Not only are we launching our shiny new season for October 16 – March 17 but we also present you with a redesigned Theatre 2 space, turn up the volume of our artist development programme and extend our work with associate partners…
Our Theatre 2 space will feature new flexible seating, staging and lighting, funded by a recent grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation. And with generous support from the Foyle Foundation, October will see the launch of our new talent development programme, offering support and opportunities to theatre makers at all career stages to develop and extend their practice.
Highlights include a pilot two-year residency for one theatre maker to take part in a tailored development programme, leading to the commission of a piece of work for our main stage; Made at HOME, a research and development programme for mid-career theatre makers to experiment and explore cross-artform ideas and collaborations; alongside a series of specialist skills workshops, directors’ residencies in partnership with the JMK Trust, training courses and theatre festivals including Orbit, showcasing some of the most exciting and critically acclaimed productions from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and beyond, and PUSH, a two-week festival of new and extraordinary experiences shining a light on regional talent.
We are also delighted to welcome two new Associate Companies, the tremendously talented 1927 (Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, The Magic Flute, Golem) and Mighty Heart Theatre (When I Feel Like Crap I Google Kim Kardashian Fat, What’s The Matter With You?), who challenge the conventions of theatre making with burning social and political issues at their core. 1927 and Might Heart join existing Associates Quarantine, Manchester’s leading experimental theatre company. Actor Katie West will join HOME as Associate Artist – she first took to our stage in the UK premiere of Chamaco, by Cuba’s playwright Abel González Melo, as part of ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Festival 2016, and recent credits include the Royal Exchange Theatre, the Almeida Theatre and Manchester International Festival.
Our Artistic Director: Theatre, Walter Meierjohann, said: “We are putting the artist first by enabling theatre makers from the region but also nationally and internationally to make work, explore ideas and connect. Our exciting pilot residency, which will be launched at our inaugural Orbit Festival in September, provides an unrivalled opportunity for mid-career theatre makers to make work for the T1 stage. We’re also extending our work with associate partners, and I’m thrilled to work on undoubtedly extraordinary projects with Katie West, 1927 and Mighty Heart.”
Want to find out more about our new season programme? Take a look here.