Students’ Union – told the MEN.
“We want to see them put measures in place.
“We want to see them funding anti-spiking devices, making it really clear that they don’t accept spiking. We want clear policies and procedures in place [and we want them to] try their best to catch the people spiking, and to know that there is support for those spiked.”
Discussing the issue of drinks being spiked with Mike Sweeney on BBC Radio Manchester last week, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “It’s just completely off the scale.
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“This thing is about again women and girl’s safety, you know, I’ve said before Mike, my daughters tell me some of the things that happen when they’re on nights out and it’s just it’s ridiculous. We thankfully – I’ve checked with GMP – haven’t had many reports of this, although there were some in the Fallowfield area at the time when the students were coming back to university.
“There was about five reports of drinks being spiked and we have looked into that.”
Mr Burnham also then added that: “This one’s for the men. This one’s for the boys. Get a grip, sort this out, don’t tolerate it. You know, we’ve all got mums, we’ve all got sisters, we’ve all got daughters. This, this is on us this one. Not on women, this is on us.
“Clubs do have to do more, so do men and boys.”
Featured Image – Google Street View
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Review | The Lion, The Witch and The Beaver* – sorry, Wardrobe
The Manc
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.
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.
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.
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…
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press shots (Brinkhoff/Moegenburg supplied via The Lowry)
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Peaky Blinders confirm title and release date of upcoming film
Danny Jones
After what feels like an age since it was first announced, Peaky Blinders and Netflix have finally confirmed the title and release date of the upcoming feature-length film.
It was revealed that the global streaming giant secured exclusive rights to the movie last year, and it has now been revealed that it will also be released in selected theatres before it hits the platform.
With production on the long-talked-about project getting underway in September 2024, we’ve heard little else from creator Steven Knight, who has also been booked to deliver the Oasis reunion documentary chronicling their Live ’25 world tour.
However, we now know not only the official title of the film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, and that it will be dropping early next year. They’ve even shared the first poster.
Clearly referring to the series’ most famous lead character, Thomas Shelby – played by now fully-fledged Hollywood A-lister Cillian Murphy since 2013 – the teaser shows him sat astride a horse, not to mention covered in a fair amount of dirt and/or blood.
Alongside the suit and the trademark newsboy cap with blades inserted in the brim (the calling card of both the fictional and the real ‘Peaky Blinders’), it’s quite a classic look of Tommy’s.
Scheduled to release in limited cinemas on 6 March before arriving on Netflix on 20/3/2026, this will not only be the first film in the wider franchise but the first to air separately from the BBC.
While its parent network is still involved as collaborators on the flick, this is the first instalment in the IP to be distributed directly by Netflix after they bought the rights to release the show in the US.
Another look at a seemingly older Tommy Shelby (Credit: Publicity picture via Netflix)
As for The Immortal Man, both new and returning members of the cast include:
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer, 28 Days Later)
Rebecca Ferguson (Dune, Silo)
Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight)
Sophie Rundle (After the Flood, Gentleman Jack)
Ned Dennehy (Culprits, The Peripheral)
Packy Lee (Blue Lights)
Ian Peck (His Dark Materials, Robin Hood)
Jay Lycurgo (Steve, Half Bad: The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself)
Barry Keoghan (Saltburn, The Banshees of Inisherin)
Stephen Graham (Adolescence, A Thousand Blows)
Speaking in a full press release, Murphy said: “It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn’t finished with me. It is very gratifying to be re-collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of Peaky Blinders. This is one for the fans.”
Returning four years after the end of the mainline series, but catching up with Tommy at the outset of WWII in terms of the actual timelines, Netflix say that the Shelby patriarch “is driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet.”
Safe to say we cannot wait to be back in the world.
In the meantime, you can find out more about the next season(s) of Peaky Blinders coming to the BBC very soon down below.
The Manc -
25th October 2021 
