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WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 10 JANUARY 2026

  • Writer: STEVE COOKE AATA
    STEVE COOKE AATA
  • 2 minutes ago
  • 6 min read

  


previews, reviews, interviews, and recommendations with Steve Cooke


WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 10 JANUARY 2026

 

Previews: Organ concerts at Rochdale Town Hall, Pennine and Nature Poetry Event with Poet Laureate Sammy Weaver and guests plus Noel Coward’s Private Lives coming to the Royal Exchange Theatre

 

Shout out: The Football Art Prize

 

Organ concerts at Rochdale Town Hall

Preview by Steve Cooke


ORTOA [Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside Organist Association] have a series of celebrity concerts in Rochdale Town Hall on the magnificent JJ Binns Organ.



The Binns organ is one of the most famous and iconic historic features of Rochdale Town Hall, described as a feature of national importance.


Constructed by J.J Binns of Bramley in Leeds, it is considered one of the organ builder’s finest works.


The JJ Binns organ was a gift from philanthropist Sir Samuel Turner on the occasion of the visit of King George V and Queen Mary.


It was the very last organ made in the UK before World War One, which effectively put a stop to building organs of such amazing quality, as many of the fine materials were never available again.


When made, the Rochdale organ was often compared with Binns’s equally fine 1912 organ in the Kingsway Hall in London, an instrument of very similar size and quality. But this organ has gone, leaving Binn's masterpiece at Rochdale in a class of its own.



With the Town Hall closing for renovation in 2020, the organ was boxed in to prevent damage during the works, following which it has been brought back into commission - restored and fitted with a modern playback system so that the organ can reproduce performances made at the touch of a button.


The first concert of 2026 will be Carol and Peter Kwater organ duets on Saturday, 31 January 2026 at 3pm.

Tickets from £8

Booking required: you are advised  to book tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.

Book by phone: call 01706 924797

You can also pay on the door with card or cash, depending on availability.

Book parking at Rochdale Town Hall Car Park – there may be a limited number of spaces available for pay-on-arrival users, but availability is not guaranteed.

Rochdale Town Hall, The Esplanade, Rochdale OL16 1AZ


Also to come are:

Saturday, 28 February 2026

Start time: 3pm

Organist: Ronny Krippner (Ripon Cathedral)

Tuesday, 19 May 2026

Start time: 1pm

Organist: Alexander Woodrow (Leeds Minster)

Monday, 22 June 2026

Start time: 1pm

Organist: Jean Martyn (cinema organist)

Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Start time: 1pm

Organist: William Campbell (Bradford Cathedral)

Tuesday, 15 September 2026

Start time: 1pm

Organist: Adam Wilson (York Minster)

 

Pennine and Nature Poetry Event with Poet Laureate Sammy Weaver and guests

Preview by Steve Cooke


An event to look forward to at Wardle Library with an afternoon of poetry and spoken word inspired by the Pennines and the stunning nature that surrounds our local area. From the Pennines to the page (and microphone!)



This nature-inspired event will see words bloom, with Rochdale’s very own Poet Laureate Sammy Weaver as host. Think local voices, big energy, and stories that fire up your imagination.


The event, part of a series of 5 events around the borough, will showcase a mix of performers around the theme of nature (but leaving room for an array of perspectives and styles).


It’s all about sharing great writing and celebrating the amazing talent right here in the borough.


Confirmed performers include Clare Shaw, award-winning poet, Zaffar Kunial,  Liz White and Seamus Kelly.



The Rochdale in Rhyme – Greater Manchester Town of Culture poetry exhibition will also be on display, giving you time to explore and enjoy work by more local writers.


This event is delivered in partnership between Rochdale Libraries, Rochdale Borough Council, and Rochdale Development Agency, funded by Arts Council England and Flexible Funds, and forms part of Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture programme for 2025/26.

Wheel chair / pram accessible

The event will take place from 2.30pm to 4pm.

Saturday 24 January 2026

Wardle Library, 448 Birch Rd, Rochdale , OL12 9LH

 

The Football Art Prize

By Steve Cooke


Touchstones Rochdale are looking for entries to the return of The Football Art Prize as part of an international open call celebrating the confluence between football and art.

