Maxine Peake

The life of a high-strung business executive spirals into a world of violence, blackmail, and murder, when she learns she has been betrayed at work.

The determined and overdue rise of a female comedian in England during the 1970s as she breaks through the glass ceiling of all-male comedy circuits.

Journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s brave crusade, fighting to be an independent voice of truth for the Russian people, puts her own life in jeopardy. Anna was silenced but her legacy lives on. Her story serves as a reminder of the dangers that journalists face and the importance of protecting their right to report the news without fear of death or reprisal.

A working-class photographer captures the impact of Thatcherism on the north of England but is unable to escape the poverty and inequality she exposed. Driven by a commitment to document the impact of deindustrialisation on working class communities in Northeast England in the 1970s and 1980s, Tish Murtha used her camera to expose societal inequality.

From its sell-out run at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre comes a film version of this unique and critically acclaimed Hamlet, with BAFTA nominee Maxine Peake in the title role. This groundbreaking stage production, directed by Sarah Frankcom, was Royal Exchange’s fastest-selling show in a decade. Shakespeare’s most iconic work, Hamlet is the ultimate story of loyalty, love, betrayal, murder and madness. Hamlet’s father is dead and Denmark has crowned a new king. Consumed by grief, Hamlet struggles to exact revenge, with devastating consequences.

An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reform and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy which also played a significant role in the founding of The Guardian newspaper.

Gwen is a young girl struggling with her mother’s unusual illness, her father's absence and the suspicious local community that has turned on them.

A mysterious fainting epidemic disrupts life at a strict English girls’ school, where two best friends have begun to explore their sexuality.

Manchester detective Peter Hunter gets brought in by the Home Office to conduct a thorough secret review of the Ripper investigation.

A hilarious dramedy about two brothers-in-law who work together, as they get drawn into a battle over the best Christmas lights.

The classic Shakespeare fantasy drama is adapted for TV by Russell T Davies in this retelling of the cruel Athens dictator and his lovelorn daughter.

Two small-town teen brothers from a life of poverty and tragedy fall for the same girl before war with Germany sends them into the trenches.

Starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, this is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking.