This is a small unheralded theatre in Shaw situated across from the new Asda…read more It seats just 156 people and boasts a stage that can be viewed from anywhere. I am not too sure of the history of the Playhouse 2 but ive no doubt it is long and varied. They have a variety of performers on from Elvis tribute acts to jazz musicians and comedians. I recently went to see the Elvis tribute and it was a fantastic evening and all for just a tenner. I also took my girlfriend to see Blood Brothers last week for the same price and again we had a tremendous evening. Everything is so professionally done and up until a few months ago i didn't even know the place existed, im almost ashamed as i have missed out on some great entertainment ive no doubt. They have a well appointed bar serving a wide variety of lagers, beer etc and soft drinks and coffee all at reasonable price. It is without doubt a great place to go and spend an evening if you like your theatre and music etc and you don't have to got to Manchester.

The only live music venue in Bury…read more It manages to get a steady flow of artists ranging from the famous to the obscure. The venue is intimate and has a separate bar area. There is not enough seating in the bar, so get in early if you don't want to stand up waiting for a show (with nowhere to put your glass or lean on). The drinks they serve are only bottled, so don't expect too much. We recently attended a beer festival here and it was an excellent venue for this type of use. The place does exactly what you expect with no airs or graces. Plus a nice line in retro toilets!

Well, our first trip to Bury and we stumbled across the Met Cafe…read more 1 full English breakfast and 1 veggie breakfast. Although the place wasn't that busy when we were there, the food took half an hour to arrive. The portions were small for the price that they charged, the famous Bury black pudding was over cooked (as were the fried eggs) and the grilled tomato on the veggie breakfast was almost cold. To top it off, they charged two pounds more than the price advertised outside because these are "takeaway prices" which is something that certainly is not made clear. This place is supposed to have come third in an award recently, however I fail to see how. Needless to say, we won't be making a repeat visit.

I went to see the Pitman Painters here and it was nice to see a play which is about a group of…read moreartists that formed in a small mining town in another small town, felt slightly closer to the source than I would say in central Manchester or London. It's not the most amazing play or production I've ever seen but it was funny and interesting (I did not know anything about the Ashington Group before I went). The theatre is a good size for a small town as it doesn't take too many people to fill it up but there's still a generous staging space. As others have said the staff are very nice and the toilets hilariously small! I'll definitely keep an eye out for more things on here, it's really easy to get to with the tram stops Oldham Mumps and Oldham Central nearby.

Visited the lovely Oldham town centre recently- we had got off the bus at the main station and were…read morelooking for the Coliseum. And no-one knew where it was and I mean, we asked four or five different people. Thank god it was on the bus stop map (and we were headed in the right direction anyway) because none of the other signs thought to point to it until we were almost at the door anyway. We quickly discovered that the only people who visit the Oldham Coliseum, at least for the dark melo-drama that we were viewing, are pensioners. Who probably wouldn't be out at night unless going to a play... The theatre itself is surprisingly big - you see it from the street and imagine it quite cosy inside but it does look quite impressive lit up at night, banners waving in the wind. There are stalls and a circle (almost empty when we went) and an impressively large stage. Let down a little by their little refreshments and programme stand as soon as you walk in and tiny, not very nice toilets. The staff were really friendly as we picked up our tickets, pointing out the aisle for our seats and as we were leaving. All in all, an old school venue for some good old fashioned fun (that could do with a lick of paint).

TL;DR - A continental masterpiece, right here in Bury…read more How did I leave it so long before coming here? Arcade Club is an absolute gem - a massive warehouse filled with all kinds of arcade machines and an absolute paradise for anyone who loves gaming. Apparently it's the largest venue of its type in Europe! We came and bought a day ticket which gets you a wrist band for all day access. Once inside, every single game is free to play, and there's enough here to keep you occupied and entertained for a very long time indeed. The ground floor has a mixture of vintage machines, modern games, funfair games and even some VR rigs. You can then head to the first floor where there's a mixture of newer games and funfair games. Up to the second floor and you'll find a huge variety of machines with lots from Japan - dance and rhythm games, pinball machines and lots of 90s classic arcade games. Finally there's the fourth floor, packed with vintage machines like Pac Man, Asteroids, Smash TV and... well, pretty much anything you care to mention. There's a bar on site which also serves pizza in case you get peckish... and you probably will because there's so much to see and play here, you'll be here a very long time. Arcade Club is an absolute gem.

From the owner: We are the largest classic arcade in Europe. Hosting over 250 plus arcade machines and other games…read moresuch as consoles and computer games. We provide the whole gaming experience from retro to Modern. This includes VR and modern rhythms games. We have 2 bars and to eateries a sweet shop and gift shop. All your entertainment under one roof.

Came here to see Hans Zimmer Live and had a great time! Getting in to the Arena went much faster…read morethan other venues I've visited, and it was very easy to find our seats once we got inside. The crowd was as energetic as the orchestra, which is to say MASSIVELY GOOD VIBES! As we were only a few rows from the stage, I was very happy I donned foam earplugs. I was literally *feeling* the music more than I was hearing it, heheh! The bio-break during Intermission flowed pretty fast (not me ... the line!). The food here, considering I got a hot dog & soda, was actually very good! The only thing that was a pain was trying to exit the garage after the show. All traffic seemed to bottleneck into a couple lanes that had to cross the foot traffic leaving the Arena after the show. Otherwise, a great venue and I wouldn't mind seeing more shows there.

It seems even many years later after rebranding including with other sponsors, Manchester Arena…read morewill always be known as the MEN Arena to many locals - it opened in 1995 and is the only indoor purpose-built arena of its' kind in Manchester and although stadiums across the city including the Etihad and Emirates Old Trafford do host concerts now, this is the only Arena of its- type to be fully indoors in a city centre location, it is actually right next to Manchester Victoria Station and the main disabled enterance actually involves going through the station's lift (quite confusing!) - this can also be used as a cut-through to parts of the station when the lifts are out of order, which is the situation right now. Back to the Arena - I can't help but think the only reason this place is so well-known, successful and used is because it lacks competition in one of the UK's best and biggest cities - the customer service is a disgrace such as with booking tickets. The disabled seating tickets team force you to have to phone up with no online booking - they are only open at awkward hours during the day with no option to wait on hold, meaning if you require assistance booking it is going to be difficult to get tickets. It involves creating an account/profile, sending proof of a disability, waiting for that to be confirmed and then placing your tickets on hold for a few days until everything is confirmed - and if it is confirmed you're expected to pay various booking fees: security fee, postage fee (You can only pick up on the day of the event where they advise not to, if you don't pay) and of course a booking fee for telephone orders. Tickets are expensive - I attended Impractical Jokers' recent tour here and I even had to pay a security fee - now I get the venue has to be secure especially after the saddening attack in 2017 but why should they charge a "surcharge" just to be safe as every place like this should be safe and not charging for the fact you're safe, right? The security wasn't even good either - I was told to empty my pockets and go through a scanner, however, they didn't even use the airport-style bag checker on what I emptied (they didn' even look at it and I did have a case which was unexpected) - I also was able to take a drink in despite them being banned - the security is flawed. It does have a capacity of just over 21,000 which is even larger than London's famous O2 Arena, however, I do really prefer the O2, the Manchester Arena has virtually nothing upon entering: no shops, restaurants while the O2 does - all the Arena has is stands selling really expensive food, beverages and merchandise - they even have salesmen who go into the crowd during a show trying to wave things in front of you - like come on I bought my ticket to watch an event, not watch you wave programmes about for goodness sake! The view of the stage wasn't too good either, I had to watch the show from the big screen and after paying for some of the more expensive seated tickets, that isn't what you want either. I really hope the rival to Manchester Arena is built soon by my club, Manchester City as it needs something to rival this hell-hole - the extra star is virtually only for being the only indoor concert/tour arena of its' kind in Greater Manchester, they even hosted amateur hockey games here at one point!

