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© Antony Crook

Manchester International Festival is dedicated to new work by some of the world's leading creative artists and home-grown talents. With a wide-ranging programme and more free events, the Festival aims to be inspiring and welcoming to all.

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Take a psychedelic trip through the Forest of Arden, dig out your threads and get in the groove! Take a step back in time to the 1960s when life was mellow, things were cool and love was free - immerse yourself in Heartbreak Productions' dynamic new take on this enduring comedy.

Performance time: 7.30pm. Tickets: Advance: adults £10, concessions £7.50, child 6-16 £6. On gate: adults £12.50, concessions £10, child 6-16 £8.50. Limited covered seating is available at an additional £3 per ticket. To book call the Library Theatre Box Office on 0161 236 7110 or Quaytickets on 0870 066 6843. www.quaytickets.com / www.heartbreakprouductions.co.uk

Curator Jo Bloxham has selected twelve of Manchester's Pre-Raphaelite paintings to provide a platform on which to inspire 12 international jewellery artists. The paintings portray woman as a femme fatale, a seductress, and in some cases, purely an object of beauty and each of the jewellers has responded individually, with astonishing results.

The jewellers have created an exciting body of work using a diverse selection of materials, from gold and garnets to concrete and broken glass. The Sting is an opportunity to explore an area of jewellery design rarely seen in the UK. The artists of The Sting will talk about their work at a one-day jewellery symposium at The 1830 Warehouse, MOSI Museum of Science and Industry, Liverpool Road, Manchester on 10 July, 10-5pm. For information and to book a place, email stingofpassion@gmail.com.

The exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery is free. www.manchestergalleries.org Brooch by Marianne Schliwinski. Inspired by Rossetti's 'Joli Coeur' 1867.

Multi award-winning Feelgood, 'the jewel in Manchester's theatrical crown' are back in Heaton Park with a daring and bold promenade production of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Macbeth. As the sun sets, a pulsating heart beat of African drums draws audiences deep into the woods where the witches' supernatural prophecy leads Macbeth and his wife on a power-mad journey of ambition, greed, corruption and murder. A unique and powerful ensemble company from Manchester and Zimbabwe will create a heart stopping show that fuses text, a capella singing and drumming into a dynamic contemporary drama that will haunt you long after the bloody night's business is over...

Tickets: from £9, call Quaytickets on 0870 066 6843. www.quaytickets.com | www.feelgoodtheatre.co.uk

© Bill Cooper

The BP Summer Screens season continues with the live screening of The Royal Opera's Barber of Seville. Rossini's energetic and instantly recognizable opera features the undisputed singing talents of Joyce DiDonato, Simon Keenlyside and Juan Diego Flórez to name but three in this exceptional cast. Live screening: 7.30pm. Before the screening, the Royal Opera House's On The Road initiative presents:

The Barber Inspires (6.30pm)

A performance by students from Wright Robinson Sports College who have been working with On the Road artists to devise their own musical and dramatic responses to The Barber of Seville.

Sing-Along (6.45pm)

Join us for a sing-along led by Grant Doyle, a former Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House with the students of Wright Robinson Sports College and A fun introduction to the Barber of Seville. www.roh.org.uk/bpbigscreens

24:7 - Manchester's première theatre festival returns. From 20-26 July, the annual 24:7 Theatre Festival will present around 20 brand new 60 minute theatre productions in a variety of exciting non-theatre venues in central Manchester. The festival launched to critical acclaim in 2004 and has gone from strength to strength. Now with a well-established following, this year's festival looks to be better than ever. www.247theatrefestival.co.uk

Dip into the gossip and squabbles, grapple with the riddles, blunders and misunderstandings - a brand new adaptation of this hilarious Regency rom-com... Performance times: 7.30pm, Saturday matinée at 3pm, Sunday at 6.30pm.

Tickets: Advance: adults £10, concessions £7.50, child 6-16 £6. On gate: adults £12.50, concessions £10, child 6-16 £8.50. Limited covered seating is available at an additional £3 per ticket. To book call the Library Theatre Box Office on 0161 236 7110 or Quaytickets on 0870 066 6843. www.quaytickets.com | www.heartbreakproductions.co.uk

A major new annual selling event in the North of England, celebrating the very best in contemporary craft. An excellent opportunity to see and buy the latest works in ceramics, glass, jewellery, textiles, metal, wood, furniture, paper, basketry and more from the most talented designer-makers in the UK. www.greatnorthernevents.co.uk

From 18th century chemist John Dalton through to modern day astronomer Bernard Lovell, Manchester is home to some of the world's most significant scientists and their inventions. Find out more about their lives and ground-breaking experiments from our historical characters and collections. Get inspired by our science shows and have a go at the range of science workshops and events throughout the city during this fun-packed week. www.mosi.org.uk

Version is a new film festival presenting all new work - short films specially commissioned and adapted from literary texts published in the region. Featuring a new generation of talented and risk-taking filmmakers, as well as work by the best of the region's writers, the festival will also bring in guests from across Europe and includes masterclasses and Q&As by award-winning feature film directors. Styles will range from stop-frame animation to live action location dramas, from lens-less artist video to mockumentary. Three films will be specially commissioned for the festival, while other work will have been made through a series of on-going challenges and collaborations between writers and directors. Some events are free. www.commafi1m.co.uk

Exposures is the UK's largest competitive festival for student film and moving image work, presenting the very best from local, national and international student filmmakers. Exposures is unlike any other film festival in the UK, and gives a unique insight into how the TV and film industry works. It celebrates emerging filmmakers and provides the opportunity for students to showcase their work, network with experienced professionals, attend exciting workshops and win prestigious awards, allowing them a first taste of industry success. Some events are free. www.exposuresfestival.co.uk

The UK's largest Spanish language film festival showcases the newest and most interesting feature films, documentaries and short films to come out of Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America. With talks, events and masterclasses led by guests and filmmakers, the festival is of huge value to Spanish speakers in this country, students of Spanish and anyone who is interested in cinema, travel, or Spanish and Latin American culture. The festival is aimed at age 14+. www.vivafilmfestival.com