Manchester Jewish Museum

Maimonides from Scratch

Stop-motion animation, storyboarding and graphic novel design have all been utilised to explore themes that define the life and legacy of 12th-century rabbi, philosopher and doctor Maimonides. The pieces are the result of children’s workshops held in Marseille and the Manchester Jewish Museum, in which the students were invited to create artistic responses to Maimonides’ life, ideas and the Jewish, Greek and Islamic intellectual traditions that shaped his thought.

Until 24 June

M8 8LW. 08432 080 500. www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com

Thursday 16 April

From the Tigris to the Thames

Iraqi artist Linda Dangoor presents her latest cookbook. From the Tigris to the Thames: Flavours of a Journey is part memoir and part recipes, which reflect on the idea of home and belonging. The event includes tasters, a Q&A and book signing. Read our interview with Dangoor in the Summer 2025 issue of JR.

6pm. £45. Manchester Jewish Museum, M8 8LW. www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com

Sunday 26 April

The Wireless Operator: The Mancunian Jewish Sailor who Invented the Modern Drug Trade

Historian Dr David Tuch presents his recent book, which exposes the true story of his cousin Harold Derber, a Mancunian Jewish sailor whose expertise in smuggling contributed to the modern drug trade. The Wireless Operator: The Untold Story of the British Sailor Who Invented the Modern Drug Trade details Derber’s journey, from wartime Manchester to his pioneering work on the ‘mothership’ trafficking model, whereby a giant ship would stop in the open ocean to be met by smaller, faster boats that would then ferry the illicit goods to shore, avoiding seizure of the motherload.

6.30pm. £10, £8 concs. Manchester Jewish Museum, M8 8LW. www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com

Wednesday 3 June

Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra

Following the success of his album Still Blooming, which reached number one on the Official Jazz and Blues Albums Chart, Hollywood actor Jeff Goldblum takes his jazz band, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, on their first ever UK tour. Hear classic American Songbook favourites as well as contemporary pieces, as Goldblum presents his signature crooner skills behind the piano. Read more about Jeff Goldblum and the tour on the JR blog.

7.30pm. From £51.50. Manchester Palace Theatre, M1 6FT. www.atgtickets.com

Thursday 23 April

Solomon

Set in Victorian London, Stuart Eggleton’s one-man play explores the life of the queer pre-Raphaelite artist Simeon Solomon. Find out how Solomon manages to navigate his faith, desire, ambition and identity in a homophobic society, from his meteoric rise in the art world to the public scandal that brought on the downfall of his career.

7pm. £14. Manchester Jewish Museum, M8 8LW. www.manchesterjewishmuseum.com