Now this is an event which is right up my street. After spending a considerable amount of money on a beautiful Nikon I still haven’t read the instruction booklet (much to the amusement of my friends).

Manchester’s Cityco has organised an Open City photography day which gives up to 100 people the chance to be taken on a free two hour photography tour and tutorial around the city centre on Sunday, May 23.

The photographer tutors are: Aidan O’Rourke, Andrew Brooks, Len Grant, Paul Herrmann and Mark Page. They will help budding snappers on a city tour workshop, and the best images will be selected for an exhibition in the Triangle shopping centre.

Photo by Mark Page

Vaughan Allen, chief executive of Cityco, said: “Manchester aspires to be a photography-friendly and accessible place where people don’t get hassled or arrested for taking pictures.

“We’re talking to the authorities to work together to move towards us becoming an ‘open city’. This initiative is all about celebrating Manchester through the lens and we’re delighted to be working with some of the city’s most notable photographers to make this happen.

“We want today to really inspire many more people to get out and about and capture the essence of our wonderful city.”

Photo by Len Grant

Those taking part must be 18 years old or older on May 23, bring their own photography equipment, be willing to take part in publicity and allow their images to be published and used in the exhibition if selected.

To apply please send your name, age, email address and a day-time phone number quoting ‘Open City’ in the subject header to info@cityco.com by  May 14. This opportunity is on a first come, first served basis and all successful applicants will be contacted with further details by  May 17.

Photo by Aidan O’Rourke

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Hansberry’s family drama focuses on a black family, the Youngers, who reside on the Southside of Chicago in 1959. Even though the family work they barely earn enough money to cover the rent. Therefore, when the head of the family passes away, the family wait in earnest for the insurance cheque of $10,000 which will make their dreams come true. Each family member has their own aspirations for the money and the family soon begin to fall apart as the thoughts of money consume them.

As soon as I entered the theatre I was instantly in awe of the set which was designed by Ellen Cairns. Cairns had managed to capture the realistic essence of a 1950s home on such a small set. The set consisted of a small kitchen, a living room, chairs and a sofa which also acts as a bed for the youngest member of the family, Travis. The set was also positioned in the round which allowed the audience to become part of the action . As well as this subtle touches were also added throughout the production. At one point in the production the daughter of the family, Beneatha (Tracey Ifeachor), uses a 1950s cockroach spray which positively had me itching by the end of the scene.

The acting was also phenomenal. Starletta Dupois gave an exceptionally emotional performance as the matriarch of the family, Lena Walter. Dupois captured the essence of a mother in turmoil as she tries to keep her family’s spirit alive. Dupois’ performance was complimented by Ray Fearon, who plays her son Walter Lee in the production. Fearon took the audience on an emotional rollercoaster.  I experienced the incredible highs of when Walter Lee believes he has solved his family’s financial problems, to the devastating lows when he destroys there one chance of achieving their dreams. This then resulted in me dabbing my eyes frequently throughout the play!

However, in my opinion the actress who really shook the audience to its core was Jenny Jules. Jules played Ruth, Walter Lee’s wife, and is the character that experiences the most extreme emotional challenges.  Ruth’s love for Walter is put to the test when she shows him a support even though she disagrees with his financial plans. Ruth is also faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to keep her unborn child due to the family’s financial situation. However, what made Jules’ performance really stand out for me was the sense of humour she bought to the role.

There is also an underlying discourse of race running through the play. This comes in form of Lena purchasing a property for her family in an all white area of Chicago. Karl Linder (Tom Hodgkins) is then nominated by his peers to act as “the welcoming committee” in hopes to try and persuade the Younger’s not to move. This motif was made even more powerful by the fact that Hansberry had  experienced similar circumstances.

Hansberry based the narrative on her own childhood. Hansberry’s family resided on the South Side of Chicago in the late 1950s. Hansberry’s father became involved in a legal battle with a covenant who attempted to evict the family from the all white area they lived in.

All in all the production was magnificent and is summarised perfectly by director Michael Buffong, “A Raisin in the Sun is a powerful, evocative piece and an uplifting one for audiences too!

www.royalexchangetheatre.org.uk

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So it’s the end of another decade. You can tell you’re getting old when you say ANOTHER decade. Ah I remember the heady days of New Year’s Eve in 1999, with the ridiculous fear that the world as we know it might end because of a date setting.

