Last Wednesday night DJ Andy Burnham treated constituents to an in-depth journey of his musical back-catalogue, spinning sweet plates of plastic in the Chorlton venue Electrik. Burnham’s artistic journey to the lofty heights of a desk at the back of a bar has been a long and arduous one, especially since his occasional wanderings into […]
The UK Border Regime: the ‘hostile environment’ dissected
Like many other UK citizens, I owe my existence in this country to family members who migrated here. My father and his family sailed here from India in 1948, escaping the horrors of partition, to settle in Farnworth. My maternal grandmother migrated from Ireland to Salford, seeking to escape the grinding poverty she grew up […]
Philosophy Café: ‘Should democracy tolerate those who wish to destroy it?’
In what feels like a time of increasing social and political uncertainty, I have found myself employing a few strategies to keep my mind from imploding. They include thinking about the ‘big’ questions, as they tend to withstand the relentless plot twists of the theatre of current affairs, paying more attention to the questions posed, […]
Review: Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism
Mary Quaile, a Manchester Irish trade unionist and one of the first women to be elected onto the Trades Union Congress, led a women-only delegation to the Soviet Union in 1925. Their objective was to investigate the lives of women and children in the new socialist state. Mary left school at 12, like most working […]
Cabaret activist urges Mancunians to oppose latest NHS privatisation ruse
A novel cabaret approach to political education around our health service, urged the audience to get involved and oppose the incremental privatisation of our NHS. With songs and anecdotes recalling his past few years of “accidental activism”, Steven Carne entertained and informed the crowd at the Anthony Burgess Foundation, last Friday. He set the show […]
For the many, not the few: Manchester’s Gaiety Theatre
Today theatre in Manchester, apart from exceptions such as Three Minute Theatre, is increasingly for the well-heeled, speaking to their agenda and excluding many working-class people and their hopes and dreams. But it was not always thus. In his new book Staging Life: The Story of the Manchester Playwrights, John Harding explores an era that […]
Manchester’s sound: November gig guide
Us Mancunians pride ourselves on the city’s rich musical heritage. From The Smiths to The Stone Roses, an education in Manchester’s cultural history is a right of passage for many. And in 2018, the scene is as vibrant as it’s ever been. As Johnny Marr and The Children of Zeus enjoy sold out shows this […]
Caoilfhionn Rose: Awaken album review
The perfect companion for a stroll in the park, Awaken celebrates our ties to the natural world. Greatly inspired by one of Manchester’s many green spaces, Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury, the album explores themes such as humanity, our relationship with the natural world, and how this can impact upon our mental well being. Awaken […]
Henge: Attention Earth! album review
Fresh on the heels of a full summer of festival appearances, local Manchester band Henge release their first album, Attention Earth! How does their frenetic and psychedelic cosmic dross fare when transported from sweaty, heaving festival tents to more placid domestic situations? I sat down with a cup of Valerian Tea to find out… Touchdown The […]
Play shares a message of HIV positivity
A new play tours Greater Manchester this month, spreading a message of HIV positivity and helping to break down the stigma surrounding the now controllable virus. ‘I Am Because We Are‘ will bring theatre out into the community, using churches, community centres and drop-in centres for refugees and asylum seekers. Seven of the ten boroughs […]