Theatre and Drama

A play or theatrical evening? If it’s happening in Macclesfield and the surrounding areas then our Theatre and Drama page is the place to tell our readers.

If you have an event you want publicised here then please email us via the contact form

 

Sorry, the requested event is not available!
  • Thu
    03
    Jul
    2025
    Sun
    09
    Nov
    2025
    84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester, M13 9LW

    A bold new exhibition is set to open at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House this summer that introduces a new view of the author and her work (Thursday 3 July to Sunday 9 November).  I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell follows a residency completed by three young writers who have spent the spring months being inspired by Manchester’s only literary house.  The writers are Georgia Affonso,Princess Arinola Adegbite and Guruleen Kahlo and the project has been supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with The Writing Squad and Manchester City of Literature.

    I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell will be an immersive exhibition that flows throughout the Georgian villa, with the writers’ words illuminating the experience. Georgia, Princess and Guruleen have spent a great deal of time at the house, including in the dining room where Elizabeth wrote – to enjoy the views across the garden and warmth of the sun, and because she didn’t have her own study like her husband. This focal point is where the narrative begins.  Creatively the approach is very contemporary, with the aim of engaging new visitors to the house who, like the writers, might also be discovering Elizabeth’s fascinating story for the first time.  There will be author ‘profiles’, ‘biogs’ and QR codes to connect to the work, alongside the objects that have inspired the writers.

    In her short stories Guruleen slices through the history of the house; from the laughter of a family home to the present day.  And within it themes of equality, motherhood, loss and transformation are tenderly woven.  Guruleen says, “when I discovered that Elizabeth wrote short stories herself, partly because of the interruptions from the children and everything happening around her, the idea really called to me.”  In the stories we meet Elizabeth the author, wife, mother and mistress and see the turmoil that goes with this as she contemplates the contrast with her husband’s quiet study space and navigates the necessities of running a busy house, whilst meeting writing deadlines.  There is much that will resonate with readers.

    The stories are a reminder of the demands that Elizabeth encountered and also hint at why her legacy has taken time to embed; her papers destroyed after her death at Elizabeth’s own instruction and the house later abandoned.  Guruleen is completing her final year at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she is studying English and Creative Writing. “I’ve loved the experience of being in the house” she says “It feels so different to any other historical house or museum.  I’ve been able to sit at the very table that Elizabeth wrote at and interact with the house as if the Gaskell’s have just gone away.”  Guruleen is from Birmingham and now lives in Manchester.

    In Georgia’s writing she overlays a personal experience of what could have been a barrier to her becoming one of the writers in residence, which is that she had mixed memories of visiting historical properties as a child and found the experience suffocating. But those reservations have been dismissed thanks to “how warm and welcoming the house feels to me”.  And so in her play we are taken on a house tour. The inspiration for this comes from her time spent with the volunteers, whose insights, gossip and myths she has found intriguing.  But this isn’t the only house tour, with glimpses of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House run in parallel with the tour of the house of a lost loved one against a narrative that weaves the two worlds.

    The surroundings that Georgia writes about are observed in painstaking detail and the emotions they evoke are vivid, just as they are in Elizabeth’s writing.  Visitors will be able to listen to Georgia’s play in audio as part of the exhibition experience, which for Georgia continues a journey that has already seen her work commissioned by BBC Radio 4, having completed a degree in Music and Drama from the University of Manchester (2016).  Georgia is from Oxfordshire and now lives in Manchester.

    In Princess’ poetry you can feel the connection to Elizabeth: the person, the author.  There is empathy with her fellow writer and a recognition of the different roles that Elizabeth needed to play in her life.  “Elizabeth was middle-class and she didn't have to write about working-class people” says Princess, “but she cared about writing about working-class people, and enslaved people.  And learning about that, her belief in those topics, was really interesting to me as someone who comes from a very marginalised background but also cares about people that don't look like me.”

    Elizabeth was writing over 150 years ago, but in Princess’ words the commonality is clear: ‘we must be many women’.  And, from not having read or known about Elizabeth in her poetry she finds ‘Each of her words are rooms I can rest within. How language opens becomes a door I can walk through.’  Princess has written seven poems which visitors will be able to experience in areas of the house that reflect their inspiration and themes, including the garden that Elizabeth’s writing table overlooks.  Prior to being a creative writer and performer, Princess studied English Literature at the University of Liverpool.  She is from Salford and now lives in Manchester.

    Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) lived at the house on Plymouth Grove from 1850 to 1865 with her husband William and daughters, Marianne, Meta, Florence and Julia. Her life saw her attending grand social events like the opening of The Great Exhibition (1851) and hosting visitors including Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë.  But Elizabeth also was an observer of the working classes in ‘miserable living’ conditions and ‘crowded dwellings’ and the position of women in society, who she wrote about in novels including North and South and Mary Barton.  Elizabeth not only wrote to bring about the social justice that she believed in, but was actively involved.  She set up early forms of soup kitchens, ran sewing classes during the strikes of the Cotton Famine, and helped young unmarried women who had been imprisoned because of their circumstances.

