“…the alternative circus that is Affleck’s Palace, where in order to go unnoticed, it’s best if you look like Marilyn Manson or a really scruffy Kurt Cobain…”

Lonely Planet’s England

Oh, Lonely Planet. You scared me for nothing. I read this little blurb in your “Quirky Manchester” and thought a) I must go, but b) I am a middle-aged woman from Ohio who looks nothing like Marilyn Manson, so I will stick out like a sore thumb. I decided the best thing to do would be to go at 10:00am when Affleck’s Palace opened, but before the scruffy Kurt Cobains were even awake. So that’s what I did.

I loved Affleck’s Palace as soon as I stepped inside and made my first purchase minutes later.

The place was a smorgasbord of colors, styles, and quirky apparel that ran the gamut from Katy Perry-ish dresses to Marilyn Manson t-shirts. There were costume shops, tattoo and body piercing places, the requisite hemp store, and plenty of vintage shops and artistic boutiques. I spent hours there wandering from floor-to-floor, admiring the painted scenes in the stairwells and wondering what I’d find as I emerged from each set of stairs.

I ended, finally, on the bottom floor just outside the 3-Minute Theatre. It’s a small, intimate space that hosts experimental theatre. This was the perfect location for it, and I booked my ticket for later that evening. But I have to tell you, even at 10:00pm I didn’t see the Marilyn Manson types. I guess the Lonely Planet endorsement scared them away.