Shakespeare: The Comedy of Errors
2026-08-08 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-08-08 15:00 - 16:00 UTC | Henry Watson Music Library
TheatreMCR presents The Comedy of Errors: a compact hour-long slapstick rollercoaster ride of Shakespeare’s most ridiculous comedy.
Expect comic capers, original music and acapella singing from the talented ensemble in the beautiful wood panelled setting of the Henry Watson Music Library.
Shakespeare’s classic comedy will be performed live at Central Library’s Henry Watson Music Library at these dates and times as follows:
Tuesday 4 August @ 6pm
Thursday 6 August @ 6pm
Saturday 8 August @ 1pm + 3pm
Tickets are simply ‘pay-what-you can’. Available below, or via Eventbrite here.
All donations go to Manchester Libraries to support future activities.
Instagram: theatre.mcr

Ukrainian Storytime
2026-08-08 13:30 - 14:00 | Children’s Library
Привіт! Join our monthly Ukrainian storytelling sessions! Learn new words, listen to stories in Ukrainian and English and have fun! Suitable for children aged 4 to 7.
Free – just drop in.
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

LEGO Club
2026-08-08 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-08-12 14:00 - 15:00, 2026-08-19 13:30 - 15:30, 2026-08-26 13:30 - 15:30 | City Library
Do you love Lego? So do we! Drop in, pick your favourite bricks and build anything that takes your fancy. From castles to spaceships, the possibilities are endless! No need to book in advance. First come first served. Suitable for ages 4 and above.
Free – just drop in.
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Arabic Storytime
2026-08-08 14:00 - 15:00
Join us in Central Library’s Children Library to hear stories and sing songs in Arabic and English.

Learn new words and make new friends! Suitable for children aged 4-7. Free – just drop in.
Free – drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Intergenerational Music Making: Access All Ages Creative Community Hub
2026-08-10 10:00 - 11:30 | Henry Watson Music Library
Intergenerational Music Making invites you to join our age inclusive creative sessions, designed to bring communities together. Every session will include opportunities to get creative through music, art, poetry, movement, storytelling, and meaningful conversations that bring people together. Held in the beautiful Henry Watson Music Library within Manchester Central Library, the sessions are relaxed, flexible, accessible and welcoming to everyone.
Free – just drop in.
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Summer Reading Challenge: Feel the Beat with Drumroots!
2026-08-10 14:00 - 15:00 | Performance Space
Get ready to move, groove, and feel the rhythm! Drumroots brings the heart of Africa to life with high-energy drumming, vibrant beats, and joyful vibes. Whether you’re clapping, dancing, or drumming along, this is your chance to connect through rhythm and let the music tell a story. No experience needed, just bring your hands and your happy feet!! Suitable for ages 4-11. Space is limited.
Book your free spot via this Eventbrite link
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Library Lunchtime Choir
2026-08-11 12:30 - 13:15 | Henry Watson Music Library
Fancy a sing on your lunch break? Or just a feel-good sing to boost your day? Then come along to our regular Library Lunchtime Choir session!
There is no pressure to be a virtuoso, we’re just singing to feel better. The session will be 45 minutes of warm-ups and an arrangement of a well-known tune. You don’t need to be able to read music, we will learn everything by ear using the lyrics.
Sessions are run by Sarah Adams (Choirs Manchester) and the ethos is all about setting a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy singing together as a group.
Come along with a friend or on your own, it’ll be a friendly, laid back session!
Free – just drop in.
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Summer Reading Challenge: Guitar Craft
2026-08-11 14:00 - 15:30 | Lower Ground Floor
A relaxed, drop-in creative session inspired by music. Children can design and decorate their own cardboard guitars using craft materials. Join the “big doodle” artwork which will be passed around for everyone to add to. Music will play throughout to spark ideas and create a fun, shared atmosphere. Suitable for ages 4-11.
Free entry, just drop in.
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Ukulele Workshop - Small group session!
2026-08-11 18:00 - 19:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
Led by tutor Jim Wallace, this Ukulele Lesson is all about confidence, connection, and enjoying music together in a welcoming setting.
For 25 years, Jim has been bringing his passionate music teaching experiences to venues across Manchester – and now he will be coming to Central Library for a evening of strumming and good company for folks of all abilities.
Whether you’ve never picked up an instrument before or you’re tempted to try something new, this workshop is open to complete beginners and rusty returners alike. No music reading required — and instruments are provided.
Perfectly timed for an after-work drop-in, expect a friendly, low-pressure session where we’ll learn a few simple chords, play familiar songs together, and enjoy making music in a supportive small group.
Come along, give it a try, and discover just how enjoyable making music can be.
Small group – limited places available. Tuesday 11 August, 6pm-7pm.
Instruments provided – just bring yourself!
It’s never too late to play…

