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You can watch Marvel films with cocktails and popcorn at a hidden Manchester cinema this weekend

The Marvel Movie Weekender will be taking over King Street Townhouse from Friday 24 - Sunday 26 June.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 20th June 2022

A whole host of popular Marvel films are being screened at a hidden cinema in Manchester city centre this weekend.

If you’d consider yourself to be a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and all things superhero, then you’ll probably want to get yourself down to one of Manchester’s most popular hotels, King Street Townhouse, this weekend as the venue’s very-own exclusive cinema will be screening eight films from the iconic franchise.

The Marvel Movie Weekender will be taking over from Friday 24 – Sunday 26 June.

King Street Townhouse’s vintage-style cinema isn’t always one that everyone’s familiar with, as it’s tucked away in the hotel’s cellars and seats only a handful of people at a time for the ultimate viewing experience, but it’s well worth a visit and this weekend couldn’t be a more ideal time.

The award-winning hotel is inviting fans to “assemble your Avengers” for a Marvel movie weekend, which is kicking off with screenings of all three films in the Iron Man series starring Robert Downey Jr as the title role on Friday 24 June.

Saturday will see two stand-alone Marvel classics screened, starting out with the groundbreaking 2018 smash-hit that is Black Panther, starring the late Chadwick Boseman as the title character.

The final film in the Avengers franchise and the second highest-grossing film of all time, Avengers: Endgame, will then round out the Saturday lineup.

The Marvel Movie Weekender will be taking over from Friday 24 – Sunday 26 June / Credit: King Street Townhouse

Bringing the weekend to a fitting close, all three films in the original Spider-Man trilogy, with Tobey Maguire donning the spidey suit, will then be screened on Sunday for “a dash of Spider-Verse chaos”.

Tickets to the Marvel Movie Weekender start from £15 per person for just the film, and are available to book on the King Street Townhouse website here.

If you want to upgrade this to include a cocktail, popcorn, and pick ‘n’ mix package, then it’ll be £30 per person instead, and for those wanting a mini-Marvel Marathon, then you can either watch the whole Iron Man or Spider-Man trilogy for £50 per person.

A cocktail and treats are included in the movie marathon ticket prices.

King Street Townhouse’s vintage-style cinema is tucked away and seats only a handful of people at a time / Credit: King Street Townhouse

Marvel not really your thing? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of other cinema packages at King Street Townhouse too, including the ‘Movie Night In’ package – which gives you exclusive use of the whole private cinema to yourselves, and your party can pick any movie, documentary or sporting event to watch.

The ‘Reunion Cinema Package’ is also another popular one, which gives you and your friends and family private use of the cinema, the choice of what to watch, and also the option to add on a three-course dinner with wine at the King Street Townhouse Wine Cellar.

Other packages available to book include the ‘Cocktail Cinema Package’, the ‘Cinema Brunch Experience’, and the ‘Cinema Afternoon Tea’.

You can find more information and get booking on the King Street Townhouse website here.

Featured Image – King Street Townhouse

 

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Here & Now – The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Here & Now - The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester

A musical inspired by pop band Steps is coming to Manchester this year, and the principal cast for Here & Now has now been confirmed. 

The musical features Steps’ most beloved hit songs, including Tragedy, Heartbeat, Stomp, the One For Sorrow, Better Best Forgotten, 5,6,7,8, Last Thing On My Mind, Love’s Got A Hold Of My Heart, Chain Reaction, and many more. 

The story is set in seaside superstore Better Best Bargains, where it’s Friday night, the vibe is right, and everyone’s dancing in the aisles. 

But when Caz discovers the shelves are stocked with lies and betrayal, the summer of love she and her friends dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy. Have they all lost their chance of a ‘happy ever after’? Or does love have other plans in store…?

Here & Now has an original book by Shaun Kitchener and is directed by Rachel Kavanaugh, with choreography by Olivier Award-winning Matt Cole and Matt Spencer-Smith as musical supervisor, orchestrator and arranger.

The show is produced by Steps themselves, ROYO, and pop legend Pete Waterman.

Producers have now confirmed that Rebecca Lock will star as Caz, returning from the original run in Birmingham. 

Here & Now – The Steps Musical is coming to Manchester

Finty Williams will play Patricia, Blake Patrick Anderson will be Robbie, River Medway (fan favourite on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, BBC) is Jem, Edward Baker Duly (The King and I) as Max and John Stacey as Lesley.

There are new cast members joining the principal cast too, including Jacqui Dubois (Ghost The Musical UK tour) as Vel, Chris Grahamson (NOW That’s What I Call A Musical UK and Ireland tour) as Gareth and Rosie Singha (& Juliet UK and Ireland tour) as Neeta.