Such a bad company, I've never dealt with a company so blatantly deceptive…read more Be extremely weary of any good reviews you read and WHO is writing them. This has happened to so many people, they advise products to be in stock to get your business, take your money, send SOME items, then IMMEDIATELY black list your email BEFORE any items are even delivered attempting to stop you complaining. My "in stock" item will be with you in a month... If you want to cancel allow us a week for us to contact you just to discuss it while we have your money, stopping you ordering elsewhere. Nobody has the decency to pick up the phone, apologise for their well known dodgy practices for taking an order with no intentions of supplying it. This is ongoing and action will be starting on Monday. Don't even think of using Covid19 as an excuse, taking an order and blacklisting is blatant and disgusting. This will be going far and wide. Think this is a one off bad review? Think again, do your homework, AVOID.

This store sold my father of 89 yrs old a guitar (and an extremely heavy case) on speck!! He was in…read morethe latter stages of cancer and couldn't eaven manage to carry the cased guitar out of the store. I am quite sure they could have steered him towards a cheaper and more suitable option - The sales person had to carry it out to the taxi and the taxi driver had to carry it into the house....obviously not suitable you would think!!!! He paid £289 ...... Sadly he passed away within the next 2 months having 'strummed' the guitar on approx 3 occasions. I tried to return the guitar and case to the store stating that they had 'taken advantage' of a vulnerable person.... They could not refund as it was 'second hand' although I suspect it had probably been used more by customers who were just 'window shopping' NO MORALS AT THIS STORE....AVOID

I attended Bury The Rock cinema, recently for The Football Manager Documentary, which was…read morebroadcasted across selected VUE Cinemas. Bury The Rock is a nice cinema, the cinema area is very big with multiple floors, I would advise you to go up in the lift and not the escalator due to all the inconveniences because they is a lot of escalators and it will tell you what floor to go on. In the cinema its self is a Frankie and Bennies and a overpriced food shop with Cinema related snacks, just like any cinema. Due to the documentary going on for so long, having a live Q and A and a new features video as well as a short break, they was a few members of staff selling snacks and drinks, they didn't really understand what Gluten was and it was hard to check every packet of crisps etc in the dark, so I decided to leave buying a snack anyway, It would of cost far too expensive with Cinema prices being Cinema prices. I booked the Premier seats, and they did have alot more leg room, as I was the second row in the Premier seats, the cushioned arm rests made a nice foot rest as no one was sat infront of me. The Cinema screen was perhaps too big, I know thats what you go to the Cinema for but I just didn't like it, I would of much prefered to watch it in the comfort of my own home, on a smaller screen and volume not as loud. I enjoyed The Football Manager Documentary but between the Main film, New features video they was a screen with the movie logo and playing terrible, loud music, no singing just going on, I could of got used to it for a few minutes but It got annoying the amount of time it was on for. When I left the cinema, due to it being late on a weekday, they had shut the shutters and I had to leave through a very small door next to that, they was no member of staff to ask me about the film or to thank me for attending, what you can get in cinemas, something minor like this would be nice. Due to everything mentioned, I feel 3 stars is a fair rating for the cinema.

I like Vue at The Rock - it is a nice alternative (since it's less busy) to Manchester on a Friday…read morenight. Parking is free after 6pm and fairly low rates before then for the duration of an average film. Great picture and sound quality - you cannot fault Vue for that! What you also get for the price you pay is the stepped seating, so that no one is ever blocking the screen. The viewing rooms aren't too big, which is all the better for the cinema experience and the screens themselves are massive. The one star lost is for the super expensive cinema snacks&drinks as well as the ridiculous queue to get to them - this caused me to miss the start of the film!