There’s a whole host of exciting exhibitions and activities to catch at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester over the festive period.
One of the highlights in the iconic museum’s winter events calendar is the last work by one of Britain’s best loved artists, sculptors, and famed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang creator Rowland Emett – which is now on display in Manchester for the first time in the Textiles gallery until April 2022.
Constructed in 1984, the unique moving sculpture named – which is named ‘A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley’ – was saved for the UK after being purchased for the Science Museum Group Collection with support from Art Fund, the Science Museum Foundation, the Friends of the National Railway Museum and private donors, and visitors are now able to see two scenes from the work of art telling the story of a journey aboard the imaginary ‘Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway,’ based on one of his cartoons.
The two scenes – Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway, featuring the ‘Wild Goose’ locomotive, and Oyster Creek – will come to life twice a day at 11.30am and 2pm.
‘A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley’ is now on display in Manchester for the first time until April 2022 / Credit: Science and Industry Museum
Visitors will be treated to “cogs whirring, characters toasting teacakes, and catching butterflies”, while also getting the chance to discover what the newly-arrived sculpture has in common with the museum’s thundering textiles machinery.
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Born in London in 1906, Emett was known for creating a series of intricate mechanical sculptures based on his imaginative creations, and is famed most for the inventions of ‘Caractacus Potts’ in the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – including the flying car itself, and the Humbug-Major Sweet Machine.
Explore the whimsical world of marvellous machinery with 'A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley'.
This intricate and beautiful sculpture is now on display until Apr 2022 – watch the fantastical scene come to life at one of our daily demonstrations: https://t.co/teGpZilwUupic.twitter.com/ANrmQzKycS
If that wasn’t enough, from 18 December to 4 January, there’ll be some other “wondrous winter activities” will be bringing the magic of machinery to life.
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At 10.45am, 1.15pm, and 2.45pm each day, under 7s can take part in ‘Mini Movers’ to “roll, clank, whirr and clack” around the Textiles Gallery, and explore the machines through imitation, invention, and imagination, and then visitors of all ages can join the museum’s team of Explainers in the Textiles Gallery to make a simple wind-up toy from recyclable materials.
The ‘Experiment Gallery’ is also a firm-favourite with families, where science is brought to life through a series of interactive exhibits, from lifting a mini, to creating a hurricane.
There’s also two unmissable major exhibitions dedicated to medicine and music / Credit: Science and Industry Museum
For older families there are two unmissable major exhibitions dedicated to medicine and music.
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Brand-new headline exhibition Cancer Revolution: Science, Innovation and Hope is the first major object-rich exhibition to explore the revolution in science transforming cancer care, while Use Hearing Protection: The early years of Factory Records lets you unearth the story of Factory Records’ formative years from 1978 to 1982, and how their innovative work in music, technology, and design gave Manchester an authentic voice and distinctive identity.
The Science and Industry Museum is also currently going through a multi-million pound restoration programme, which means that some areas – including the Power Hall – remain closed to the public.
But, there’s still plenty for families to do, see, and enjoy during the holidays.
Tickets for all winter activities at the Science and Industry Museum are available now and can be booked in advance on the museum’s website here, or by calling 033 0058 0058.
Featured Image – Drew Forsyth / Science and Industry Museum
What's On
Manchester’s new real-life Pac-Man experience is coming soon and you can grab early bird tickets
Danny Jones
Manchester already boasts a whole host of interactive games bars and activity destinations to boast, but we feel pretty confident in saying that there are very places on the planet where you can find a place to play a real-life version of Pac-Man.
First announced back in October and now scheduled to debut in March 2025, the Pac-Man Live Experience is the newest addition to Manchester’s growing entertainment scene and it’s promising to be a popular one too.
This brand-new life-sized immersive experience plunges players into the nostalgic world of the iconic video game we all know and love, only instead of using joysticks on an old-school arcade machine, they’ll physically sprint, dodge, and chomp their way through a maze.
Although the launch itself is still a few months away, the team behind this ingenious idea are getting ready for the frenzy and putting early bird tickets on sale ahead of opening day.
