A brand-new innovative take on Macbeth is coming to a rather surprising venue in Oldham as part of a new production by the Coliseum.
It may be BY Oldham Coliseum Theatre, but this new stage show is taking place at a rather different kind of location entirely.
Teaming up with North West actor Nick Bagnall and director, who has already served in an associate role at the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, this will be his very first production, and unlike most other Shakespeare performances you will have come across.
With his various plays serving as ever-perfect pairings for adaptation, his version of arguably the world’s most famous tragedy is coming to an iconic site in its own right, which just so happens to be a nightclub.
Yes, Nick Bagnall and Oldham Coliseum Theatre‘s twist on Macbeth will be coming to none other than Liquid and Envy on Retiro Street.
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A legendary local institution known for more late-night entertainment, the native artist is using it as a staging ground for a very unique interpretation.
While this version will still revolve around the same themes of ambition, masculinity, power and identity, it will instead be set against a late-1970s backdrop, in a world filled with gangsters, casinos and similarly shifting social codes.
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Perhaps not as contemporary as current modern-day (we’ve seen plenty of that even in the past couple of decades alone), but it still looks set to be a creative take on the timeless tale; a retelling of Romeo and Juliet is also part of their autumn/winter programme.
Speaking ahead of the debut, Nick said picking Macbeth was a no-brainer. “Macbeth asks profound questions about power, identity and what it means to be a man,” he said. “Those questions feel urgent in a proud industrial town like Oldham that is navigating huge social and economic change.
Romeo and Juliet is also coming to the OCT (Credit: Supplied)
“I want to blow the dust off Shakespeare. This isn’t about putting the play on a pedestal; it’s about creating an experience that grabs people by the throat, whether they have seen Macbeth ten times or never encountered it before.
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“We want people who have never set foot in a theatre to walk into Liquid & Envy and feel this story belongs to them. Staging Macbeth inside a working Oldham nightclub creates its own intrigue.”
Martina Murphy, Chief Executive of Oldham Coliseum Theatre, went on to add: “This is a huge moment for the Coliseum. Nick’s Macbeth is uncompromising, thrilling and unmistakably of this place, and it announces exactly the kind of theatre we intend to make.
“As we continue our journey back to Fairbottom Street, we are determined to keep creating ambitious work that surprises audiences and reaches people wherever they are. Macbeth demonstrates that the Coliseum isn’t waiting for its building to return before making theatre of national significance.”
Check out the full list of scheduled performances set to arrive later this year:
Macbeth at Liquid and Envy in Oldham – 2026 dates
October
Friday 23 – 1:30pm (preview)
Saturday 24 – 1:30pm and 6:30pm (previews)
Monday 26 – 7pm (preview)
Tuesday 27 – 7pm (press night)
Wednesday 28 – 7pm
Thursday 29 – 1:30pm and 7pm
Friday 30 – 6:30pm
Saturday 31 – 1:30pm and 6:30pm
November
Monday 2 – 7pm
Tuesday, 3 – 1:30pm and 7pm
Wednesday, 4 – 7pm
Thursday, 5 – 1:30pm and 7pm
Friday, 6 – 6:30pm
Saturday, 7 – 6:30pm
It’s also worth noting that these shows have been put together with accessibility in mind, with the two-week season including a relaxed performance, an audio-described version, a fully captioned version, as well as two interpreted with British Sign Language. Things we love to hear.
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The Coliseum’s new Creative Director has also ensured that tickets remain affordable, with £15 concessions and preview passes costing just £20, as well as a discount for Oldham locals.
You can see the full list of ticket options and find out more information about this exciting production right HERE.
Safe to say that we can’t wait to see how this thing turns out. It’s not the only inventive theatrical take on a classic that’s coming to Greater Manchester later this year, either; find out more down below.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied/Nick Bagnall (via Instagram)
Theatre
Blue Planet III live in concert is coming to Manchester next year
Daisy Jackson
The spectacular Blue Planet III will come to Manchester live in concert next year, bringing the hit BBC nature documentary to life with a live orchestra.
The new arena tour will pull together the most breathtaking footage beneath the waves from across the series, curated for a giant Ultra HD LED screen.
Blue Planet III will hit screens later this year, narrated once again by the legendary Sir David Attenborough.
Filmed across four years, it will take audiences everywhere from tropical coral reefs to the darkest depths of the ocean.
