Our first season of theatre has been announced this afternoon. Paving the way for the kind of theatre which will be seen when HOME opens in spring 2015, the productions are being overseen by Walter Meierjohann, the Artistic Director for theatre at HOME. The site-specific season will introduce new production partners to the Manchester theatre scene, whilst making temporary homes in different parts of the city.
Angel Meadow, opening Tue 10 June, will be an immersive, adrenaline-fuelled encounter, digging up an area of Manchester that no longer exists. Directed by Louise Lowe, Angel Meadow explores the predominantly Irish, Victorian slum that occupied Ancoats – “a sordid hell on earth at the centre of the industrial world, populated by red-eyed scuttling gangs and girl rippers”. In this challenging interactive journey, Angel Meadow is brought into a contemporary context, worlds collide and the past and present fuse until the real and imagined become indistinguishable. Dublin’s multi-award-winning ANU Productions have been hailed by the Irish Times as making the “most searing work of the past decade.”
In September, Walter Meierjohann directs his own promenade production of Romeo and Juliet in Manchester’s unique Victoria Baths. The three atmospheric empty Victorian swimming pools will be transformed into another world, designed by Ti Green, who was responsible for Orlando at the Royal Exchange. The drama is retold as a contemporary fairytale set in a criminal underworld of Eastern Europe and is inspired by its stories, music and film. The historic baths will be filled with an ensemble of bold and colourful characters and the music of Gypsy bands and Balkan choirs.
From October, our theatre team’s temporary home will be on the second floor of Number One First Street, the office building overlooking the HOME site. The space was brought to life in 2012 with the Library Theatre Company’s acclaimed production of Jackie Kay’s Manchester Lines. In October, The Actors Touring Company production, The Events will be staged in this space. Featuring local choirs from Manchester, David Greig’s daring new play asks how far forgiveness can go in the face of atrocity within your own community. The Events was voted Best Play of 2013 by critics in The Guardian and “The Best Play yet to play in New York” by the New York Times.
Reflecting Walter Meierjohann’s European provenance, October will also feature Best of BE FESTIVAL, three highlights from this year’s celebrated BE (Birmingham European) FESTIVAL. This entertaining and eclectic evening of theatre, dance and performance will be a cultural feast in the intimate home from HOME at Number One First Street. Diverse, daring and dynamic, with an emphasis on physicality, Best of BE represents new European theatre seeking to break down barriers.
And later in the season, the re:play Festival will continue the tradition set by the Library Theatre Company, bringing the best of Manchester’s fringe theatre to a wider audience.
“The season is a taste of things to come,” comments Walter Meierjohann, Artistic Director for Theatre at HOME, “One common thread we’re evoking and interrogating here is the idea of belonging – from the exploration of the Irish community in Angel Meadow to the conflict between communities in Romeo and Juliet to The Events, about a broken community and featuring performances from several Manchester community choirs.”
Director of the National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner, who is one of our high-profile patrons, comments, “Walter Meierjohann’s debut season for HOME promises to be an excellent foretaste of the theatre programme in the new building. Meierjohann, with his track record at the Dresden State Theatre, Residenz Theatre in Munich and at the Young Vic in London, will be bringing an adventurous and international approach.”
Poet and playwright Jackie Kay added, “I’m delighted to be a patron of HOME, and am awaiting with anticipation the first theatre productions in Ancoats, at the Victoria Baths and back at Number One First Street. There are lots of surprises in store for Mancunians as well as a great new venue to look forward to.”
Tickets for Angel Meadow, Romeo and Juliet and The Events are now on sale. Book online, over the phone on 0161 200 1500 or in person at Cornerhouse Box Office.