    Supporting the project’s aims and aspirations is a steering group made up of volunteers and trustees.  20% of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House trustees are aged 18-25 and 10% of its volunteers.  A third of the staff team is under 30.

    Young Trustee of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Rose Palmer, says, “It’s been thrilling to see Elizabeth’s story and the house through the eyes, words and emotions of our writers in residence.  Elizabeth was an absolute trailblazer and it’s this spirit that has connected her to Georgia, Princess and Guruleen.  I hope that through their work more people will be intrigued by Elizabeth and come along to the house to experience her world.  I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell is the perfect exhibition through which to make that discovery.”

    Georgia, Princess and Guruleen are all part of The Writing Squad, which seeks to nurture the next generation of writers and has been mentoring them throughout their residency.  Manchester City of Literature is also a project partner, which through its work celebrates Manchester’s literary heritage, creativity and voices, both within the city and internationally.

    Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is open every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 11:00am to 4:30pm.  Entry is £8.50 for adults and free for children under 16, when accompanied by an adult.  Tickets are valid for 12 months from purchase and can be pre-booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/elizabeth-gaskell-house.  For further information visit www.elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk

  • Fri
    04
    Jul
    2025
    Sat
    05
    Jul
    2025
    Glebe Farm, Peel Lane, Astbury, CW12 4RQ

    ASTonBURY 2025 is officially under way!!!
    Early Bird tickets available now!!!!
    Massively reduced tickets available now!
    Friday 4th July from 6pm £5 over 18s,
    free under 18s.
    Saturday 5th July from 4pm over 18s £15 or 12 and over £5. Kids under 12 free.
    Family tickets- Sat 5th. £35 admits 2A + 2C. https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/astonburycheshire2025
    Saturday line up, ABBA tribute, Nancy May , John Cooper band and many more fantastic bands!!
    Not to be missed!! ��
    Card fees apply.

     

  • Sat
    05
    Jul
    2025
    10.30 am to 6 pmMacclesfield Market Place

  • Sun
    06
    Jul
    2025
    Sun
    09
    Nov
    2025
    Elizabeth Gaskell's House, 84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester M13 9LW

    A bold new exhibition is set to open at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House this summer that introduces a new view of the author and her work (Sunday 6 July to Sunday 9 November).  I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell follows a residency completed by three young writers who have spent the spring months being inspired by Manchester’s only literary house.  The writers are Georgia Affonso, Princess Arinola Adegbite and Guruleen Kahlo and the project has been supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund in partnership with The Writing Squad and Manchester City of Literature.

    Elizabeth Gaskell 1832

    I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell will be an immersive exhibition that flows throughout the Georgian villa, with the writers’ words illuminating the experience. Georgia, Princess and Guruleen have spent a great deal of time at the house, including in the dining room where Elizabeth wrote – to enjoy the views across the garden and warmth of the sun, and because she didn’t have her own study like her husband. This focal point is where the narrative begins.  Creatively the approach is very contemporary, with the aim of engaging new visitors to the house who, like the writers, might also be discovering Elizabeth’s fascinating story for the first time.  There will be author ‘profiles’, ‘biogs’ and QR codes to connect to the work, alongside the objects that have inspired the writers.

    In her short stories Guruleen slices through the history of the house; from the laughter of a family home to the present day.  And within it themes of equality, motherhood, loss and transformation are tenderly woven.  Guruleen says, “when I discovered that Elizabeth wrote short stories herself, partly because of the interruptions from the children and everything happening around her, the idea really called to me.”  In the stories we meet Elizabeth the author, wife, mother and mistress and see the turmoil that goes with this as she contemplates the contrast with her husband’s quiet study space and navigates the necessities of running a busy house, whilst meeting writing deadlines.  There is much that will resonate with readers.

    The stories are a reminder of the demands that Elizabeth encountered and also hint at why her legacy has taken time to embed; her papers destroyed after her death at Elizabeth’s own instruction and the house later abandoned.  Guruleen is completing her final year at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she is studying English and Creative Writing. “I’ve loved the experience of being in the house” she says “It feels so different to any other historical house or museum.  I’ve been able to sit at the very table that Elizabeth wrote at and interact with the house as if the Gaskell’s have just gone away.”  Guruleen is from Birmingham and now lives in Manchester.

    In Georgia’s writing she overlays a personal experience of what could have been a barrier to her becoming one of the writers in residence, which is that she had mixed memories of visiting historical properties as a child and found the experience suffocating. But those reservations have been dismissed thanks to “how warm and welcoming the house feels to me”.  And so in her play we are taken on a house tour. The inspiration for this comes from her time spent with the volunteers, whose insights, gossip and myths she has found intriguing.  But this isn’t the only house tour, with glimpses of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House run in parallel with the tour of the house of a lost loved one against a narrative that weaves the two worlds.

    The surroundings that Georgia writes about are observed in painstaking detail and the emotions they evoke are vivid, just as they are in Elizabeth’s writing.  Visitors will be able to listen to Georgia’s play in audio as part of the exhibition experience, which for Georgia continues a journey that has already seen her work commissioned by BBC Radio 4, having completed a degree in Music and Drama from the University of Manchester (2016).  Georgia is from Oxfordshire and now lives in Manchester.

    In Princess’ poetry you can feel the connection to Elizabeth: the person, the author.  There is empathy with her fellow writer and a recognition of the different roles that Elizabeth needed to play in her life.  “Elizabeth was middle-class and she didn't have to write about working-class people” says Princess, “but she cared about writing about working-class people, and enslaved people.  And learning about that, her belief in those topics, was really interesting to me as someone who comes from a very marginalised background but also cares about people that don't look like me.”

    Elizabeth was writing over 150 years ago, but in Princess’ words the commonality is clear: ‘we must be many women’.  And, from not having read or known about Elizabeth in her poetry she finds ‘Each of her words are rooms I can rest within. How language opens becomes a door I can walk through.’ Princess has written seven poems which visitors will be able to experience in areas of the house that reflect their inspiration and themes, including the garden that Elizabeth’s writing table overlooks.  Prior to being a creative writer and performer, Princess studied English Literature at the University of Liverpool.  She is from Salford and now lives in Manchester.

    Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865) lived at the house on Plymouth Grove from 1850 to 1865 with her husband William and daughters, Marianne, Meta, Florence and Julia. Her life saw her attending grand social events like the opening of The Great Exhibition (1851) and hosting visitors including Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë.  But Elizabeth also was an observer of the working classes in ‘miserable living’ conditions and ‘crowded dwellings’ and the position of women in society, who she wrote about in novels including North and South and Mary Barton.  Elizabeth not only wrote to bring about the social justice that she believed in, but was actively involved.  She set up early forms of soup kitchens, ran sewing classes during the strikes of the Cotton Famine, and helped young unmarried women who had been imprisoned because of their circumstances.

    Supporting the project’s aims and aspirations is a steering group made up of volunteers and trustees.  20% of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House trustees are aged 18-25 and 10% of its volunteers.  A third of the staff team is under 30.

    Young Trustee of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Rose Palmer, says, “It’s been thrilling to see Elizabeth’s story and the house through the eyes, words and emotions of our writers in residence.  Elizabeth was an absolute trailblazer and it’s this spirit that has connected her to Georgia, Princess and Guruleen.  I hope that through their work more people will be intrigued by Elizabeth and come along to the house to experience her world.  I’ve Never Read Elizabeth Gaskell is the perfect exhibition through which to make that discovery.”

    Georgia, Princess and Guruleen are all part of The Writing Squad, which seeks to nurture the next generation of writers and has been mentoring them throughout their residency.  Manchester City of Literature is also a project partner, which through its work celebrates Manchester’s literary heritage, creativity and voices, both within the city and internationally.

    Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is open every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 11:00am to 4:30pm.  Entry is £8.50 for adults and free for children under 16, when accompanied by an adult.  Tickets are valid for 12 months from purchase and can be pre-booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/elizabeth-gaskell-house.  For further information visit www.elizabethgaskellhouse.co.uk

  • Thu
    10
    Jul
    2025
    Sun
    27
    Jul
    2025
    Buxton

    The award-winning Buxton International Festival is an annual celebration of world-class opera, music, books and jazz with over 160 events to choose from every summer.

    Here are five reasons to make Buxton your ‘go-to’ summer festival for 2025 (10-27 July).

    1. Buxton – the beautiful spa town sits in heart of Derbyshire’s Peak District, worth a visit in itself. All the festival’s events are within easy walking distance of each other.

    2. Operas GaloreIn 2024, Buxton staged five new operas in four days and was nominated for an International Opera Award.  2025 sees a yet more impressive plans:

    • Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet, conducted by Adrian Kelly with the Orchestra of Opera North
    • A double bill of Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Taihiti and Francis Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, a Buxton International Festival and Norwich Theatre production
    • Opera Zuid production of Mozart’s The Impresario
    • La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfersa Vache Baroque production
    • Shorts – four brand new 20-minute operas by composers 

    Jasper Dommett, Martin Green and Carmel Smickersgill

    3. Jazz Weekender Tickets – Jazz Weekender tickets for just £175 offering 12 world-class gigs varying from jazz, blues, funk and Latin, plus an Oscar Peterson extravaganza. Stand-out artists include Ineza, Graham Clark Quartet, Emily Masser Quartet, Trio JDM, Baiana, Alan Barnes with an all-star band, Dean Stockdale Quartet, Emma Rawicz Quartet and Xhosa Cole Quartet.