STEM Club
2026-08-13 14:00 - 15:30 | Lower Ground Floor
Put your lab coat and goggles on and join us for an interactive session that will get you excited about science! Expect spectacular hands-on experiments and lots of fun! Suitable for ages 6-11.
Free entry, just drop in
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Film Fridays
2026-08-14 13:00 - 16:00, 2026-08-21 13:00 - 16:00, 2026-08-28 13:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
Unleash the musical theatre kid in you with this programme of music-themed films! Watch a family classic on the library’s huge screen, get involved in music-themed crafts and find out how you can take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. Suitable for children up to 12 years old.
Free entry, just drop in.
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Colouring to Music
2026-08-17 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-08-24 10:30 - 12:00 | Children’s Library
Join us for a relaxed colouring session in the children’s library. Let yourself be transported by the music and use the materials provided to create your next masterpiece. Perfect for those who want to discover the Summer Reading Challenge at their own pace.
Free entry – just drop in.
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Cosplay Teen Event
2026-08-18 12:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
Join us for this accessible and inclusive cosplay event for teens that has been co-created with young people. Come in your best cosplay outfit, it might be bought or made by hand, it could be cosplay or wardrobe play, it can be anime, manga or book related.

Crafts
Cosplay competition
A panel – participants to be announced
Selfie area
Chill out area
Stalls selling related items

The event will be held in the Performance Space which will be closed to the public without a ticket.
Photography of participants will only be allowed with express permission of the attendees.
Open to young people aged 12-18. All adults must be accompanied by a 12–18-year-old or you may be refused entrance.
Free – please book via this Eventbrite link or click ‘Book Now’ below

Crochet and Chat Club
2026-08-19 14:00 - 16:00 | Ground Floor (Handling Tables)
Do you want to learn how to crochet and make new friends? Why not come along to our new monthly group?
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library.

Can You Dig It? Britannica Summer Challenge
2026-08-20 14:00 - 16:00 | Lower Ground Floor
Join us for Britannica Education’s “Can You Dig It?” Summer Reading event. This fossil-tastic drop-in event will provide a fun, dinosaur-themed activity kit to every attendee and the opportunity for children to explore Britannica Library to discover cool facts!
Free entry, just drop in.
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

The Puppet Folk Experience!
2026-08-20 19:00 - 20:00
Manchester Libraries are so excited to welcome the wonderful Puppet Folk Experience to Central Library this August. It’s going to be the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational show!!

The Puppet Folk Experience is a joyful live show combining acoustic music and beautifully crafted puppetry.
Musician Andy and puppeteer Liam bring songs, characters, and playful storytelling together in a performance full of humour, nostalgia, and warmth. Featuring lively banjo-led music and an ensemble of expressive puppet characters, the show celebrates the charm of classic puppetry and musical storytelling.
The Puppet Folk Experience delights audiences young and old with a performance that is heartfelt, imaginative, and full of fun.
Doors open 6.30pm
Performance starts 7pm
Cafe and bar will be open all evening.
Tickets are only £5 plus booking fee. There is also a buy 4 tickets for the price of 3 offer!

Manchester Literature Festival presents An Evening with Mieko Kawakami
2026-08-25 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
Join us for an unmissable evening with one of Japan’s most celebrated young novelists.
The Booker-shortlisted author of Heaven and Breasts and Eggs, Mieko Kawakami makes a rare visit to the UK to launch Sisters in Yellow, a gripping, stylish noir set in Tokyo’s shadowy underbelly.
Hana is fifteen, hopeful and living in a tiny Tokyo apartment with her mother, with no money and no security. Then Kimiko enters her life – a bright, magnetic force who offers escape. Together they open Lemon, a shabby bar that becomes a fragile haven of friendship, independence and possibility. For a moment, Hana feels invincible. In the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya however, nothing is as it seems, and hope can quickly turn to danger.
Twenty years later, Kimiko stands trial for a shocking crime, and Hana must confront her own past and its devastating consequences.
Dark, hypnotic and utterly compelling, Sisters in Yellow confirms Mieko Kawakami as one of the great writers of her generation. Join us as she discusses sisterhood, betrayal and the stories that haunt us.
‘This is not the Japan you find in novels about cats, cafés and bookshops. Kawakami draws back this cosy façade to reveal the grimy reality underneath — and she does it with consummate style. With Sisters in Yellow, she proves she is still the most exciting Japanese novelist at work today’ The Times
‘I can never forget the sense of pure astonishment I felt when I first read Mieko Kawakami’ Haruki Murakami
Mieko Kawakami is the acclaimed author of the internationally best-selling novel Breasts and Eggs, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and one of Time’s Best 10 Books of 2020. Her other novels, translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd, include Heaven, shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize, and All the Lovers in the Night. In 2024, Sisters in Yellow won the Yomiuri Prize for Literature in Japan. Her books, translated into over forty languages, are known for their insights into the female body, and philosophical questions surrounding gender, class, and ethics in modern society. Born in Osaka, Kawakami lives in Tokyo, Japan.
A Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.
Booking tickets here or ‘Book Now’ below