When the Blue Planet III Live In Concert show arrives in Manchester, it will be hosted by series executive producer Elizabeth White, who’ll share incredible stories and behind-the-scenes insights from the making of the series.
The score once again comes from Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer, with Thom Lukas and Laurentia Editha for Bleeding Fingers Music, performed live by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
The companion live concert is preparing to take audiences even deeper into the underwater world on an epic audio-visual scale.
Specially curated footage from Blue Planet III will be shown on a state-of-the-art 200 sq metre Ultra HD LED screen – one of the largest of its kind used for an orchestral touring screen show and approximately the size of a tennis court.
Blue Planet III live in concert is coming to Manchester next year. Credit: BBC Studios
The brand-new Blue Planet III Live in Concert will kick off here in Manchester before heading to Birmingham, Glasgow, and London.
Executive Producer Elizabeth White says: “Making Blue Planet III has taken us to places we never imagined we’d film. But there’s something about bringing that footage into a concert arena full of people, with the score performed live all around you, that will be truly special.
“This tour is our chance to share the series on a completely different scale, and I can’t wait to be there live, revealing the extraordinary stories behind what audiences are seeing on screen.”
Hans Zimmer says: “There’s nothing like experiencing this score live with an orchestra, especially when it’s paired with the extraordinary visuals of the life underwater. Thom, Laurentia and I are ecstatic that audiences will be able to enjoy our score in this way.”
Blue Planet III Live in Concert will be at the AO Arena in Manchester on Friday 21 May 2027 – general release tickets start from £40 and go on sale from 11am on Friday 16 October HERE.
Dirty Dancing at Palace Theatre, Manchester – at least one audience member had the time of her life…
Daisy Jackson
For anyone who has watched Dirty Dancing so many times they can practically recite the dialogue, taking on the Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey roles is no small feat – and turning that lakeside romance into a live musical comes with even bigger expectations.
The stage production at the Palace Theatre in Manchester has all the familiar ingredients: the dancing, the music, the forbidden romance and, of course, that lift. But while there are moments when the theatre version captures the exuberance of the original, it doesn’t always manage to recreate its magic.
Charlie Varlet as Baby does a great job of embracing the knock-kneed awkwardness of the teenage star, slowly blossoming into a beautiful dancer who is almost eerily similar to the film’s Jennifer Grey.
And Joel Benjamin plays a striking Johnny, moving lightly for such an enormously muscular actor.
But there are moments where their chemistry fizzles out, too much of the script that focuses on their bickerings and misunderstandings to make you buy into their love story.
At points, it feels almost slapstick, and the result is a restless audience that keeps hooting and hollering at a topless Benjamin when he’s trying to deliver a serious monologue about Johnny’s upbringing. One woman shouts ‘LUCKY YOU’ and cackles as Baby sits in bed with him. It’s not a Magic Mike show, guys.
Where Dirty Dancing the musical shines is when it really makes the most of its full ensemble, with huge dance numbers that see limbs and skirts flying right across the stage.
Ellie Ferguson as Penny in Dirty Dancing. Credit: Danny Kaan
And it’s hard to take your eyes off Penny (Ellie Fergusson), even when she’s lurking in the crowd, so impressive is her stage presence and the execution of her dance routines.
Having a lot of the musicians on the stage is a fantastic touch too – you spot people playing saxophones and clarinets and guitars in a lot of the scenes and it adds a real party atmosphere.
The set design does its best to replicate the iconic moments of the film, but the cast shaking themselves dry under a blue light can’t come close to the magic of the lake scene.
If you’ve watched the film so often you can recite it word for word (guilty), you won’t find a lot of surprises up on the stage – the theatre adaptation sticks pretty tightly to the original plot and script.
Baby (Charlie Varlet) and Johnny (Joel Benjamin)Dirty Dancing is at the Palace Theatre in ManchesterCredit: Danny Kaan
It means that a lot of the moments that would translate best to stage – the underground dance party in the staff quarters, the montage of Baby learning to dance, the Hungry Eyes scene – are condensed into the first half of the musical.
The second half feels a little flat in comparison, just a lot of bickering and storming around the stage… up until that grand finale, when Johnny bursts from the back of the theatre and storms the stage to complete that iconic lift.
It’s worth all the trundle just for that final euphoric moment.
Dirty Dancing is at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 3 October, then will return next summer. You can grab tickets HERE.
Danny Jones -
24th July 2026 
