Adults £22 / Under 18s £2 We're very excited to welcome UK Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, to open this year's festival. He will read a selection of his work, including new poems. A Q&A and book signing will follow. Simon is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry and the PEN Prize for Translation. He has published over a dozen poetry collections, two novels and three non-fiction bestsellers. A regular [read more…]

Adults £22 / Under 18 £2 Creeaght is a new composition by Isla Callister. 'Creeaght' is the Manx word for 'courage' and this musical project celebrates the role women have played in Manx history. The piece was originally commissioned by Culture Vannin and premiered at Yn Chruinnaght Festival 2022 with an all-woman ensemble. The first half of the show will be a showcase of Manx and Scottish traditional music comprising short sets from Mera Royle [read more…]

Adults £22 / Under 18 £2 Top brass ensemble, A4 are 10 years old this year and have kindly added us to their list of engagements to celebrate this milestone! Formed in 2013 at the Royal Northern College of Music and comprising of principal players from some of the UK’s top brass bands, A4 Brass Quartet is a multi-award-winning chamber ensemble. The Quartet has a unique blend of instruments with a cornet, tenor horn, baritone [read more…]

Adults £22/Under 18 £2 Tim Horton is one of the UK’s leading pianists, equally at home in solo and chamber repertoire. He is a founder member of both the Leonore Piano Trio and Ensemble 360 and has been a regular guest pianist with the Nash Ensemble. He will be playing a programme drawing on his recent Chopin Cycle concerts and including works by Ravel and Haydn.  Tim was invited to make his solo debut at [read more…]

Adults £22 / Under 18 £2 A decade on from their first performance, and with three acclaimed albums under their belt, Rant remain at the forefront of the Scottish fiddle scene. The meeting of four of the country’s finest players, the quartet use just their fiddles to weave a tapestry of melodies, textures, layers and sounds. We can't wait to see them here at the Mananan! Bethany Reid from Shetland, Anna Massie and Lauren MacColl [read more…]

Adults £22 / Under 18's £2 To close this year's festival, we are delighted to welcome one of the hottest jazz acts on the circuit, supported by local heroes All The Presidents Men! Graham Harvey (Piano), Dave O'Higgins (Saxophone), Jeremy Brown (Bass) and Matt Skelton (Drums) have played together for years, following that thread in jazz that has continued from its origins in the small groups of the swing era through bebop and up to [read more…]

FREE EVENT The award-winning war novelist Shirley Mann, will be talking about and signing copies of her new book, ‘Bridget’s War,’ as the final event of this year's festival  The book features a policewoman in the Rushen Internment Camp on the Island and is the fourth in a series of books inspired by real women who served in World War 2.   ‘Bridget’s War’ takes the series full circle as the author’s first book, Lily’s [read more…]

Adults £6 / Under 18s £2 127 years after the society's formation, popular local theatre society, the Douglas Choral Union, are heading to the Erin Arts Centre on Sunday 16th July for their 'Summer Concert' showcasing the Douglas Choral Union Choir, and Bursary recipients.  Led by the exceptional Musical Director, Steve Daykin, the choir's repertoire is a harmonious fusion of iconic show tunes, beloved pop hits, and timeless rock classics, which promise to deliver performances [read more…]

Adults £5 / Under 18s £2 This beautiful, charming, cinematic documentary captures an ambitious project with over 130 years of history at its foundations. On a small island in the middle of the Irish sea, a giant derelict pier juts out into the rough sea. Closed for decades, now the pier is getting a new lease of life thanks to a defiant, social-media savvy elderly population building something for the next generation. A wind-swept, tea-soaked, [read more…]

Change of plans! We've had messages from would-be attendees letting us know they can't make the July session. So instead, we're postponing this month and we'll pick up a few sessions in September to prep for a performance in October! (Anyone who already booked a July ticket has be refunded.) Keep your eyes peeled and follow Southern Gothic Choral Club on Facebook for updates. Who are Southern Gothic? Southern Gothic Choral Club is an adults [read more…]