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Peaky Blinders Manchester transforms into ‘speakeasy’ for new monthly cabaret show

Peaky's Speakeasy brings together a diverse lineup of burlesque, circus, and drag performance artists.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 4th May 2022

One of Manchester’s most popular nightlife venues is transforming itself every month for a new cabaret show.

Stepping inside Peaky Blinders Manchester may always feel like taking a trip back in time , but for one-night only every month throughout 2022, the Peter Street venue is inviting you to “peak your curiosity” as it transforms into its very-own speakeasy for a cabaret event featuring some of the best performers in the UK & Europe.

Peaky’s Speakeasy brings together a diverse lineup of performance artists from the world of Burlesque, Circus, Drag, and many more.

Each event features a lineup curated by Miss Lei-Lei.

According to the event description on the Peaky Blinders Manchester website, jazz quintet The Bourbon Street Band will provide the soundtrack to the new monthly show to take you into the night and “dance the blues away”.

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Don Vinaste – who is described as being the “purveyor of finery and quality goods” – will be at the helm, and will be on hand to proudly welcome you to “sample the delights on offer”.

Peaky’s Speakeasy brings together a diverse lineup of burlesque, circus, and drag performance artists / Credit: Peaky Blinders Manchester
There’s a range of ticket packages and options available to make it a night to remember / Credit: Peaky Blinders Manchester

General admission to Peaky’s Speakeasy is free, and gives you full access to the ground floor of the venue.

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If you want to make sure it’s a night to remember though, there are a number of ticket packages.

For £45 each, you can grab ‘Gala Tickets’, which gets you a table on the premium balcony floor with a full view of the band, but restricted view of cabaret show, and includes a three-course meal, a glass of prosecco on arrival, and the benefit from table and quick bar service, while £55 gets you a ‘Premium Table’ with the same three-course meal, glass of prosecco on arrival, and service, but with a table on the balcony that has a clear view of the stage and show.

If you’re keen to really get the full Peaky’s Speakeasy experience, then you can splash out on a ‘Premium Drinks Table’, which gets you a table on the ground floor of the venue with a full view of the stage and all the performances, and will set you back £450.

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Included in this ticket is the ‘The Tommy Shelby Package’ of drinks, which has a range of spirits, shot paddles, prosecco, and popular beers.

Peaky’s Speakeasy will take over the Manchester venue on selected dates throughout the year, with “no secret codes to get in” and the lineup of performances set to begin at 9:30pm and run until late in the night.

The next event is happening this Friday 6 May, and while tickets are selling fast, there’s still time to get your hands on them.

You can grab tickets for all Peaky’s Speakeasy events here.

Featured Image – Peaky Blinders Manchester

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Craig David announces huge outdoor gig at Barton Aerodrome in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Craig David

Craig David is bringing his legendary TS5 party to Manchester for a massive outdoor summer show. 

The legendary singer, songwriter and DJ will be taking over City Airport in Manchester, also known as Barton Aerodrome. 

The special show will combine old school anthems with R&B, garage, and bashment, alongside plenty of contemporary hits. 

Craig David, who rocketed to fame in the late 1990s, first launched his TS5 parties, where he sings, MCs and DJs, as an exclusive pre-party at his own penthouse in Miami. 

Initially, Craig used them as a way to play his favourite music to the people he loved the most – but it proved such a hit that he started to take it on the road. 

Craig David presents TS5 at Barton Aerodrome. Credit: Supplied

Guaranteed to be a great night out, Craig David Presents TS5 is now heading to Manchester for a summer show. 

The star has sold more than 15 million albums, secured more than 10 top 10 hits, and achieved multi-platinum status in more than 20 countries around the world. 

His TS5 shows now sell out at prestigious venues across the globe, and he’s even taken it to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. 

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The unique live concert will take place at City Airport in Manchester on Friday 14 July, just outside the city – the huge space surrounded by lush green fields will be transformed with epic light and sound productions. 

You can expect a night of sing-along hits, good time grooves and Craig David classics. 

Tickets will go on sale from 9am on Friday 31 March with Skiddle. 

