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‘Spectacular’ new moving art installation to travel through 50 Salford streets next week

You won't want to miss this.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 17th January 2024

50 residential streets throughout Salford are set to be visited by a “spectacular” new moving art installation next week.

And it sounds like it’s going to be absolutely mesmerising.

Organised by Salford City Council, ‘Mystery Bird’, which is a new moving art installation already being described as “spectacular”, will travel along 50 residential streets in Eccles from Tuesday 23 to Saturday 27 January, and will make its way through the historic Salford market town, taking in the sights of the Peel Green, Barton, Winton, and Patricroft communities along the way, all before before arriving in the town centre.

Residents along the route will be visited by an illuminated bird cage with a magical soundscape, and will get to experience a magical projection of the birds escaping across homes and buildings.

This impressive new installation is also about celebrating birds as a symbol of hope and freedom, and is made to be seen by an audience of all ages, abilities, and accessibility. 

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Running for five consecutive nights, ‘Mystery Bird’ will visit a different area of Eccles each evening from 5-7:30pm, starting with Peel Green on Tuesday 23 January, then Winton on Wednesday 24 January, Patricroft on Thursday 25 January, and Barton on Friday 26 January.

Visitors to Eccles town centre will then be treated to a magical pop-up ‘Mystery Bird’ moment on the Saturday, as the birdcage will spend around half an hour positioned outside St Mary’s Church to create a “stunning visual” for passersby.

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The birds will sweep around on to the church and surrounding building to create “a beacon of light” at the heart of the town.

A ‘spectacular’ new moving art installation will travel through 50 Salford streets next week / Credit: Chris Payne (via Salford City Council)

“Mystery Bird is an exciting project all about bringing people together,” commented Councillor Hannah Robinson-Smith, who is the Executive Support Member for Culture, Communications, and Strategic Priorities at Salford City Council.

“Communities in all corners of Eccles will be involved when this illuminated artwork travels down designated streets, and culminate with a projection of birds in the town centre.”

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Cllr Robinson-Smith says ‘Mystery Bird’ is “another fantastic reason to be proud of Eccles”.

She added: “[We want people to] visit Eccles town centre and all it has to offer, and it’s an opportunity to have an incredible cultural experience for free.”

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‘Mystery Bird’ will run from Tuesday 23 – Saturday 27 January all throughout Eccles, and you can see the full schedule and find out more about the event here.

Featured Image – Chris Payne (via Salford City Council)

What's On

Manchester’s new real-life Pac-Man experience is coming soon and you can grab early bird tickets

Danny Jones Danny Jones Real-life Pac-Man experience Manchester

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.

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Featured Images — Supplied

What's On

Blood Brothers at Palace Theatre, Manchester – a timeless classic

Greg James Greg James Sean Jones and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman

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 Merriman
The cast of Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean Jones, Gemma Brodrick and Joe Slight in Blood Brothers in Manchester. Credit: Jack Merriman
Sean 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.

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Featured image: Jack Merriman

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