Factory International

Factory International presents the Lightroom production

The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks

Book tickets – members only Become a member for priority booking
People sit and stand in a dark immersive exhibition space with a massive floor-to-ceiling projection of an astronaut walking on the moon. The lunar surface image extends across the floor and walls, creating a sense of being on the moon.
Date
16 Dec 2025 -
11 Jan 2026
Tickets
Standard Tickets from £20 - £35
Affordable Tickets:
Concessions from £10 - £17.50
A booking fee of £1.50 per ticket applies to all bookings. Children aged 2 and under FREE and do not require a ticket.

We sell tickets for show slots every hour.

The show is 50 minutes long and will start promptly. Latecomers may be admitted at a suitable point however this cannot always be guaranteed.

Please note: times from 6pm onwards are for adults only.

We have free essential companion tickets available for wheelchair users and disabled visitors. We do not require proof to book an essential companion ticket with your access ticket.

Essential companion tickets are free with a wheelchair, disabled, BSL, captioned or audio description ticket at any price point, including £10 and concession price tickets. Essential companion tickets are intended for people for whom it would be significantly difficult to access our venue without support from another person.

To book access tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org or book online. For more instructions, please visit How To Book Access Tickets.

We have free essential companion tickets available for wheelchair users and disabled visitors. We do not require proof to book an essential companion ticket with your access ticket.

Essential companion tickets are free with a wheelchair, disabled, BSL, captioned or audio description ticket at any price point, including £10 and concession price tickets. Essential companion tickets are intended for people for whom it would be significantly difficult to access our venue without support from another person.

To book access tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org or book online. For more instructions, please visit How To Book Access Tickets.

Book tickets – members only Become a member for priority booking

Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+. Younger children need to be supervised in the space and we ask that parents are considerate of the experience for all our guests. Please note that there is no cloakroom available for this event.
Running time: 50 minutes

Accessibility features available for this event: Captioning Audio Description Relaxed Performance Reduced Capacity Wheelchair Access BSL Interpreting

Tom Hanks narrates an epic experience that offers a new perspective on humankind’s past and future voyages to the moon.

This winter at Aviva Studios, step into The Moonwalkers – an awe-inspiring immersive experience for all ages.

Created by Hanks and BAFTA-nominated writer-director Christopher Riley, The Moonwalkers tells the stories of the Apollo missions of the 1960s and ‘70s, reflecting their gripping journeys at spectacular scale.

Also looking ahead to the next chapter in lunar exploration, newly filmed interviews between Hanks and astronauts of the current Artemis programme grant an insight into the return of crewed surface missions to the moon.

Following on from the success of David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away), The Moonwalkers uses Lightroom’s powerful projection and surround audio technology to transform Aviva Studios into a vehicle for an out-of-this-world voyage to our closest celestial neighbour.

Narrated by Tom Hanks with a spectacular original score from Anne Nikitin, this extraordinary show brings the epic story of humankind’s journeys to the Moon vividly to life.

  • “A thrill-ride into the wonder of space.”

    The Standard

  • “A thrilling escapist educational adventure.”

    The Telegraph

  • “Will have your spine tingling.”

    The Times

  • “Full of space-age wonder.”

    TimeOut

About the creative team

Tom Hanks co-wrote The Moonwalkers with Christopher Riley, the double BAFTA-nominated writer-director whose work includes many of the most groundbreaking films and television programmes about space for the likes of the BBC, Netflix, and PBS.

Hanks himself will provide the voiceover, accompanied by a spectacular original score by Anne Nikitin whose previous work includes the Apple TV+ hit series HIJACK starring Idris Elba and the cult heist movie American Animals starring Evan Peters and Barry Keoghan.

Created by

Tom Hanks & Lightroom

Designed by

59 Productions

Written by

Tom Hanks & Christopher Riley

Directed by

Nick Corrigan & Lysander Ashton

Producer

Richard Slaney

Original music composed by

Anne Nikitin

Recorded by

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,

conducted by Tom Kelly

Sound Design

Tom Hackley

Executive Producer

Tom Hanks

Executive Producers

David Sabel

Nick Starr

Collaborating Producer

Andy Saunders

Assistant Producer

Hope Delicata

Image: Justin Sutcliffe

The visuals of the Moonwalkers

Original NASA footage and breath-taking images from Andy Saunders’ Apollo Remastered will transform Lightroom’s vast space into an immersive voyage to the lunar surface, brought to life by co-directors Nick Corrigan and Lysander Ashton of 59 Productions.