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons

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

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Unbeknownst to many, there is an award-winning cocktail bar hidden beneath Coronation Street‘s original cobbles serving up some of the best drinks in the city.

Recently named ‘one to watch’ at the UK’s Top 50 Bar awards 2023, Project Halcyon has also just won the Best New Bar award – voted for by a community of some 17,000 hospitality staff at this month’s Manchester Bar Awards (MBAs).

Brought to Manchester by the team behind Zymogorium distillery, it originally opened in early 2020 – launching just weeks before the Covid 19 pandemic hit.

Like many other operators, the secret speakeasy – which is connected to the working distillery for Manchester gin makers Zymogorium – closed its doors during lockdown, then quietly relaunched in late October last year beneath Old Granada Studios.

Since reopening, it’s been flooded with accolades. General Manager Adam has just been named amongst the UK’s top 100 bartenders by World Class UK, whilst house bartender Reah Owen recently won the Rising Star award at the MBAs.

And yet, somehow, it’s still managing to fly under the radar as one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets – although, considering all the awards the team is winning, we expect this won’t remain the case for long.

Image: Project Halcyon
Image: Project Halcyon

The bar is something of a labyrinth with numerous corners to explore within its underground warren. As well as housing a large bar at its entrance, it’s also home to a dedicated absinthe parlour, Salon Vert, which has been painted to look like a woodland scene and features vintage crystal absinthe fountains.

Read more: This Manchester restaurant is serving an all-you-can-eat curry buffet throughout Ramadan

Elsewhere, there’s a still room and laboratory where the team uses chemistry equipment to create all the insane ingredients that go into their cocktails.

Add to this a self-playing grand piano and a rare collection of expensive spirits, and it’s safe to say Project Halcyon is very much up there with the city centre’s best cocktail bars.

As for its current drinks menu, open it up and you’ll discover that each signature cocktail is accompanied by a stunning illustration of a rare bird.

Choices include ‘Fourteen Days’, a long, tart drink that nods to the Halcyon days of Ancient Greece, and ‘Phoenix Down’, a smoky combination of smoky, nutty bourbon with bitter back notes that symbolises rebirth and eternal life.

Image: Project Halcyon
‘Murder of Crows’ (Chairmans Reserve Original – Cane Toad SMBS – Ming River Baijiu – Mandarin – 5 Spice). / Image: Project Halcyon

Elsewhere on the list, you’ll find the brilliantly-named cocktails ‘Act of Vanity’, a combination of melon liqueur, blueberry and Veuve Cliquot champagne, and ‘Murder of Crows’, a moody and short mix of spiced spirits that promises to be both dark and funky.

Read more: Inside the Manchester restaurant serving ‘India’s answer to a Wigan kebab’

The bar also serves up a list of six house classics, all of which are prebatched, prediluted and kept at -14 degrees ready to be poured at your table. Interestingly, though, because the drinks are already kept at the right temperature they aren’t diluted with water but rather with a variety of house-made concoctions.

General Manager Adam told The Manc that the most famous of these is the house vodka martini, made with Boatyard vodka, Cocchi Americano vermouth and clarified banana juice as the dilute.

Image: Project Halcyon
Image: Project Halcyon

“It makes for this insanely creamy, flavourful martini that’s classic but approachable,” he said, adding: “Our approach to the bar is that the science is for us to worry about, the hospitality is for the guests.

“We don’t put all this crazy techy stuff at the forefront of what we do. We prioritise good, classic, personal hospitality first and foremost.”

Read more: ‘We were treated awfully’ – ex-staffer speaks out as Freight Island gears up for reopening

The bar also boasts a vast collection of rare and expensive spirits – and amongst the usual suspects, such as Louis XIII cognac, sit some interesting pieces like the latest seasonal release from Nc’nean and Elena Wright, the latter a close friend of the bar and an award-winning Manchester bartender.

It also serves up a strong selection of wines and beers, not to mention a cracking gin and tonic. Of course, being run by one of Manchester’s original craft gin distilleries, we’d expect nothing less.

Feature image – Project Halcyon

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