Manchester Is Ace was born last December, which makes it a fitting anniversary that I’ve just re-located to Wordpress and tried to develop the site one year on. It’s been a busy and fabulous year for me, with redundancy forcing me to take the plunge and go into full-time PR and journalism freelance-style.

Just a couple months after launching my blog, I was employed to write some freelance food reviews for Taste of Manchester, which then led to me doing all the PR for Manchester Food and Drink Festival 2009. It’s not a secret that I do like my food, so what job could have been more perfect for me?

Anyway, here’s a quick look at some of the most important things that happened in Manchester in 2009 (well, according to me anyway).

1. Urbis becomes a football museum
To someone with a strong dislike for football, this is still very much a sore point. I never actually got to write about this before, being in the midst of Wordpress-self-hosting hell, but seriously?

Manchester’s ‘brand’ is Original Modern, and historically Manchester has such a cultural force in the UK, and indeed is the capital of the North. Known as Cottonopolis, we’ve driven the Industrial Revolution with the massive boom in cotton production, demanded a place in Marxist history for being the subject of Freidrich Engels’ The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, and the thriving music scene in the 1980s created a second nickname for the city: Madchester.

So my rather-long winded point was Urbis was supposed to be at the forefront of documenting our urban culture in the new millennium. And now its exhibitions are going to be squished into a corner, while football memorabilia from Preston takes the limelight. It’s not even an exploration of the popular culture aspect – it’s actual football memorabilia.

Sadly this has also meant job losses for some staff at Urbis, and chief executive Vaughan Allen has already taken a new job at CityCo. Read this interview with him on Culture24.org.

Urbis might not have been for everyone, but how can this city claim to be Original and Modern if it doesn’t dare do something different? However, this article on Culture24 says that Urbis lost £500,000 in its last yearly report – and in a money vs culture argument, you know what’s going to win. Urbis did get off to a shaky start, but even in January this year, the Manchester Evening News reported that it had pulled in record-breaking crowds, with a 67% increase since 2005.

Urbis is supposed to close on February 27, unless there is a last minute reprieve. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a local newspaper reporter, is that nothing’s ever final until you see it happen.

2. Intergrated transport system on the cards
Just a few weeks ago, the Manchester Evening News revealed that the city is to get a £2.2m Oyster card-style integrated system. Just in case you don’t know, an Oyster Card is the transport swipe card in London, which means you load up with money and can use it on buses, tubes and trains.

The idea was mentioned back in 2007/08 and was going to be put into place if the public voted yes to the congestion charge. In fact, we were told that a yes vote would mean a £3bn public transport package – when although a much smaller sum of money, it looks like we CAN have some money towards improving public transport (see what I mean about nothing being final with government).

However, public transport as it stands is all over the place and more expensive than driving. Doesn’t really tempt you to leave the car at home does it? So fingers crossed that this goes ahead.

3. Replacement water pipes
Will 2009 be the year that we all remember the mass roadworks, bringing the city centre to a standstill? From May onwards, the city saw a £8m project to replace the Victorian cast iron water pipes with modern plastic ones.

Work began on Oxford Road, before moving across the city centre and ending up with Deansgate being one way. According to the United Utilities website it should all by over by early 2010.

4. The end of journalism as we know it
This year has seen reporters all across the country being given the heave-ho, and Manchester hasn’t been any different. The last few years have already seen lots of redundancies, with my beloved Citylife being closed down. But this year saw the final cull and really, the death of journalism in Manchester.

The Manchester Evening News shed most of its staff, including citylife.co.uk staff, while the Metro closed down all of its Northern offices, meaning we lost all our Manchester-based food, culture and going out pages. The remaining journalists in our local papers just don’t have the time to do their jobs properly because they just don’t have the staff. I could write so much more on this, but there’s just too much to say. Sad times indeed.

5. Twitter
I wasn’t planning to mention Twitter, because we’ve all read sooo many articles about the new social media website this year, most of them completely missing the point.