Summer Reading Challenge Singing Puppet Craft Fun!
2026-08-25 14:00 - 15:30 | Lower Ground Floor
Join artist Caroline for a fun, free Summer Reading Challenge activity! Get ready to sing, play, and create! Warm up your vocal cords and bring your puppet to life in this exciting craft session! Suitable for ages 4-11.
Free entry, just drop in.
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Pride Storytime
2026-08-27 14:00 - 15:00 | Children’s Library
Kick off your Pride weekend early with a special family story and craft session at Manchester Central Library. Join us for a fun and interactive storytime with songs, rhymes and Pride-themed picture books. Then get crafty! Create your own protest signs and noise-makers, to celebrate in style and make your voice heard! We will also have a range of LGBTQIA+ children’s books out to have a look at – share your favourites and discover something new! Suitable for children aged 4-7 and their families.
Free – just drop in.
Please consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Q&A: Karen McBride: Just A Girl From North Manchester
2026-09-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Join Karen McBride for a special evening where she will present ‘Just a Girl from North Manchester: A Photographic Exhibition‘; talking about the stories behind the photographs, the making of the exhibition, and the journey that led to ‘Just a Girl from North Manchester’.
For over 30 years, Karen has documented the people, places and music that have shaped Manchester. Her new exhibition brings together a personal collection of black-and-white photographs, stories and memories from behind the camera.
The work follows on from her book, ‘Just a Girl from North Manchester’, and explores a lifetime spent documenting musicians, communities and everyday moments that might otherwise have been forgotten.
Displayed throughout the exhibition are nine original vintage library display cabinets that were especially designed for Manchester Central Library when the building first opened. They provide the perfect setting for a journey through Manchester’s musical and cultural history. One cabinet, however, will house something very special that celebrates Karen’s lifelong love of traditional black-and-white photography, craftsmanship and making things by hand—qualities that have always been part of Manchester’s industrious spirit.
Whether you’re interested in photography, Manchester’s music scene, local history or simply enjoy discovering something different, Karen McBride invites you to come along to an evening that will take you into her storied life and behind ‘Just a Girl from North Manchester: A Photographic Exhibition‘.
Karen will be in-conversation with Nicola Howard.
There will also be live music from: Shimeon.
Live @ Central Library Performance Space. 6pm-7.30pm.
Tickets – just pay-what-you-like.
All donations to Manchester Libraries to enable future activities.

Music Q&A: Tony Fletcher - 'When UK Punk Went Pop 1980-84'
2026-09-15 18:00 - 19:30
This September, the acclaimed music journalist, industry head, and broadcaster Tony Fletcher will be discussing his brand new book ‘When Pop Went Punk 1980-84’ with a special in-conversation event at Central Library.
Before authoring eleven books, including best selling biographies of Who drummer Keith Moon, R.E.M. and the Smiths, Tony Fletcher was a teenaged music magazine publisher in his native England. But, with a degree of industry that sounds absolutely exhausting, he also ran a record label, interviewed rock stars, led a band, promoted concerts, worked as an on-air TV interviewer — and still found time for romance.
Fletcher chronicled the early days of his life and career in his previous work, ‘Boy About Town’ (2013) but had enough extraordinary experiences left over for this new colourful and engaging memoir: ‘When Pop Went Punk 1980-84’.
1980–’84 was an explosive time in British rock, as the disruptive energy of bands like the Clash and Sex Pistols gave way to more sophisticated and chart-friendly genres and bands. Fletcher was on the front lines, running a record label with the Jam’s Paul Weller, attending all the important concerts and meeting the top acts, many of whom became MTV regulars: Madness, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Wham!, Echo & the Bunnymen, Killing Joke, Adam and the Ants, the Smiths and more. Then there’s the time he interviewed Paul McCartney…
Tony’s new book ‘When Pop Went Punk 1980-84’ is a coming-of-age story, the tale of a naïve young man in a cultural whirlwind who learns some hard lessons about business, journalism, love and sex – all the while trying to get his own band a record deal.
Opening-up about the book and his whirlwind career in music, Tony will be chatting to Louder Than War journalist Iain Key about his extraordinary life. Appearing in-person at the Henry Watson Music Library of Central Library, catch them in-conversation on Tuesday 15 September.
Tickets are donations based – just pay-what-you-can!
Get yours here:
Music Q&A: Tony Fletcher – ‘When UK Punk Went Pop 1980-84’ Tickets, Tuesday, September 15 • 6 PM – 7:30 PM | Eventbrite
All donations go to Manchester Libraries to support future activities.

