My sis and I were walking around looking for things to do in Manchester and Royal Exchange was on…read morethe list of things to do! So we stopped by and we learned this: High Yield: If you go at 9:30 am you can pick up front row tickets for the featuring performance later in the day for 10 pounds! Details Interior: Beautiful modern modern theater. So when you come into the building, the theater is contained within a cool glass looking structure and there are different tiers for viewing. We went at 9:30 am to pick up the 10 pound tickets and then came back at 2:30 to watch our show. The colors of the modern theater are purples and blues. Inside interior is beautiful Play Watched: We watched Sweet Charity- without giving away details and the ending, it is certainly such a well performed play. The cast put their heart and soul, the dancing numbers were clean, and the vocals were solid. Very solid performance, and because it is a smaller theater than like Broadway, it felt very intimate and cozy watching this from the front row. This is rated PG 13 in my opinion, no dirty or inappropriate stuff but if you want the true nuances and understanding of this play, be prepared for talks of brothels and purity. The front seats are like coahces btw, so if you're a tall person, your legs may feel awkward. But if you're a shorty like me, it's totally nice. Refreshments: You can purchase drinks, snacks and pastries from outside- not the cheap popcorn and like soft drinks but like actually baked goods, wines, and stuff Audience: Generally an older audience, middle to upper class, mostly caucasian population

This venue certainly has the wow factor.. I walked in expecting a typical old & majestic theatre…read morebuilding, which it is BUT it also has a huge modern twist, with a scaffolding type looking auditorium in the middle. It took me a while to like this, being the traditionalist that I am, but once the musical (Little Shop of Horrors) was in full swing I fully appreciated the set up they had going on, with the audience sitting in a round and the stage in the centre. The acoustics were absolutely fantastic and the space created a really intimate feel. My only gripe is that the seats really are packed in, I felt quite claustrophobic and if I had needed to leave for any reason during the show at least three other people would had to leave their seats and move into the aisle so that I could pass. I will just need to bare this in mind next time I book...

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!

A wonderful addition to Manchester's creative scene. I went to watch Angel of the House and WOW,…read morewhat an amazing, emotive performance. I had to fight back the tears. I've heard nothing but good things about this place and I plan on visiting many times over. I'm already planning on going back to see Hair and Christmas Cracker over the coming months. They've started offering relaxed performances which makes this place a lot more accessible for those with kids or for individuals with autism for example. Big thumbs up. The interior is gorgeous, exposed brick walls with big cosy armchairs. Shabby chic with lots of quirky furniture - have a go on the saddle stools! There's a bar on site and the engine room café offers a pre theatre menu :) What more can you ask for.

OMG what a night. You HAVE to go and watch one of the in house productions at this theatre. I…read moregenuinely cried three times at Parade. What an amazing cast and orchestra. Such powerful performance. Such a cool new venue. I felt like I was actually on stage it's so intimate. I'm so lucky this is so near me. I'm booking to go again! The venue is setting a new standard in staging new musicals. Support it or loose it! Update: 27 Oct 16: Hair (The musical) is the next in house show. Book now!

Probably my favourite theatre in Manchester! Easy to get to and just has a really good atmosphere…read more Usually I would see musicals here but last week came to see Neil Warnock and he was absolutely brilliant. Circle and stalls are better seat for me personally and I think its worth paying a bit more to get a better view but overall a lovely venue

Real trip down memory lane I guess to a time when there were no multiplexes or glass modern venues…read more The facilities are a bit too old fashioned but great to visit.