Credit: Concept Image (supplied)
So how does it work?
Good question: participants can gear up in a PAC vest and step into the role of the instantly recognisable yellow chomper, collecting power pellets, dodging the classic ghost characters – BLINKY, PINKY, INKY, and CLYDE – and racking up points on their way to victory.
Guided through an epic 12-level adventure, players will be led by the ‘PAC-MASTER’: a lively gameshow host who serves as commentator and referee; players will also be accompanied by immersive in-game effects like sound bites, lighting, and haptic (vibration) feedback to elevate the experience. Cool, right?
The striking Arcade Arena will feature two massive PAC-MAN courts projected onto the floor, while dynamic visuals transform the walls, fully immersing participants in the retro arcade universe. There’s no need for headsets either, so players can embark on a multi-sensory adventure, seamlessly blending the real world with augmented reality.
Created by Tom Lionetti-Maguire, the CEO and Founder of Little Lion Entertainment – the same team behind The Crystal Maze Live Experience, Tomb Raider, and Chaos Karts to the likes of London and more recently Manchester –
The whole thing has been brought to life in partnership with Bandai Namco Entertainment, lending the proper licensing to make the experience feel both fun and authentic. It’s the real deal.
Credit: Supplied
Early bird tickets for Pac-Man Live Manchester
If you’re not sold on playing a human-sized, real-life game of Pac-Man in a huge augmented-reality arena right here in Manchester then we don’t know what to tell you, to be honest – all we know is that we’ll be first in line when it arrives.
The Pac-Man Live Experience comes to the Arcade Arena on 22 March next year in line with the game’s 40th anniversary, and they’re inviting players of all ages and providing engaging gameplay for younger participants while delivering a nostalgic throwback that parents and grandparents will cherish.
Better yet, if you book during the early bird window, you can access discount ticket prices from just £25 per person too.
Early bird tickets go on sale at 12 noon today (Thursday, 21 November) – you can grab yours HERE.
Blood Brothers at Palace Theatre, Manchester – a timeless classic
Greg James
Bill Kenwright’s production of Blood Brothers surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End making it one of only three musicals ever to achieve that monumental milestone – and now it’s visiting us here in Manchester.
“Oh Bright New Day”, Blood Brothers has just landed back at the Palace Theatre. This musical written by Willy Russell is a British piece of theatre that is a staple in the musical theatre tapestry of our country.
For anyone who is unfamiliar with this iconic story, it is an emotional tale of two twins who are separated at birth and grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with the most fateful of consequences.
The story’s central character, Mrs Johnston is the linchpin in this whole story and carries us through the show.
This role has been played by many superb women over the years including Mel C, Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson and nearly all of the Nolan Sisters. This time, Mrs Johnston is performed by Vivienne Carlyle who provides a lovely maternal performance.
The other two lead roles are Mickey and Eddie, played by Sean Jones and Joe Sleight respectively.
These are really complex roles to play as the actors have to portray the characters from early school years to grown adults.
The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack MerrimanSean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones has been playing the role of Mickey now for nearly 25 years and so he is no stranger to this character. And I must say, he still fantastically plays the part, even when playing young Mickey, and the show really takes off when he enters the stage.
Joe Sleight is someone who I had not seen in the role of Eddie before and he gave just as strong a performance as Jones. He offered a real contrast to his counterpart with a really beautiful, touching performance.
The whole ensemble did a gorgeous job of helping to carry these characters throughout the musical, showing a real flair for multi-roling and beautiful musicality in the group numbers too.
Something which elevates this already gripping story though is the music. There are many recurring musical motifs throughout the show that on the surface may come off as repetitive but they offer perspective on how things can evolve and change over time.
Of course the song though that everybody is perhaps familiar with is the power ballad, ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’. This is the climax of the show and what a climax it is. There’s not a dry eye in the house when we reach this point of the story, I can assure you!
So, whether you are returning to watch this show again, perhaps know the story from studying it in English GCSE or seeing it for the first time, it will always be an absolutely timeless classic.
Blood Brothers is on at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 30 November. Tickets are available HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
24th November 2021 
