Tens of thousands of people made their way down to the groundbreaking new £210 million Factory International theatre and arts venue – to be officially known as Aviva Studios – last month ahead of its official opening in October to see the major new installation by celebrated Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, and it’s fair to say they were left mesmerised by the jaw-dropping spectacle.
New late-night tickets added for Yayoi Kusama’s giant polka-dot inflatables exhibition / Credit: David Levine (via Factory International)
Once you walk through the doors of the brand-new warehouse space, the first room is a sea of black and yellow spotted tentacles covering the walls and floor, and towering way overhead.
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From here, you then head into the hangar-like main hall, where you can first view the full exhibition from a balcony, before having the chance to get in amongst the other-worldly selection of Yayoi Kusama’s creations for yourself – from a massive pumpkin, to inflatable clouds you can lie on.
You can also wander through a forest of glowing pink tentacles, gawp up at colourful dogs called Ring-Ring and Toko-Ton, and peer into a room of polka-dot mirrors.
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Some of the artworks are more than a whopping 10-metres tall.
If you haven’t yet been able to marvel at the spectacular installation with your own eyes, there’s now the the chance to see it after hours, as from this week (4 August), visitors will be able to experience the ambitious immersive environment on Friday and Saturday evenings – with tickets up for grabs from 7:30pm and last entry at 9:45pm.
The new late-night tickets will set you back £15 each, with a range of concessions available.
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Tens of thousands of visitors got the experience the new installation at MIF23 / Credit: The Manc Group
As well as the new late-night opening hours, there’s also a free programme of family-friendly activities inspired by the installation running throughout the school summer holidays – with everything from dance workshops, upcycling, and craftmaking, to other self-led learning activities led by local artists, makers, and creators on the lineup.
Then, on Saturday 5 August, audiences can get a curator’s insight into both the exhibition and Kusama’s life and work, with an illustrated talk by Factory International’s Phoebe Greenwood, the Tate Modern’s Katy Wan – who also curated Kusama’s ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’.
You, Me and the Balloons is on view in Manchester until 28 August, and you can grab tickets from the Factory International website here.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
What's On
Trafford Centre reveals Halloween events lineup with ‘nerve-shredding’ rides, creepy crafts, and more
Emily Sergeant
Spooky season is nearly upon us, and the Trafford Centre has now announced its lineup of Halloween activities to get stuck into.
With not long to go until schools across Greater Manchester break up for half term, and with Halloween within touching distance, the major shopping centre has revealed an exciting collection of events that’ll be happening over the next couple of weeks – and there’s activities for people of all ages.
From creepy crafts, to hair-raising rides and eerie evening entertainment, there’s something for every brave soul.
Back by popular demand from 25 October is the Halloween Fair, which will pop up outside The Great Hall featuring nerve-shredding rides, a spine-tingling atmosphere, carnival vibes, and loads more, right through until 2 November.
Brand new for 2025 is Fright Night at the fair, which is a truly immersive scare experience for daring teens and adults.
The Trafford Centre has revealed its Halloween events lineup for 2025 / Credit: Supplied
Fright Night will bring three evenings of pure horror from 30 October – 1 November, as creepy characters roam the fairground once the sun’s gone down.
For families wanting half term fun but looking for a gentler kind of magic, there’s a chance to join characters Wanda Web and Jack O’Lantern for some creepy crafts like relaxing pumpkin decorating, eerie face painting, and making your own witches and wizards hats to take home.
The legendary Big Wheel will also be returning for the festive season so you can ascend into the misty night sky high above the Trafford Centre for eerie nighttime views.
And to top it all off, Gandeys will be bringing back the fan-favourite ‘Spooktacular’ for 2025.
There’ll be ‘nerve-shredding’ rides, creepy crafts, and loads more to get involved with / Credit: Trafford Centre
“Halloween is one of the most exciting times of year for us at Trafford Centre, and this year’s lineup is bigger and better than ever,” commented Simon Layton, who is the Centre Director at Trafford Centre.
“From spine-chilling rides and late-night scares to pumpkin painting for the little ones, we’ve created an experience that everyone can enjoy. We can’t wait to welcome families, friends and thrill-seekers alike for a Halloween celebration like no other.”
Tickets for each of the events on Trafford Centre’s Halloween lineup for 2025 are now on sale and you can book them in advance online here.
More information and dates for each of the events can be found here.
Featured Image – Supplied
What's On
Trailer released for new Harlan Coben thriller series Lazarus filmed in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The trailer for Harlan Coben’s newest thriller series filmed in Manchester has been released ahead of airing later this month.
You may remember that, back in January of last year, Netflix confirmed it would be creating two more new Harlan Coben shows, following the smash-hit success of Fool Me Once starring Manchester’s-own Michelle Keegan – titled Missing You and Run Away.
Missing You went on to air on New Year’s Day this year, and it was announced in late January that Run Awaywas set to begin filming, again in Manchester, very soon.
But it turns out it’s not only Netflix that Harlan Coben fans need to be keeping their eye on, as Amazon Prime Video is now getting in on the action too.
First look images have been shared ahead of the release of Harlan Coben’s new thriller series filmed in Manchester / Credit: Ben Blackall (via Prime Video)
Prime Video has now released the official trailer for the highly-anticipated new thriller series Lazarus, which is based on an original story idea and written by the New York Times best-selling author, Harlan Coben, alongside his regular writing collaborator, BAFTA-winner Danny Brocklehurst.
Coben has worked with the critically-acclaimed Hyde-born screenwriter – who is most-famous for being the creator and writer of Sky One’s Brassic – for the creation of Lazarus, and it’s expected to be around the sixth time the pair have collaborated, with their previous successful works including Safe, The Stranger, and Stay Close.
Lazarus is set to follow title character Joel Lazarus who returns home after his father Dr Jonathan Lazarus dies by suicide, and begins to have disturbing experiences that can’t be explained.
He quickly becomes entangled in a series of cold-case murders as he grapples with the mystery of his father’s death and his sister’s murder 25 years ago.
The six-part thriller series stars big names like Sam Claflin as Joel Lazarus, and Bill Nighy as his father Dr Jonathan – with supporting performances coming from Alexandra Roach, David Fynn, Karla Crome and Kate Ashfield, to name just a few.
The show will be executive produced by Harlan Coben and Danny Brocklehurst, alongside star Sam Claflin, BAFTA-winner Nicola Shindler and Richard Fee for Quay Street Productions – which is part of ITV Studios.
All six episodes of Lazarus are set to be exclusively released Prime Video on Wednesday 22 October in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd August 2023 
