Manchester Opera House

The Opera House Manchester is one of the city's two big touring theatres, standing on Quay Street a short walk from Deansgate and Castlefield. Behind a classical, colonnaded frontage sits a 1,920 seat auditorium with two deep cantilevered balconies, stacked boxes beside the stage and a green and gold colour scheme. Run by ATG Entertainment alongside the nearby Palace Theatre, it is known for large scale touring musicals, ballet, concerts, comedy and a Christmas pantomime, and it has a long record of launching new musicals before they travel on. The building is Grade II listed.

The theatre opened as the New Theatre on Boxing Day 1912, designed by Richardson and Gill with Farquharson. It was renamed the New Queen's Theatre in 1915, then became the Opera House in 1920 when it passed to John Hart and his associates at United Theatres Ltd.

In 1931 it was bought by Howard and Wyndham Ltd, the company formed at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow in 1895 by Michael Simons. Under managing director A Stewart Cruikshank, and with Charles B Cochrane joining the board and working as a visiting producer, the Opera House premiered numerous musicals and revues and staged the full range of plays, opera and pantomime. It served as a cinema during the Second World War.

The theatre closed in 1979 and spent five years as a bingo hall. The Palace Trust bought it in 1984 and brought it back to life as a theatre, and Apollo Leisure took it on in 1990, filling the stage with large scale musicals. Ambassador Theatre Group acquired it in 2009, and in March 2020 the Opera House gained Charitable Incorporated Organisation status alongside the Palace Theatre. The auditorium was redecorated in March 2011, keeping its familiar green and gold scheme.

Its stage history is unusually rich. The European premiere of West Side Story took place here in 1958, and the British regional premiere of The Phantom of the Opera ran from 1993 to 1995. Gorillaz played their Demon Days Live concert here in 2005, and the theatre has since hosted a string of world premieres including Ghost The Musical, Bat Out of Hell: The Musical, The Band, & Juliet and Back to the Future: The Musical.

The Opera House sits in a listed building from 1912, so it is worth planning ahead. There is no lift in the theatre.

• From the foyer to the stalls there are 28 steps in total, and a minimum of 78 steps up to the gallery, which is very high and steep with uneven steps.
• There are two wheelchair spaces with companion seats, at Circle B1 and C1 and Circle B4 and B5, and these spaces are accessible from street level.
• Seats average from 16 to 17 inches wide. Booster seats can be borrowed in the stalls only, so please ask a member of staff on arrival, and note a hire charge may apply.
• The Beecham Bar is on street level and fully accessible, and At Seat Service can be arranged when you arrive. The Ambassador Lounge is reached by steps only.
• Accessible toilets are on street level between the Beecham Bar and the Circle auditorium, fitted with an emergency pull cord.

Assisted performances

The theatre schedules audio described, captioned, BSL interpreted and relaxed performances across the season, with touch tours sometimes offered alongside audio described shows. For audio described performances, book in the centre stalls, which is also where the hearing loop signal works best. For captioned performances, seats in the centre of the stalls are recommended, avoiding limited view seats and seats too far back because of the circle overhang. Seats with the clearest view of the caption units are held back for patrons who need them. Customers wanting a closer view of the stage are advised to look at rows A to C. MobileConnect and the Loop system are available for D/deaf and hard of hearing audiences.

Booking

Join the free Access Membership Scheme to book accessible seats online, add an essential companion ticket if eligible and receive news of access performances. The accessibility assistance line is 0333 009 5399, or use Typetalk on 1800 1 0333 009 5399. An audio introduction to the Palace Theatre and Opera House is available on Soundcloud.