But when I think about my year of working and living in Manchester, Twitter does in fact feature quite prominently. Manchester is quite a small city, and everyone just knows everyone, especially in the media, digital and PR world. So I think Twitter has brought all this together quite nicely, and I’ve met a huge amount of people, been to some fabulous events, gained a few new clients and actually feel like part of a community – none of which I would have done without Twitter.

Here’s raising a glass to 2010.

Urbis photo by Aidan O’Rourke
www.aidan.co.uk.

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Sooo Factory Manchester is back? Well, it seems so judging by the Facebook group I am a member of, which now has 3853 members.

Fac251 is a new indie and rock and roll club from Peter Hook (nicely timed in with his Hacienda book then!), designer Ben Kelly and Funktion One.

Now don’t all shout at me, but usually I find the whole Manchester nostalgia thing just a tad boring (maybe because I was too young to be there). But this is quite an unusual move, and could be potentially quite exciting if it’s a new venue to support new and upcoming bands, using one of the most legendary music names in history.

Visit www.factorymanchester.com for more information.

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Manchester Literature Festival has some really great events this year, and I’m gutted that I’ve been too busy to get to any of them yet. The city has an incredibly rich history of writing and literature, including A Clockwork Orange writer Anthony Burgess, Elizabeth Gaskell, Janette Winterson and one of my favourites, Withington-based writer Melvin Burgess.

We’re smack-bang right in the middle of this year’s event, which runs from Thursday, October 15 to Sunday, October 25. The MLF team have done good this year, with an impressive line-up of celebrated authors and writers including Martin Amis, Simon Armitage, Kate Atkinson, Joan Bakewell, Eoin Colfer, Marilyn Hacker, Val McDermid, Jimmy McGovern and Fay Weldon.

Some of the high-profile events are sold out, but there’s still something to see or listen to every day until the end of the lit-fest.

Manchester Blog Awards is also part of the festivities – of which Manchester Is Ace is a nominee – and will take place at Band On The Wall on Wednesday, October 21. Tickets are only £4 and it’s sure to be a good knees up.

Manchester Is Ace’s top picks for this week are:

Nick Laird and MJ Hyland, Oct 22, 6pm
Set at the Martin Harris Centre, this is a great opportunity to hear two new literary talents. MJ Hyland’s third novel, This Is How, is one of the Guardian’s Treats of 2009, while Nick Laird’s second novel, Glover’s Mistake, is set in the London art world.

Six by Six Book Launch, Oct 23, 5.30pm
The Six by Six project brought together six short stories from graduates from MMU Cheshire’s Creative Writing programme to be illustrated by the finest designers from Stockport College Illustration graduates. A great partnership idea which has resulted in a stylish anthology.

Michelle Magorian, Oct 25, 5.30pm
The writer of Goodnight Mister Tom and Just Henry, brings her new World War Two fiction to life in the imposing setting of the Imperial War Museum North.

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We’re now in the middle of Manchester Food and Drink Festival ,
after it launched last week with a glitzy bash at Manchester Art Gallery.
Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I’m doing some freelance PR work for the
festival so I’ve been watching all the behind the scenes action and can really
appreciate how much work goes into putting an event like this on.

And I’m starting to realise the occupational hazard of
working with (and consuming lots of) food and drink is a strong possibility of gout.
But, hey, I’m not complaining!

This weekend (October 8-11) coming is going to be a good
one, with loads of events happening in Albert Square. If you like beers, the
Oktoberfest (Oct 8-11) is for you, while is you prefer a proper British ale,
check out the Greater Manchester Ale Festival (just Oct 9 and 10). And even
better, Saturday, October 10 has been declared Ale and Pie Day with Holland’s
Pies giving away free pastry snacks to thirsty punters.

As a non-ale drinker I’ll be heading down today (Thursday, October for the Chocolate Day, in association with the Chocolate
Café. Last time I went into their shop, I tried loads of very odd flavours of
choccy including bacon (bit salty, but not too meaty!) and they even let me
have a go at making a hot chocolate.

The first Manchester Whisky Festival has also been really popular this
year, and all the masterclasses are completely sold out. There are still
tickets available for the event on Saturday (Oct 10) at MOSI (Museum of Science and
Industry) so if you like your malts, get ‘em quick.

