FAMILY WEEKLY UPDATE: 4th – 10th May | Bank of Dave The Musical, Choir of Man & Trafford Centre Day Out
- May 17
- 5 min read
Family Weekly Update
This week was a nice mix of family time, theatre trips and trying to get organised for some upcoming shows and holidays.
We had a quieter start to the week with the bank holiday before things became much busier later in the week with Bank of Dave: The Musical at The Lowry and The Choir of Man at Manchester Opera House.
Here is this week’s family weekly update, sharing everything we got up to throughout the week.
🎬 A Quiet Bank Holiday Monday
Monday was a bank holiday, so the children were off school, although Lawrence was still working.
We ended up having quite a relaxed day at home. The children spent most of the day playing with their toys, and later on we watched the Matilda The Musical movie together, which is one of my favourites.
After such a busy few weeks recently, it was actually really nice to have a slower day at home.
🛍️ Trafford Centre Trip, Haribo Shop & Krispy Kreme
On Tuesday, Lawrence had the day off work, so while the kids were at school we got the bus to the Trafford Centre.
The first place we headed to was the Haribo shop because I wanted to pick up some sweets that you can’t usually find in the supermarkets.
After that, we stopped at Krispy Kreme and bought a dozen doughnuts as I had a voucher for 12 for £12, which felt like a really good deal.
We then had a look around Primark to pick up a few T-shirts for the children ready for our holiday in June before having a quick browse around the Primark Home store as well.
Once we’d finished shopping, we headed home and made some lunch before it was time to collect the children from school.
🎟️ Paddington Tickets & Beetlejuice Booking Success
Wednesday morning was surprisingly stressful because I was trying to get tickets for Paddington The Musical.
On the first Wednesday of every month, Mastercard customers can access special front-row tickets for selected performances through Mastercard Priceless, and they sell incredibly quickly.
The tickets went on sale at 10am and included an ice cream voucher as part of the booking.
Luckily, I managed to get tickets for the exact date we wanted, which I was really pleased about.
Afterwards, I spent the rest of the day uploading seat-view photos onto the website SeatPlan so I could earn enough reward points to get vouchers towards tickets for Beetlejuice The Musical.
Thankfully, I managed to earn enough points to get £40 worth of vouchers, which we then used towards booking our tickets.
🎭 Leo’s Parents Evening & Bank of Dave: The Musical
Thursday was definitely the busiest day of the week.
In the morning, Lawrence and I took Leo to speech therapy before dropping him back off at school afterwards.
We then spent the afternoon catching up on house jobs before collecting the children from school.
Later that evening, the kids went to my parents’ house while Lawrence and I attended Leo’s parents’ evening before heading straight over to The Lowry for the press night of Bank of Dave: The Musical.
As always, my dad dropped us off at our usual spot opposite the Imperial War Museum North before we made the familiar walk across the bridge towards the theatre.
After arriving, we stopped to take some photos outside in front of the show posters before heading towards the special press entrance through the old Pier 8 restaurant entrance, where a red carpet had been set up for invited guests and press.
Just inside the entrance was the press desk where we collected our tickets, programmes and wristbands for the interval drinks reception. There was also a fun little photo opportunity area set up with props inspired by the show, so Lawrence and I took turns taking photos for each other before heading back outside.
The atmosphere around the theatre already felt really exciting, with lots of people gathering outside waiting for the arrival of Dave Fishwick himself.
Dave Fishwick arrived outside The Lowry in one of his famous minibuses alongside his wife Nicky and a live brass band, which instantly created a real sense of occasion around the world premiere.
The band played several songs while Dave and Nicky posed for photos before walking the red carpet into the theatre. Afterwards, creators Rob Madge, Pippa Cleary and Nikolai Foster also posed for photos alongside the band and minibus, which added even more excitement surrounding the production.
We stayed outside watching the band for a while before eventually heading back inside to take our seats.
Once inside the auditorium, the pre-show soundtrack was presented as a local Burnley radio station complete with adverts for local businesses, which was such a clever touch and instantly helped immerse the audience into the world of the show.
We were seated in Row P in the stalls and had a fantastic central view of the stage.
Bank of Dave: The Musical tells the true story of Burnley businessman Dave Fishwick and his fight to create a community-focused bank after seeing ordinary people repeatedly failed by traditional banks.
One of the things I really loved about the production was how naturally it balanced humour, warmth and emotion throughout. Although the musical touches on bigger themes like class divides and financial struggles, it never feels too heavy. Instead, it stays uplifting, funny and genuinely heartfelt throughout.
During the interval, Lawrence and I headed to the press area for drinks before returning for the second act.
By the end of the evening, the audience inside The Lowry were cheering loudly, and when the real Dave Fishwick and his wife Nicky came onto the stage after curtain call, it made the whole evening feel even more emotional and special.
It really was such a lovely theatre trip together.
👉 You can read more about our visit and a short review HERE
👉 And you can find my full review on All About Theatre
🍽️ Lunch with My Parents & The Choir of Man
On Friday morning, I spent some time writing up my review for Bank of Dave: The Musical before heading out for lunch with my parents.
We went to a Table Table restaurant in town where I ordered smothered chicken with chips, garlic bread and a Diet Coke.
After lunch, we headed over to the Manchester Opera House for the 4pm performance of The Choir of Man.
We arrived at around 3:15pm, which gave us enough time to have a look at the merchandise before the auditorium opened.
I picked up a programme for £6.50, although unfortunately they didn’t have any magnets, which is usually what I collect from theatre trips.
One of the most unique things about The Choir of Man is that audience members can actually go up onto the stage before the show and during the interval.
Before the performance started, my dad and I went up onto the stage and took some photos while people around us enjoyed drinks from the on-stage bar.
The atmosphere inside the theatre was brilliant and the whole show felt really fun and interactive.
After the performance finished, I had to rush home quickly so Lawrence could head out to see the evening show himself.
He ended up having such a good time too — he got photos with the cast and even joined them on stage during the interval while they sang songs together.
🛋️ A Quiet Weekend at Home
After such a busy few days, I decided to keep the weekend fairly quiet.
We spent most of the time at home watching movies, playing on the Nintendo Switch and playing with toys while I also tried to catch up on little bits of housework around the house.
Sometimes quieter weekends are definitely needed after such busy weeks.
🎥 Watch Our Weekly Vlog
If you’d like to see everything we got up to this week, including our trips to Bank of Dave: The Musical and The Choir of Man, you can watch this week’s family weekly update vlog over on YouTube
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