This prestigious competition invites artists who explore the passion, drama, and unity that football inspires across the world. Open to anyone aged 18 and over, working in any two-dimensional medium (including painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, and moving image) the prize welcomes diverse and creative interpretations of how football shapes our lives, identities, and communities.



For its second edition, the shortlisted works will form part of a prestigious regional touring exhibition, opening at the Millennium Gallery (Sheffield Museums Trust) before travelling to the National Football Museum in Manchester - all during 2026, the year of the next iconic World Cup. All shortlisted artists will also be featured in a virtual gallery and a fully illustrated print catalogue, with the award winners announced at the exhibition’s opening ceremony.


Entries are open internationally and submitted online, making it possible for artists everywhere to share their work with a wider audience.


Be sure to read the entry details carefully before submitting your work and take your shot at being part of this celebration of football and creativity.

Find out more and register on https://artopps.co.uk/checkout/116

Submission deadline of 07 Apr 2026 at 18:00.

 

Noel Coward’s Private Lives coming to the Royal Exchange Theatre

Preview by Steve Cooke


Noel Coward’s Private Lives is coming to the Royal Exchange Theatre in Spring.

'I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives.'

In Noël Coward’s savage comedy, there’s nothing a cocktail can’t cure as lovers battle to get the upper hand. Wit has never been so razor sharp and passion has never looked so brutal.



Sparks fly on a honeymoon from hell and sexual chemistry is always only a heartbeat away from an explosion. Loved for their sparkling dialogue and art deco glamour, Noël Coward’s plays remain as funny and insightful as when they were written.

This 1930 comedy of manners’ in three acts  second-act love scene was nearly censored in Britain as too risqué.


Coward wrote one of his most popular songs, ‘Someday I'll Find You’, for the play.


This new production of a vitriol-laced classic is directed by award-winning director Blanche McIntyre.

Tickets from £12

Friday 27 March - Saturday 2 May 2026

Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester M2 7DH      

 

RECOMMENDED

 

Saturday, 10 January 2026

Notes from College Bank - Book Launch and Exhibition

Ellie brings together work collected and made so far as part of the on-going project that looks to document the social and historical significance of the College Bank buildings in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. The project, photo book and exhibition feature photographs from her grandad's archive - M.J.Burgess, documenting Rochdale in 1970-80's.

The book launch offers an opportunity to meet the artist, learn more about the project, and purchase one of the limited-edition, hand-bound photo books. Proceeds from all book sales will be donated to Prostate Cancer UK and will also help fund the next chapter of the project: the creation of a community-led archive in the centre of Rochdale.

Free / Pay What You Want

14:00

Ebor Studio , William Street , Littleborough , OL15 8JP

 

Saturday, 10 January 2026

The ultimate celebration concert to one of the most iconic and best-selling artists of all time.

Robert Schmuck (Billy The Kid) and his amazing seven-piece band perform breath-taking musical arrangements of multi-million selling songs such as My Life, Uptown Girl, River Of Dreams, Tell Her About It, Still Rock ‘n’ Roll To Me, An Innocent Man, Movin’ Out, Just The Way You Are, We Didn’t Start The Fire, Piano Man, The Longest Time and many, many more, it’s a non-stop hits show!

Duration: 2h

Tickets from £26.78 (inc. £1.28 cmsn)

19:30

Middleton Arena, Lance Corporal Joel Halliwell VC Way, Middleton, Greater Manchester, M24 1AG

Accessible viewing platform / area

Wheel chair / pram accessible

 

Wednesday. 15 January 2026

Toad Lane Concerts - Rochdale's Weekly Music at Lunchtime

This week we have - Tim Kennedy piano (Cambridge University & RNCM Staff)

The concert series has been held at St Mary’s since 2001 and was granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020.

Running every Wednesday, Music at Lunchtime is a weekly live classical music concert series that has been going since the 1960s. The sessions were initially run at the old Rochdale Art Gallery by the local authority, but since May 2001 have been run by volunteer-enthusiasts and artistic director, Dr Joe Dawson.

£6

Phone: Dr Joe Dawson 01706 648872

Doors open 12noon, concert starts 12.30pm - 1.30pm

St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane/St Mary's Gate, Rochdale OL16 1DZ

 

 

 

celebrating creative arts and artists - an oasis of positivity supporting individual and community wellbeing.


 
 
 

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