There’s still loads of events happening every day, right up
until Monday, October 12 so check out the website. Click on the events section
to search by date.

www.foodanddrinkfestival.com.
Follow me on Twitter @MFDFO9
Also check out my Posterous, with photos from various
events.

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UPDATE…I’ve just heard the play is being performed again which is great news for anyone who missed it first time round because it was sold out. Angels With Manky Faces will be performed at the Dancehouse on Friday, November 6 at 8pm and Sunday, November 8 at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are £10 (£9 concs).

Dancehouse Theatre, Oxford Road.
T: 0161 237 9753
W: Dancehouse Theatre

Inspired by the book Gangs of Manchester, the play Angels With Manky Faces is about the gangs – or scuttlers – that roamed the streets in the ninteenth century. But more importantly, the book and the play both remind us that binge drinking, casual sex, gang warfare and
street crime are far from being modern phenomena.

I bought the book, Gangs of Manchester, which was written by historian Andrew Davies, before I went to the play and it was fascinating. And it makes you realise that when people hark back to the good old days, they certainly weren’t these times. Manchester during the Industrial Revolution times sounds downright scary – and however much I say I’m skint, my standard of living is just pure luxury compared how the factory workers used to live.

Rob Lees and Jill Hughes of MaD theatre company, a community not-for-profit dramatics company in Manchester, collaborated with author Andrew Davies to come up with this modern take on the story. Set in Ancoats in 1894 when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing and the year the Manchester Ship Canal opened, overcrowding and heavy drinking were real problems in this area.

Leader of the Bengal Tigers of Bengal Street (near where Sankeys is now), Jimmy Johnson was played by the excellent Jack Williamson. Much of the play depicted the gang going off to fight others, the girls causing trouble between the gangs and the raucous local pub.

Directed by Rob Lees, the play was interspersed with film as part of the performance which worked really well at keeping the audience’s interest. Well-known Mancunian faces popped up to perform songs including band Twisted Wheel, Mike Joyce of The Smiths and XfM DJ Clint Boon. Also appearing in the film section were Rob Henshaw, from Looking for Eric, as did Coronation Street actor Graeme Hawley, although I didn’t know who either of them were.

At the risk of sounding older than my years, I did find the whole performance really loud as the actors were shouting and screeching at each other in exaggerated Manchester accents (must be my delicate outsider ears). The only other downside was that it would have benefited from a stronger plot, rather than just trying to depict the lives of the characters.

Overall, the play was incredibly successful selling out all dates from August 17-22, and was a really brave outing as well as a massive coup for a community theatre company to get all those well-known Manchester faces involved.

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There was lots of food, lots of drink and lots of cool belly dancers. Yes this was raising money for charity the fun way. None of this making people wear orange tabards, giving them clipboards and making them chase you down the street for your bank details.

No sir, there are more genteel ways of engaging people with a charity by plying your customers with food and drink – and this is what the lovely people at Zouk did to donate more than £1000 to Plan UK, which goes to help disadvantaged children in India. And after a bottle of vino Mr and Mrs Manchester Is Ace got giddy with the raffle and spent all our money on tickets, but didn’t win anything, except the warm feeling in our hearts. The organisation’s aim is to enable vulnerable children in some of the world’s poorest countries to live in a safe and secure environment.

Zouk is the new(ish) Indian food restaurant, which Manchester Is Ace reviewed right back when it opened. It blew our socks off and made sure we never darkened Wilmslow Road and its scruffy curry houses again. Zouk is run by Amjad (or Peter) Bashir who is from Bradford and still needs to teach our Mancunian restaurateurs a few things about running an Indian restaurant in the twenty-first century.

Anyway, back to the story. The Slumdog Millionaire evening started with a cranberry-based Slumdog cocktail, and a massive plate of meaty spicy goodness. Everything was fresh, crisp and mouthwateringly AND eye-wateringly spicy – just how it’s meant to be.

The main courses were barbecue lamb chops, Goyan fish curry and Dal Makhani. In my first review I said the lamb chops were pretty tough, so was pleased to taste the mouth-melting but spicy tomatoey chops that were placed in front of me. The dal was rich and creamy, with that earthy flavour of lentils that goes so well with the chilli and tomato, while the fish was firm, fresh and full of flavour (how’s that for alliteration?).

