New Ancoats venue: Hope Mill’s theatre, bar + Lissom + Muster menswear

Hidden away in Ancoats this new addition to Manchester’s arts scene is an old cotton mill. Today, the Grade II listed Hope Mill has been transformed into something with a contemporary edge. With five floors home to artists and creatives alike – including upscale gentlemen’s outfitters, Lissom + Muster, Hope Mill also boasts a new, independent theatre. The 120 seated venue also doubles up as an alternative event space, (who wouldn’t want their wedding in a Grade II listed mill?) as well as the aptly named Engine Room Cafe and Bar (pictured) – a bar sitting in place of what was once the Mill’s old engine room, which now boasts locally brewed craft beers and a pre-theatre menu of beer and pizza. Basically, Heaven. A highlight of the spring season is Shirley by the late Andrea Dunbar. Famous for her autobiographical Rita, Sue and Bob too and directed by actor Matthew McNulty (Misfits, The Mill, Jamaica Inn), Shirley holding parallels to Andrea’s own life, based around the working class in a run down area of Bradford in the 1980s. Cast includes Ciaran Griffiths (Shameless, This Is England ’90, The Street) and William Travis (The Mill, Coronation Street, This Is England ’90).

Shirley run: Wed 16 Mar – Sat 19 Mar, Hope Mill Theatre, 113 Pollard Street, Manchester M4 7JB, times and price vary, www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk