This month, we focus on the exceptional work of Space Studios Manchester, the purpose-built, 17-acre facility for feature film, high-end TV, and commercial production
The highly anticipated 8-part drama, House of Guinness, produced by Kudos Productions for Netflix, was hosted by Space Studios Manchester over 35 weeks from May 2024 to January 2025.
“Space is the place to be if you are shooting in the northwest of England. Great stages, great people with an abundance of fabulous locations within an hour of its doors. What’s not to like?”
Cahal Bannon, Series Producer for House of Guiness
Written by Steven Knight and directed by Tom Shankland and Mounia Akl, House of Guinness stars Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn, Fionn O’Shea, James Norton, Niamh McCormack, Seamus O’Hara, Jack Gleeson and Dervla Kirwan and charts the aftermath of the death of brewery mogul, Sir Benjamin Guinness, and the great impact of his will on the fate of his four children as well as other Dubliners affected by the expanding Guinness empire.
Stages 1 and 4 at Space Studios hosted a range of sets including the ballroom, the docks office, and the boarding house whilst the cast and crew also used dressing rooms, unit bases, workshops, and production offices.
“House of Guinness coming to Space Studios was a perfect fit. The stages’ flexibility allowed multiple sets to be turned around quickly for the team while proximity to the city allowed the production great access to locations and doubles within a short drive from the studios. The production utilised stages, offices, workshops and several costume rooms on site to accommodate the huge cast. Very little of the facility wasn’t used in the production, which makes Space Studios the true home of the House of Guinness”
Dean Sinacola, Studio Manager at Space Studios Manchester
Screen Manchester supported the production and key location scenes were shot in Lever St, Back Piccadilly, Sackville Building/Sackville St, Anita St, Ancoats and Victoria Square, Heaton Hall and Dale St – Northern Quarter.
“It is always exciting to see news heralding the release of projects we’ve been involved with, and House of Guinness is certainly no exception. At Screen Manchester, we enjoyed working with the location team from Kudos Productions, securing locations and filming permits for some of the city’s most iconic locations. Our team is now eager to tune in to Netflix to see the end results, which, judging from promotional trailers, are spectacular”
Bobby Cochrane, Film Officer at Screen Manchester
Located 10 minutes from Manchester city centre, Space Studios features over 80,000 sq ft of production space across 6 sound stages, ranging from 9,000 sq ft to 30,000 sq ft, along with purpose designed dressing and make-up facilities, laundry, prop storage, workshops, on-site catering and extensive free parking. Other major productions recently shot at Space include AMC’s Talamasca, Paramount’s A Gentleman in Moscow, and Amazon’s Lazarus.