Can't Get You Out Of My Head: In Search of Kylie - Michael Cragg in conversation
2026-10-06 18:30 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Kylie Minogue is one of the world’s most successful pop stars, and in his new book, Can’t Get You Out of My Head, music journalist Michael Cragg takes us on a hugely entertaining journey from her early days on Ramsey Street to her current status as global icon. We’re thrilled to be welcoming Michael to Manchester Central Library on Tuesday 6th October when he’ll be chatting all things Kylie! The talk will be followed by an audience Q&A and booksigning.
Tickets are £6.00 each or £25.00 including a copy of Can’t Get You Out of My Head
Event starts at 6:30pm (doors at 6pm)
About the book:
From her late-eighties beginnings – capturing our hearts as Charlene in Neighbours – to her gold-plated hits like ‘Spinning Around’ and ‘Padam Padam’ soundtracking the euphoria of dancefloors the world over, Kylie Minogue is a modern-day icon. But, having sold over eighty-million records internationally and becoming the bestselling Australian pop star of all time, who is the ‘real’ Kylie? And how has she remained a mystery while also navigating a forty-year career in the fickle world of pop?
Pop-academic and award-winning writer Michael Cragg takes us on a journey into the psyche of one of the world’s most enigmatic pop stars. Via a mix of brand new interviews, a dash of oral history and some joyfully irreverent music writing, Can’t Get You Out of My Head aims to put the puzzle pieces together.
“Michael Cragg is the greatest chronicler of modern pop and he has found the perfect subject. Any story that takes in Neighbours, Nick Cave and Pete Waterman needs to be told this well” – Josh Widdicombe
“Cragg investigates the beautiful enigma that is Kylie, interweaving pin-sharp journalism, personal experience and a deeply held belief in the power and wonder of perfect pop. Funny, clever and touching, this book is a delight” – Miranda Sawyer
About the author:
Michael Cragg is a journalist and author from London. His work has appeared in the Guardian, the Observer, Vogue, i-D, GQ, BEAT, Popjustice, the BBC, Out and the Sunday Times. His first book, Reach For The Stars, an oral history of 90s and 00s UK pop, won the Penderyn Music Book Prize in 2024. Keen to focus on pop artistes that perhaps haven’t always received the recognition they deserve, his second book, Can’t Get You Out of My Head: In Search of Kylie, is about the diminutive Australian hitmaker. During his tenure at the pop coalface he’s interviewed the likes of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Rosalía, Björk, Little Mix, Britney Spears, Robbie Williams and Robyn.

Manchester Literature Festival presents Emily St. John Mandel
2026-10-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
Bestselling Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel joins us to discuss her electrifying new novel Exit Party – exploring parallel worlds, political unrest and blurred realities.
In a near-future Los Angeles emerging from conflict, Ari Walker and her friend Gloria are going to a party. But the party becomes the site of something inexplicable, drawing Ari into a mystery that will haunt her across decades and continents. Elegant, suspenseful and emotionally charged, Exit Party explores memory, freedom, art and the fragile boundaries between realities.
Emily St. John Mandel blends literary fiction with speculative suspense in the unforgettable style that made Station Eleven an international success. Hosted by Andrew McMillan.
Emily St. John Mandel is the internationally acclaimed author of seven novels, including The Glass Hotel, Sea of Tranquility and Station Eleven, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and adapted into a celebrated television series on HBO Max. Her work has been translated into 34 languages.
A Manchester Literature Festival event.
Tickets £12 / £10
A Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.
Booking tickets here or ‘Book Now’ below
