Rochdale streets lit up by powerful stories in immersive after-dark experience

Friday, 30 January 2026 10:53

By David Murphy

Rochdale’s town centre has been transformed into a night-time audio-visual journey, inviting residents and visitors to see the borough through the eyes and voices of its people.

‘Stories We Tell: Rochdale’, running until Friday 6 February 2026, is a free guided audio walk that combines large-scale projections, moving imagery and 3D sound to animate buildings and streets around the town centre. The route takes in key locations including Milkstone Road, Drake Street, Baillie Street and Rochdale Town Hall Square.

The project invites audiences to explore themes of belonging, change and hope as shared by local residents. Based on real memories and experiences, the immersive walk has been developed using archival images, video and audio recordings.

Now in its second edition, the event builds on the original 2022 debut in Deeplish and returns with a wider focus on the entire town. Organisers say this latest version is designed to reflect both what has changed and what continues to shape the identity of Rochdale today.

Commissioned as part of Rochdale’s year as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture, ‘Stories We Tell: Rochdale’ has been backed by Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency, with funding from the UK Government’s Community Regeneration Partnership and support from Arts Council England.

The installation has been produced by local multidisciplinary company Breaking Barriers, who specialise in combining technology with community storytelling.