When Manchester embraced Mr. Shakespeare …….

It might seem a daft title, but it perfectly sums up the story of how William Shakespeare came to mean so much to Manchester over the last two centuries.

Mr Shakespeare's window

And for those who aren’t fully aware of the connection between the city and the playwright, there is an excellent exhibition at the Central Reference Library which offers up the story.

It runs until May 30th and in the words of Ian Nickson who collated the exhibition it is “the story of how seven personalities transformed Manchester into a global centre of Shakespearean theatre in the Victorian era and reveals present-day evidence of the city’s innovative engagement with the works of Shakespeare.

These seven people operated in diverse fields - business, religion, theatre, architecture, academia, politics - but were united by their appreciation of Shakespeare’s cultural value and, as if imitating the seven bees atop Manchester’s coat of arms, they collaborated to create an urban, libertarian, distinctively Mancunian interpretation of Shakespeare’s works”

They include “local businessman John Knowles who commissioned the Theatre Royal on Peter Street in 1845 and installed a marble statue of Shakespeare above the main entrance, early evidence of a desire to link Manchester with high culture

The actor-manager Charles Calvert who produced spectacular, historically accurate and commercially successful revivals of Shakespeare’s plays which, by appealing to all sections of society, developed into a ‘one-nation Shakespeare’ with global appeal.

Mr. Shakespeare and the Theatre Royal, 2024

In 1875, Calvert’s revival of Henry the Fifth was exported to the United States, prompting two New York impresarios to organise the fastest crossing of the continent by train as a publicity stunt and launching the career of the first global Shakespearean celebrity, George Rignold".

To these can be added Henry Irving who in 1860 came to Manchester and resurrected his career. He had who arrived as a failing actor, and his time in Manchester set him on the road to becoming the Victorian era’s most celebrated tragedian.

But that is where I shall stop because where would the fun be in just reading about the exhibition when you can come along and enjoy if for yourself and discover the other four notable people who in their own different ways brought the Bard to the city and whose influence is still here to uncover?

For more details please contact:

r. Ian Nickson. Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, ian.nickson-2@manchester.ac.uk

Kattie Kincaid, Project Lead for the Shakespearean Garden,  kattiekincaid@hotmail.com

Location; Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

Pictures; the Shakespeare Window, 2025, courtesy of Ian Nickson, and Mr. Shakespeare at the Theatre Royal, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson 

Let me tell you sad stories of the death of theatres ...... Manchester's Theatre Royal

There will be those who recognise the mangled link to Shakespeare, * and that is all to the good given that this is the story of our own Theatre Royal on Peter’s Street and the statue of the man himself which stands above the entrance.

Closed for business, the Theatre Royal, 2024

It opened in 1845 and can claim to be the oldest surviving theatre in the city.

That said it closed its doors in 1921 and since then has been a cinema, a bingo hall and even a night club.

My 1850 copy of the Stranger’s Guide to Manchester offers up that it could “hold 2,147 people and on the roof, there is a large reservoir capable of holding 20,000 gallons of water in the event of a fire….”**

And it was here sometime in 1970 that I saw the film Woodstock which documented the famous music festival the previous year.

All you ever wanted to know, 2026

I can’t remember too much of what I saw and even less of the theatre.  Nor if I am honest, have I given it much of a glance over the years as I whizz down Peter’s Street.

All of which changed recently after a visit to a new exhibition at Central Ref which explores the links between Shakespeare and the city.  It is simply entitled Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition and runs through till May 30th.

That said there is nothing simple about the story which encompasses the American actor, Ira Alridge along with “local businessman John Knowles who commissioned the Theatre, actor-manager Charles Calvert and Rosa Grindon who forged a career as the Victorian age’s leading female Shakesperean scholar” and crosses the Atlantic to America.

The Theatre Royal mode, 2026

Of all the bits on display I was drawn to a model of the Theatre Royal which has its own story.  It comes from Derby Museum and dates possibly from the 1960s.

And as someone who spent his summer holidays out of London visiting my grandparents in Derby that museum was a tad special.  A decade earlier I spent heaps of time mesmerized by a giant model railway which took up a large area of the museum.  Alas the Theatre Royal did not arrive in Derby until long after I had stopped visiting, but it was still a sort of connection.

I could say more but then that would spoil a trip to Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition so I won’t.

Mr. Shakespeare and that model of the Theatre Royal, 2026

Suffice to say there is lots to see.

For more details please contact:

r. Ian Nickson. Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, ian.nickson-2@manchester.ac.uk

Kattie Kincaid, Project Lead for the Shakespearean Garden,  kattiekincaid@hotmail.com

Location; Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

Pictures; Mr. Shakespeare at the Theatre Royal, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and remaining images from Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition, 2026, courtesy of Ian Nickson

*let us sit upon the ground, And tell sad stories of the death of kings" , Richard II, Act 3 Scene 2, William Shakespeare 1592

**Duffield, H.G The Strangers Guide to Manchester, 1850

Discovering that Shakespearean Garden in Platt Fields ….. courtesy of the new exhibition Shakespeare and Manchester

 It is a sad confession that despite living in Manchester for 57 years and visiting Platt Fields heaps of time I had never come across the city’s own Shakespearean Garden.

In the Shakespeare Gardens, 2026

The Friends of Platt Fields tell me that “A Shakespearean Garden is a themed garden which contains some or all of the 175 plants mentioned in Shakespeare’s works. 

Most of these gardens are a late 19th / early 20th century interpretation of the formal Elizabethan gardens. 

The aim being to design an historically accurate garden such as Shakespeare would have recognised.

‘Shakey’, as our garden is affectionately known, is a sunken walled garden which is entered via a central ‘staircase’. The formal garden is divided into 4 quadrants, or ‘rooms’, and surrounded by large banked areas and majestic trees.

The garden is often described as the park’s hidden gem nestled in a discreet corner, just a few moments from Wilmslow Road”*

Model of the gardens in the exhibition, 2026

My failure to know it existed is an outstanding piece of ignorance which was only corrected yesterday when Ian Nickson gave me a personal tour of the new exhibition Shakespeare and Manchester which runs until May 30th on the first floor of the Central Reference Library.

The gardens are only part of an extensive exhibition which explores Manchester’s links to the playwright from theatre producers, actors, and scholars to a description of the Theatre Royal. 

Nor is that all because contained in the glass cabinets are the stories of how it was here in Manchester that new safety designs for theatres were conceived and put into practice along with a pioneering method of photography both of which went global.

I could say lots more, but its all there on the first floor of Central Ref and is an introduction to Ian’s book on the same subject which is due out in September.

Mr. Shakespeare at the Theatre Royal, 2024

Which just leaves me to add that in Ian’s own words “one aim of this exhibition is to raise awareness of the benefits to mental and physical health conferred by the Shakespearean Garden and to obtain funding for a full-time gardener who can secure the future of the garden for the benefit of the citizens of Manchester”.

Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition Manchester Central Library First Floor Display Cases February 12th, 2026 - May 30th 2026.

For more details please contact:

r. Ian Nickson. Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, ian.nickson-2@manchester.ac.uk

Kattie Kincaid, Project Lead for the Shakespearean Garden,  kattiekincaid@hotmail.com

The Shakespeare window, 2026 

Location; Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

The Rosa Grindon Mural, 2026

Pictures; in the Shakespearean Garden, and the model of the gardens, 2026 courtesy of Kattie Kincaid, and Mr. Shakespeare at the Theatre Royal, 2024, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, the Shakespeare Window, 2025, courtesy of Ian Nickson, and The Mural Of Rosa Grindon Facing Platt Fields Due To Her Part In The Creation Of The Shakesperian Garden, 2026, from the collection of C.Roman

Next; the story of Rosa Grindon, and her time in Manchester, her role in The Shakespeare Garden and  her contribution to Shakespeare research, with material from the exhibition

*The Shakespearean Gardens, Friends of Platt Fields,  https://friendsofplattfields.org.uk/shakespeare-garden/

The painting …. the actor …. and the exhibition

This is Ira Aldridge and my Wikipedia tells me he “was an American-born British actor, playwright, and theatre manager, known for his portrayal of Shakespearean characters”.*

 Ira Aldridge, 1826

He was born in1807 and emigrated to Liverpool in 1824 and by the following year was performing on the London stage.

At this point I could launch into a detailed description of his life and achievements, but I would only be copying from Wikipedia and even if I cobbled something together from several sources, I doubt that I could really call it research ….. it would still in truth be copying.

At the Threatre Royal with Mr. Aldridge, 1856

So, I won’t.  Suffice to say that by following the link you can get the lot.