    4. Books – 33 book talks including Diane Abbott MP, Baroness Lola Young, Petroc Trelawny, Ben Macintyre and Jonathan Sumption.

    5. Classical Music World-class concerts every day from artists including Steven Hough, Imogen Cooper, Benjamin Grosvenor, Tallis Scholars, English Concert, Simon Keenlyside and Sarah Connolly.

    Box Office – Tel 01298 2072190 

    Booking office opens at 10am on Tuesday 15 April 2025

    Become a BIF Friend for Priority Booking, from just £36 per year.

    Website – http://buxtonfestival.co.uk

  • Sat
    19
    Jul
    2025

    Macclesfield resident Trevor Stokes is holding the second Joy Division Day next month - Saturday 19th July.
    @thedepotmacc Honest Crust Pizza on Chestergate will open at midday until 9pm with a few record stalls outside along with DJs.
    They also have a Joy Division beer that has been produced alongside a local brewery - just for the day!
    Trevor Stokes will be hosting two of Ian Curtis/Joy Division walking tours (only 6-7 tickets left)
    There will be buskers playing and a choir in town.
    In the evening Transmission: The Sound Of Joy Division will be playing in Cinemac Cinema - get your tickets here 👉 https://bit.ly/4emmLsG
    Trevor Stokes
    Fade 2 Grey Tour
    Founder of Joy Division Day
  • Sat
    23
    Aug
    2025

    The Macclesfield 1261 Festival commemorates the 764th anniversary of the granting of the town charter in 1261.

    But it’s not just a commemoration, it’s a key cultural event – a celebration of the town’s creativity and its communities.

    To encourage community involvement and enrich the festival experience, Macclesfield Town Council are providing a funding stream, enabling local individuals, businesses, and groups to apply for financial help to contribute unique and engaging activities.

    Macclesfield Town Council are offering up to £250 to use towards a project for the festival. Funding can be used to:

    • Host live music performances in bars, cafés, or public spaces.
    • Create costumes, props, or stage designs for performances.
    • Organise live art displays or installations in shops and other venues.
    • Support any other innovative and engaging activity that contributes to the festival atmosphere.

    Activities should be free to access but revenue can still be obtained in usual ways by eg. cafe’s, shops etc.

  • Sat
    23
    Aug
    2025
    2:00 pmPark Green, Macclesfield

  • Fri
    29
    Aug
    2025
    Sun
    31
    Aug
    2025
    Chatsworth House, Bakewell, GB DE45 1PP

    Chatsworth Country Fair is one of England's most spectacular annual outdoor events. Held in the 1000-acre parkland surrounding Chatsworth House, tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country join us for a memorable family day out.

    Enjoy three action-packed days of thrilling Grand Ring entertainment, inspirational cookery masterclasses, food, shopping and plenty of have-a-go activities, including a vintage fun fair, children's climbing wall, bungee trampoline and much more.

    Book before 30 June 2025 and save up to 20%.

    Book tickets HERE

  • Sat
    25
    Oct
    2025
    Market Place, Macclesfield SK10 1EA

    Join Macclesfield Town Council for Spooky Saturday!

    All things Halloween - crafty crypt from Artspace, facepainting, pumpkin trail and more!

Wilmslow Guild Players
Wilmslow Guild Players are an amateur theatre group formed in 1926 at the Wilmslow Guild, an independent adult education centre.
Location: Wilmslow Guild, 1 Bourne Street
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5HD
www.wgp.org.ukWeb
info@wgp.org.ukEmail

 

M.A.D.S. Little Theatre
Plays through the season
Location: Lord Street
Macclesfield
http://www.madstheatre.org.uk/  Web

 

Buxton Opera House
Varied events from opera to popular acts and musicals
Location:
Buxton
Derbyshire
http://www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/  Web

 

Wilmslow Green Room
Wilmslow
http://members.aol.com/wgrsoc  Web

 

Bollington Festival Players (01625) 875326  Telephonevalpostance@btinternet.com  Email

 

Bollington Children’s Music Theatre http://www.marple55.freeserve.co.uk/  Web

 

Keating Centre of Dance and Drama http://www.kcdd.i12.com  Web

 

Bollington Arts Centre
Wellington Road
Bollington
Cheshire
01625 573863  Telephone

bollingtonartscentre.org.uk

 

Bollington Festival Players
Bollington
Cheshire
01625 574085  Telephone

 

Stagecoach
Wilmslow
Cheshire
01606 784 219  Telephonehttp://www.stagecoach.co.uk  Web