By Lexi Bickell 

For students on a budget, evenings at the theatre and the like often seem out of reach. Humanity Hallows has rounded up some of the best value events on in November across Manchester so that you can beat the winter blues.

Credit: Indie Flicks

IndieFlicks Short Film Night | Texture (Lever Street, Northern Quarter)
1 November, 7:30pm | Book tickets

IndieFlicks is an independent film night held in an intimate venue on the first Wednesday of every month. It screens several short films from around the world and audience members are encouraged to vote for their favourite, watch a specially selected Feature Short and to stay for a special guest Q&A session. There will be drinks offers especially for the event and the chance to do some great networking for those with a creative career in mind. Tickets £6.

The Great Comedy Snafu with Wes Zaharuk | The Peer Hat Manchester
2 November, 8pm | Book tickets

Crimes Against Hilarity presents an evening of stand-up comedy from headliner Wes Zaharuk and Amy Gledhill amongst others at NQ venue The Peer Hat. Wes is known for his wild physical comedy routines and has been known to use power tools on stage for maximum prop trick surrealism. Amy will be opening the show and has been described as “hilarious” and “as pretentious as a sock in a puddle”, so there will definitely be laughs from the start! Tickets £3.50.

BBC Philharmonic | Various Venues
Throughout November | Book tickets

The BBC Philharmonic has a packed schedule for November, with performances from the 1^st, scheduled for Media City in Salford, the Bridgewater Hall and the New Adelphi Theatre to name a few. There is a huge variety on offer, including live performances of world famous works from composers such as Beethoven and Elgar as well as the chance to be audience members on brand new shows, such as tragi-comic opera The Arsonists.

The BBC Philharmonic will also be supporting New Music North West, from the Royal Northern College of Music, so modern mixtures of musical genres will be showcased, celebrating contemporary talent from across the region. Many of these events are free or very low-cost – visit the link above for listings and prices (Free-£5 with student ID).

The Head Wrap Diaries | Contact Theatre
22 & 23 November, 7:30pm | Book tickets

Credit: Fotenini

This interactive performance set in a hair salon combines dance, music and theatre to tell the stories of three fierce and witty female characters. With a varied score containing Afro, house and electro dance beats as well as jazz, gospel and folk, there’s something for the music buffs as well those looking for a comedy hit. After each show, there will be an additional discussion with the company, where audience members can meet the cast, share experiences and learn different ways of tying head wraps. Tickets are £6 with student ID.

RAH! – Research in Arts and Humanities | Various Venues
Throughout winter | Book tickets

RAH is public engagement programme of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Manchester Met. They have a rolling programme of events, throughout the academic year running under the theme ‘Finding Voices’. RAH! is designed to highlight the creative and critical research conducted by Manchester Met and its associates and how it is relevant to today’s social, cultural and governmental backdrop.

Events in the programme are wide ranging and include Valuing Urban Nature on 7^th November, a free but ticketed film screening of the award winning documentary Demain followed by an open discussion of ecological artists, designers and writers. This will take place at HOME MCR between 12 and 4pm.

Following this, there will be another free event, a clothes swap at the Manchester Art Gallery, from 11am-2pm on 11^th November. The clothes swap, called Manchester Identity: Unworn, invites you to not only bring garments to exchange and have fun at a mini photoshoot, but also to bring one or more items that hold specific memories for you. They hope that you will share the story of why you love a particular item of clothing so that they can create a clothing ‘story tree’.

Finally, Sara Ahmed will be giving a free reading from her new book, Living A Feminist Life, in Geoffrey Manton Lecture Theatre 4 at 6:30pm on 16^th November. She will be discussing her queer, feminist and racial studies and how important they are in everyday life. Sara will be in conversation with Manchester Metropolitan lecturer Muzna Rahman and the event will be followed by an audience Q & A and drinks reception.

These are just a few of the many events on offer, so have a look, click the links for more listings and prices and get involved!