Instead, I will just pick up on his condemnation of slavery which he made in several speeches while touring in Coventry and which according to various sources inspired the residents to petition Parliament to abolish slavery.**

Now that I think is worthy of some research.

And as you do, I went looking for him in Manchester, and yes, this portrait is in the City Art Gallery but more exciting because it is a bit of original research, I found that he performed here in the city.

The Queen's Theatre, 1850

On May 12th, 1849, the Manchester Guardian reported that he was performing at the Queen’s Theatre, Spring Gardens and seven years later at the Theatre Royal.***

At the Queen's Theatre, 1849 in the company of Mr. Aldridge

I have yet to uncover a review, but it will only be a matter of time, but I know the old Theatre Royal and found the Queen’s Theatre on the corner of Spring Gardens and York Street. Alas the Queen’s has gone having been demolished in the 1860s for a warehouse.

All of this was unknown to me until I met Ian Nickson who is involved in a fascinating exhibition at Central Ref exploring the connection between Shakespeare and Manchester.

It explores "the story of how seven personalities transformed Manchester into a global centre of Shakespearean theatre in the Victorian era and reveals present-day evidence of the city’s innovative engagement with the works of Shakespeare”.

The Shakespeare Windowm, Central Ref

One of the seven is my old chum Ira Aldridge along with “local businessman John Knowles who commissioned the Theatre Royal on Peter Street in 1845, actor-manager Charles Calvert and Rosa Grindon who forged a career as the Victorian age’s leading female Shakesperean scholar.”

There are more but where would be the fun in recording all of them when dear reader you can discover them for your self at  Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition Manchester?

It is on at  Central Library on the First Floor Display Cases from February 12th 2026 untill May 30th 2026.

I have got my personal tour booked with Ian for next Wednesday, but given that it is on till the end of May there will be plenty of opportunities to visit it again and again and again.

For more details contact:

Ian Nickson. Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, ian.nickson-2@manchester.ac.uk

Kattie Kincaid, Project Lead for the Shakespearean Garden,  kattiekincaid@hotmail.com

Location; Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

At the Ref, 2014

Pictures; Ira Aldridge, 1826 painted by James Northcote, Manchester Art Gallery Accession number 1882.2, advert for The Theatre Royal 1856, the Queen’s Theatre 1850, from Adshead’s map of Manchester,  courtesy of Digital Archives Association http://www.digitalarchives.co.uk/  The Shakespeare Window in the entrance of the Central Library and Central Reference Library, 2014, from the collection of Andrew Simpson

*Ira Aldridge, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Aldridge

**First black Shakespearean actor Ira Aldridge honoured BBC News, August 3, 2017, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-40802072

***Queen’s Theatre, Manchester Guardian, May 12, 1849 Theatre Royal, Manchester, Manchester Guardian July 5th, 1856

Shakespeare and Manchester: A Victorian Powerhouse Exhibition

This exhibition tells, for the first time, the story of how seven personalities transformed Manchester into a global centre of Shakespearean theatre in the Victorian era and reveals present-day evidence of the city’s innovative engagement with the works of Shakespeare.

These seven people operated in diverse fields - business, religion, theatre, architecture, academia, politics - but were united by their appreciation of Shakespeare’s cultural value and, as if imitating the seven bees atop Manchester’s coat of arms, they collaborated to create an urban, libertarian, distinctively Mancunian interpretation of Shakespeare’s works.

The exhibition also presents traces of Manchester’s Victorian influence that can still be found today – the portrait of Ira Aldridge in Manchester Art Gallery, the Shakespeare Window in the entrance of the Central Library, and the Shakespearean Garden in Platt Fields Park.

One aim of this exhibition is to raise awareness of the benefits to mental and physical health conferred by the Shakespearean Garden and to obtain funding for a full-time gardener who can secure the future of the garden for the benefit of the citizens of Manchester.

Manchester Central Library First Floor Display Cases February 12th 2026 - May 30th 2026

"For so work the honey-bees,

Creatures that by a rule in nature teach

The act of order to a peopled kingdom.

They have a king, and officers of sorts,

Where some like magistrates correct at home;

Others like merchants venture trade abroad;"

The Life of King Henry the Fifth (1.2.187-92)

For more details please contact:

Dr. Ian Nickson. Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, ian.nickson-2@manchester.ac.uk

Kattie Kincaid Project Lead for the Shakespearean Garden, kattiekincaid@hotmail.com

Location; Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

Picture; The Shakespeare Window in the entrance of the Central Library