Over the course of the Apollo program, the twelve astronauts to set foot on the Moon captured thousands of original photographs on medium-format Hasselblad cameras. For half a century, almost every image of the Moon landings publicly available was produced from a lower-quality copy of these originals.

For Apollo Remastered Andy Saunders has, for the first time, digitally remastered images from every mission from the original film. Revealing detail that has been lost for half a century, these images offer astounding new insight and a mesmerising retrospective of humankind’s greatest adventure. In Aviva Studios vast space, these images are seen like never before – at a scale that fully immerses the viewer, transporting them to the lunar surface.

Tickets

Factory International members onsale: Wednesday 18 June, 10am

General onsale: Friday 20 June, 10am

We have a range of affordable tickets, including options from £10 for those who may need them. You can find out more about our Affordable Ticketing Policy here.

Tickets prices for The Moonwalkers may fluctuate depending on demand per entry slot. This allows us to price fairly across all times throughout the day, and helps us to manage venue capacity. Our Aviva £10 tickets will always stay at £10.

For ticketing and box office related enquiries, please contact tickets@factoryinternational.org or call 0333 322 8679 (phone lines are open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm and 10am - 5pm Sunday 12 and 19 Jan).

For more information please visit Ticketing and Sale of Goods Terms & Conditions – Factory International

Access information

Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.

Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.

The entrance to the Warehouse is by lift or stairs from the Social. Two lifts and a staircase to the Warehouse are located in the Social opposite the bar.

The entrance to the Law Family Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Law Family Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.

The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.

The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.

Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.

We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).

To book access tickets and personal assistant tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org Access bookings can be made by email, phone or online. They are also available in person at Aviva Studios.

There is step-free access to all areas of the venue, with lift access to the North Warehouse from the Social. The experience is step-free and there is access for wheelchair users throughout. The rooms have been designed with wide doorways and clear pathways.

The exhibition is suitable for all ages. Younger children need to be supervised in the space and we ask that parents are considerate of the experience for all our guests.

We have audio described showings on the following dates:

Friday 19 December, 4pm

We have BSL showings on the following dates:

Friday 26 December, 4pm

Saturday 3 January, 9am

The overall capacity of the Warehouse will be reduced for these showings. Attendees should feel comfortable to make noise, leave/enter and move around as they like. No changes will be made to the show itself. 

We have reduced capacity showings on the following dates:

Saturday 27 December, 9am

These showings are intended for those who might benefit from the show sound being quieter and the lighting more subtle. Changes will be made to the show and show space to make it more comfortable. The house lights will be turned on. The sound level of the show will be slightly reduced. The overall capacity of the Warehouse will be reduced.

We have relaxed showings on the following dates:

Monday 29 December, 9am

Tuesday 6 January, 4pm

Open captions are built into the show and are visible at all times. The captions are located at the top of the projection.

Travel information

There are a number of rail and tram stations within the city centre which are just a short distance from Aviva Studios. The closest stations are:

By Bike

There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.

National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.

You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

By Walking and Other Active Means

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.

All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.

Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.

A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.

Free bus

The free bus 1 service connects Piccadilly Station, Oxford Road and Deansgate rail stations, as well as other areas of the city centre to Aviva Studios.

The service stops on both Liverpool Road and Quay Street, close to the venue. Buses operate every 10 minutes during the day from Monday to Sunday and they are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus 1 route and timetable, please visit the Bee Network website.

Bee Network services

Piccadilly Gardens is situated in the heart of Manchester and there are a number of bus services that will take you on to Aviva Studios. The 33 bus which starts at Shudehill, calls at Piccadilly Gardens and will take you straight to Liverpool Road. Services operate every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and every hour on Sunday.

Alternatively, you can board either a 35, 36 or 38 bus to Bridge Street bus stop which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

Coming into Manchester Victoria rail station? Head on over to Shudehill Interchange (which is a seven-minute walk via Hanover Street) where you can catch the 33 bus to Liverpool Road.

Alternatively, you can board either an 8, 67 or 100 bus from Manchester Victoria to Bridge Street bus stop, which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

There is a car park approximately 0.2 miles (350m) from Aviva Studios at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.

There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.25 miles (400m) away from Aviva Studios at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

There are a small number of Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.

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