Things to do in July 2025

Your curated guide to July's arts and culture across Liverpool, Manchester and the rest of the North West

I am a hypocrite. This I realised at the weekend as I implored my son to put down his screen and play in the garden, while scrolling through work emails on my phone. So this week we’ve all agreed to stop looking at screens in the morning before the school run - as well as limiting them the rest of the time - and in the past two days, instead of gormless doom-scrolling, I have found time to read a chunk of a gothic novel and learn a new fiddle tune. All before 8.20am.

All this was partially inspired by Jeanette Winterson’s recent Substack post in which she talks about the importance of prepping our souls with songs, stories, theatre, art…, in the way a survivalist might fill a locked box with dried peas and tins of evaporated milk. She argues that “soul-prep will help you stabilise your own world” while outside “unstable men in charge are enjoying their power”.

This month offers lots of opportunity for soul-prepping should you be looking for it - exciting festivals, new art exhibitions, brilliant theatre and exciting dance. Check out my recommendations below and share yours in the comments.

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