Manchester’s gaming scene continues to get bigger and bigger every year and now one of the UK’s biggest VR arcades is coming to the city centre too.
Starting out in 2017 as London’s first and largest virtual reality arena, DNA VR are now making their way to Manchester with their latest location and it promises to be next-level (gaming puns are unavoidable with this stuff, leave us alone).
Promising some of the best and most immersive ‘alternative’ activities you’ll find anywhere in 0161, DNA VR’s arcade is packed out with an impressive library of games, over 100 virtual arcade challenges and even virtual escape rooms.
From surviving a zombie apocalypse to visiting the Great Pyramids, exploring the depths of the ocean, fighting off dragons or defending the Earth from an intergalactic disaster, there’s a wide range of genres on offer at DNA VR Manchester. We sincerely want to bring our arachnophobic friends along for this:
With the capacity to host up to 16 various virtual sessions (19 people) all at one time, each offering true escapism and unparalleled immersion, this place is sure to become a go-to for works dos, birthday parties, family days out and more.
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It doesn’t have to be a group event either, visitors can experience this place either solo or as part of a team, with virtual reality modes on offer across 70 different games, each providing hours of gameplay in a truly unique entertainment experience.
But it doesn’t stop there: you can even enjoy a free-roam arcade, offering explorative experiences, more escape rooms and horror game modes for up to four players, such as Hospital Of Horror, Space Station Tiberia and Depths Of Osiris.
Credit: DNA VR
Now, on the subject of horror, those requiring a little dutch courage can also enjoy a tipple both before and after the game if you need to decompress from fighting off a horde of monsters, as DNA VR Manchester will be fully equipped with a minibar, serving an array of drinks in their futuristic foyer.
You had us at tipple.
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Many famous faces have already come through doors down south — everyone from Idris Elba, KSI and Chris Hemsworth — and this place is sure to fill up from the second launch day hits. Speaking of…
DNA VR Manchester’s grand opening is taking place on Wednesday next week (22 March) and the best part is, even for those looking to try it from out of town, the new venue is right in the city centre and just a 15-minute walk away from Piccadilly Station.
With two Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards to their name in just a few years of being open and regular crowds piling into their Camden, Hammersmith and Battersea sites, it’s clear these lot know what they’re doing and we can’t wait for DNA’s VR Masters to repeat their winning formula up north.
Situated in the Core building on Brown St, M2 1DH, you can book your first-ever DNA VR experience HERE. Vouchers for Christmas bookings are already available and you can even use the discount code MANCHESTER10 for 10% off your first visit. Say no more.
Chester Zoo opens massive ‘African savannah’, one of the UK’s largest-ever habitats
Daisy Jackson
Chester Zoo has today opened its doors and revealed a magnificent new African savannah habitat, the Heart of Africa – one of the largest in the UK.
The massive new habitat at the beloved attraction is home to dozens of African species, including giraffes, rhino, zebra, vultures and meerkats.
Chester Zoo has created a vast open savannah where guests can come across species living side-by-side, as well as new indoor habitats where you can see smaller species like never before, and habitats you can clamber inside.
The centrepiece of the Heart of Africa is the savannah, where you can see giraffes, Grevy’s zebras, roan antelopes and ostriches all roaming together across grasses and water.
As you weave around the incredible new habitat, which spans an area the size of 17 football pitches (22.5 acres), you’ll also come across several new aviaries where birds hoot, tweet and screech.
There are 31 species of bird here, including a fabulous flock of 120 greater flamingos, three types of critically endangered vulture, colourful black cheeked lovebirds, and Africa’s largest owl, the Verreaux’s eagle owl.
One of the most impressive new areas is the Hidden Savannah, where you can clamber inside a safari jeep that’s within the actual enclosure, so that you can see 10,000 locusts all around you from the driver’s seat.
This indoor habitat is also home to adorable, wrinkly little naked mole rats, who have a network of tunnels to burrow through, and other rodents like short-eared sengi and pygmy mice.
Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures
Heart of Africa at Chester Zoo, in pictures. Credit: The Manc Group
As for the cold-blooded animals, or ectotherms, there’s Trevor the African bull frog, plus dung beetles, red spitting cobra, Ethiopian viper and pancake tortoises.
There are 15 other mammal species to encounter too, including African wild dogs, meerkats, Eastern black rhino, yellow mongoose, and dik-dik.
The Heart of Africa stands as a symbol of Chester Zoo’s continued conservation efforts across the continent, which includes combatting poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
It’s thought that the Heart of Africa will attract an additional 200,000 visitors to Chester Zoo each year while creating 30 new jobs.
Heart of Africa officially opens to visitors on Saturday 5 April – you can book zoo tickets HERE.
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon to kick off UK tour in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Multi award-winning musical Sunny Afternoon is set to kick off its UK tour here in Manchester later this year.
Following a sell-out run at Hampstead Theatre, the musical production featuring all the hit songs by legendary rock band The Kinks opened to critical acclaim at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran for two years ahead of its sensational UK and Ireland tour throughout 2016/17.
It also collected four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music for Ray Davies, along the way.
Award-winning The Kinks musical Sunny Afternoon is kicking off its UK tour in Manchester / Credit: ATG Tickets
Set against the backdrop of Britain on the cusp of the rebellious 60s,Sunny Afternoon is described as being an ‘exhilarating and moving’ celebration of the music, life, and the band that changed it all, The Kinks.
Sunny Afternoon celebrates The Kinks’ raw energy, passion, and timeless sound.
Charting the ‘euphoric highs’ and ‘agonising lows’, the smash-hit production tells the band’s story through an incredible back catalogue of chart-toppers – including ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Lola’, ‘All Day and All of the Night’, and of course, ‘Sunny Afternoon’ itself.
Tickets are on sale now from just £15 each / Credit: Kevin Cummins
Producers Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions announced last week that the show would be returning for another UK tour later this year, and it’ll be opening right here on one of Manchester‘s most iconic stages.
The hit musical will open at Manchester’s Palace Theatre on 10 October 2025 and it will run right through until 18 October.
Sunny Afternoon has music and lyrics, and an original story, all by the band’s frontman Ray Davies, along with a book by Joe Penhall, direction by Edward Hall, design by Miriam Buether, and choreography by Adam Cooper.
Danny Jones -
16th March 2023 