Set design by Tom Rogers, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Adam Fisher, wigs, hair and makeup design by Sam Cox, casting by Will Burton for Grindrod Burton Casting, Music Technology by Phij Adams with Production Management by Setting Line.

Steps are one of the biggest pop bands of a generation, made up of Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian ‘H’ Watkins, Lee Latchford-Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee. 

In their career they achieved 14 top five singles, four number one albums, 22 million record sales, 500 million streams and 11 sold-out national arena tours.  

Steps’ 2017 comeback tour was one of the biggest pop tours of that year, with 300,000 tickets sold, and they’ve continued to release new music.

You can find out more about Here & Now and book tickets HERE. 

Featured image: Supplied

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All the talented winners of this year’s Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson All the talented winners of this year’s Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 

The winners of this year’s Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting have been announced, as the major award continues to elevate new voices.

This year’s overall winner is British-Nigerian writer Tolu Okanlawon, with his debut play SHOOTERS, which follows African American photojournalist Gordon Parks as he documents the lives of a group of teenage boys in 1940s Harlem for Life Magazine. 

In his play, Tolu focuses on the question of who has the right to tell another person’s story, delving into themes of power, vulnerability and accurate representation.

Tolu has received a £20,000 award at the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, with the winners announced at a glittering ceremony at the Royal Exchange Theatre last Monday. 

Previous winners of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting have included Phoebe Eclair-Powell, Duncan Macmillan, Alistair McDowall, Janice Okoh, Nathan Queeley-Dennis and Katherine Soper.

This is a landmark year for the Prize, which is marking its 20th anniversary and celebrating the long-standing collaboration between Bruntwood (one of the UK’s leading commercial property developers), The Oglesby Charitable Trust, and the renowned Royal Exchange Theatre. 

Also announced at the ceremony are the winners of this year’s Prize categories, which champion writers across the globe and at all stages of their playwriting careers. 

The Judges Award, and a £10,000 prize, went to Przewalski’s Horses by Silva Semerciyan, which follows a woman fleeing war-torn Kyiv as she seeks refuge with her estranged grandmother in the radioactive wilderness of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. 

She has previously been shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize, and for the Off West End Awards.

Jesús I. Valles, a queer Mexican immigrant writer-performer from Texas, won The International Award with SPREAD, which follows a group of boys in 9th grade as they navigate the balance of childhood and the ever-present push of adult pressures.

R Lady’s by Daisy Miles received the North-West Original New Voice Award and Residency. 

The Stockport-born writer is currently training with the Royal Exchange Theatre’s Young Company of Writers, and R Lady’s is her first full-length play.

The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting event at the Royal Exchange Theatre
The Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting event at the Royal Exchange Theatre

For the first time, a special commendation has also been awarded as part of the North-West Original New Voice Award, to disabled, hard of hearing, neurodivergent writer and actor Terri Jade Donovan, who was recognised for their play DOG DOG DOG – an unpredictable exploration of the impact of childhood trauma and neglect.

Terri was awarded a £5,000 grant.

Selina Cartmell, Artistic Director at the Royal Exchange Theatre and judge for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, said: “As a judge for this prize in its landmark 20th year, I’ve had the extraordinary privilege of reading work that has challenged, surprised, and moved me in equal measure. 

“Our 15 shortlisted writers represent something remarkable – the courage to imagine different worlds, to ask uncomfortable questions, and to trust us with their most profound creative insights. 

“Each script on our shortlist offers a unique window into who we are as a society, and more importantly, who we might become. SHOOTERS is an extraordinary play beautifully crafted by Tolu Okanlawon, a huge congratulations to him, to our other winners and to every writer who has shared their bold visions with us. 

“None of this would be possible without the remarkable partnership between the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Oglesby Charitable Trust, and Bruntwood. So, let’s celebrate our shortlisted writers, honour our partnerships, and look forward to a future filled with the stories we haven’t yet imagined.”

Chris Oglesby, CEO of Bruntwood, added: “The Bruntwood Prize was born out of a deeply held passion that my parents had for theatre, in particular the Royal Exchange, and their recognition that a vital part of its ecology was new writing. 

“20 years later, we are still uncovering incredible new stories and brilliantly talented new writers. The success of this Prize is testament to the wonderful partnership both the Oglesby Charitable Trust and Bruntwood have with the Exchange and is proof that philanthropy is about so much more than making a donation. 

“Together we have created a Prize that now has international reach, putting Manchester on the map as a home for phenomenal new writing. 

“The Prize has continued to champion and recognise the hard work of writers and the impact that plays can have on those who watch them. Today, we get to celebrate more winning writers, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.”

You can find out more and see all the winners HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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