After we were done with the food, we feasted our eyes on the Bollywood-style entertainment, starting with a solo belly dancer and then a trio of Bollywood dancers shaking their thang.

If you’ve not been to Zouk, do check it out – they often have offers and events on a lot so watch out.

Zouk Tea Bar & Bar, Unit 5 Quadrangle, Chester Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 5QS
T: 0161 233 1090
www.zoukmanchester.co.uk

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Cornerhouse -
where to start eh? I luckily used to work right near this centre of
arty-cultural goodness so its delights were ready available. But last week
I met an old work colleague for some Cornerhouse pizza action, and I
realised how much I missed it.

For those of you who don’t know, the Cornerhouse is a cinema, showing
independent and arty films, a great cafe and bar and exhibition space
for contemporary art. There is also a great little shop full of cool
and contemporary arty magazines, but also excellent greetings card and
postcards.

Set
on the end of Oxford Road (at the crossroads of Whitworth Street), it
is a great location, right near the universities but also the Palace
Theatre (and Sainsbury’s but that’s only a bonus when you work in the
area).

The
pizzas are the main draw for me, but when I went last week they had
changed slightly – but no fear they’re now all-improved stonebaked
Napoli pizzas. I always have La Reine (£7.25) which is a feast of
Prosciutto ham, olives, mushrooms and tomato, and the new addition of
rocket and shaved parmesan scattered over the top.

The
Americano (£6.25) was also a heaped pile of tomato, mozzarella,
pepperoni and spicy jalapenos. The pizzas aren’t strictly the same as
you get in Italy but how could they be? For Manchester, they are really
excellent versions of the Italian delicacy. I just don’t think our
Northern palate would appreciated the more delicate balance of pizza
base and topping – we like our pizzas heaped with warming tomato and
cheese over here, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

I’ve
also been to Cornerhouse for brunch in between morning meetings, and
sampled this baby (pictured above, £5.25). The field mushrooms are fried until
golden and then heaped upon brown crunchy toast with wilted spinach, tomatoes and
a good handful of strong goats’ cheese. Mmm look at it.

Have a look at the full menu here.

The
Cornerhouse shows great films that you can’t see in the mainstream
picturehouses, but generally they’re only shown for a week so by the
time I decide I want to see and manage to find a free evening, it’s
usually gone.

It was opened in 1985 after Shaw’s furniture
store and the Tatler cinema club were converted into the three cinemas,
three galleries and cafe bar. It is run by an independent charitable
trust and sees more than 300,000 visitors each year. The only little
bugbear I have as a journalist is the insistence on it being called
Cornerhouse, not and never THE Cornerhouse. Which is all fine until it
bumps up against basic grammar rules, so pah I say to that.

You can also follow the lovely people at the Cornerhouse on Twitter: @cornerhousemcr. Check out the website for the latest cinema and art listings.

Cornerhouse, 70 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 5NH
T: 0161 200 1500
W: www.cornerhouse.org

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A piadina is an Italian flatbread and at Bread and Butter they stuff it with all kinds of delicious fillings, such as chicken, garlic mayo and mozzarella or ham, mozzerella and basil, which are heated up in a sandwich press. If you eat in you get a plate of salad and homemade coleslaw, but even if you take-out they will put the salad in a little dish for you. They also serve sandwiches as well as other meals such as chilli and Moroccan lamb stew.

There is also a tasty looking salad bar, and they have plates of amazing cakes made by the owner, Patsy Garvin. I fell for the chocolate tart (pictured) and think it was about £1.80. They usually have carrot cake and lots of cute cupcakes too. But be warned, get there before me otherwise I’ll just eat them all.

Bread and Butter is a really cute little shop up Tib Street, past Rags to Bitches and The Northern. You really can’t miss it because it’s painted bright pink and has white wrought iron furniture outside. The inside is full of retro furniture and tea sets, and although there isn’t much seating room at the moment, they are renovating the basement.

I also noticed they are open for tapas in on the weekend evenings, AND you can bring your own booze. So watch out for that review as soon as I can find a free weekend.

Bread and Butter, Tib Street, Manchester, M4 1LG.

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