Contact Theatre Listings for Autumn 2014 – Tickets Now On Sale

The Contact Theatre has just released the full listings for their Autumn 2014 season and tickets are now on sale for all events.

The coming season will feature major names, radical international work as well as a host of up and coming companies.

As well as Mark Bruce Company’s critically acclaimed production of Dracula, which won the prestigious South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance and the return of Afrovibes festival, other events announced include No Guts, No Heart, No Glory by Common Wealth- a piece commissioned by Contact featuring young, female Muslim boxers and Hoke’s Bluff – Action Hero’s adrenaline-fueled take on sport.

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Scottee, Paul Sinha, Bryony Kimmings and Kate Tempest also return along with many other local rising artists and companies.

Please see below for the full listings for this coming Autumn:

Chanje Kunda: Amsterdam
Directed by Juliet Ellis. Choreography by Darren Pritchard. Music by Jason Singh. Sound Design by Dan Steele.

Friday 3 and Saturday 4 October, 7:30pm. Tickets: £9/5. Suitable for over 16s.

Fusing spoken word, physicality and music, Amsterdam is a 21st century play of love and lust.

Presented by Afrique Performs. Supported by Arts Council England.

 

Tamasha presents
My Name is…

By Sudha Bhuchar. Directed by Philip Osment. Sound design by Arun Ghosh.

Wednesday 8, Friday 10 and Saturday 11 at 7pm. Thursday 9 October at 5.30pm.

Post-show talk on Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 October. Tickets £9/5. Suitable for ages 14+.

Tamasha’s moving new verbatim play about love, family and ever-shifting identities tells the story behind a story that fleetingly hit headlines in 2006 and continues to resonate throughout the UK and beyond. It charts the cross-cultural love story of a family divided by the complexities of culture and religion.

 

Mark Bruce Company presents
Dracula

Friday 10 and Saturday 11 October at 7:30pm. Tickets £15/10. Suitable for ages 14+.

 

BSL interpreted performance Friday 10 October.

Bruce’s company of ten exceptional dancers bring Bram Stoker‘s haunting, erotic tale to life in a heart wrenching and magical dance theatre production. Winner of the prestigious South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance, this critically acclaimed production should not be missed.

Presented in association with Tobacco Factory Theatres, Pavilion Dance South West and Wilton’s Music Hall. Supported by Arts Council England.

Daljit Nagra: The Retold Ramayana

Tuesday 14 October, 7:30pm. Tickets: £6/5. Suitable for over 11s.

Part of Manchester Literature Festival (MLF) 2014.

British poet Daljit Nagra performs a captivating one-man poetry show based on The Retold Ramayana, an updated version of the ancient tales that have enchanted Eastern audiences for thousands of years.

Polari

Wednesday 15 October, 7:30pm. Tickets: £6/5. Suitable for over 16s.

London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon heads north for Manchester Literature Festival. Polari have been showcasing the best in established and up-and-coming queer literary talent since 2007. Hosted by Paul Burston with performances from Neil Bartlett, Jonathan Harvey, VG Lee and more.

Patience Agbabi: Telling Tales

Thursday 16 October, 7:30pm. Tickets: £6/5. Suitable for over 16s.   

Award-winning poet Patience Agbabi retells Chaucer‘s The Canterbury Tales for the 21st century in her new collection Telling Tales. Part of Manchester Literature Festival 2014.

Kate Tempest

Saturday 18 October, 8pm. Tickets: £10/8. Suitable for over 16s.

Original and electrifying spoken word artist, Kate Tempest recently won the prestigious Ted Hughes Award for Brand New Ancients. She’s showcasing work from her new collection Hold Your Own at this special MLF event.

Presented by Young Identity in association with Contact, Commonword and Inna Voice

Young Identity: Battle of the Minds

Thursday 23 October, 7:30pm. Tickets: £9/5. Suitable for over 13s.

Manchester’s finest young poets present a verbal battle of heart and mind.

Contact and Word of Warning present

Action Hero: Hoke’s Bluff

Friday 25 and Saturday 26 October, 8pm. Tickets: £11/6. Suitable for all ages.

Action Hero have got their game faces on. Hoke’s Bluff uses the cheap sentimentality of inspiring locker room speeches to find out what it really means to be a winner (on the inside).

Co-produced by China Plate and Warwick Arts Centre. Co-commissioned by Bristol Old Vic Ferment. Funded by Arts Council England. Action Hero are supported by Theatre Bristol’s Company Producer.

 

Afrovibes Festival returns to Contact from 27 October to 1 November bringing award-winning South African music, theatre, dance, photography and film to the UK.

Mamela

Presented by Curious Monkey. Edited by Gez Casey and Ziphozake Hlobo. Directed by Amy Golding.

Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 October, 7pm. Tickets: £9/5. Suitable for over 10s.

BSL interpreted performance Wednesday 29 October.

Mamela (Listen) shares moving, personal testimony from young women who were born towards the end of the Apartheid era: the “born-free” generation. A compelling and uplifting narrative for the 21st century.

Rainbow Scars

Presented by Artscape Theatre Centre. Written by Mike Van Graan. Directed by Lara Bye.

Wednesday 29 October, 7.30pm. Tickets: £11/6. Suitable for over 12s.

Rainbow Scars is set in the world of white, middle-class Ellen Robinson and her family which includes Lindiwe, a black child they adopted aged three. A poignant and provocative exploration of identity, family and what makes us who we are.

Dance double bill: Mana / Dark Cell

Thursday 30 October, 8pm. Tickets: £11/6. Suitable for over 14s.

Ace Dance and Music present Mana:

Contemporary Dance, Afro-fusion, martial arts and the essence of flamenco and ballet are fused to deliver performances of outstanding energy. Choreography by Vincent Mantsoe and Gail Parmel.

Broken Borders Arts Project presents Dark Cell:

Drawing inspiration from former political prisoners of South Africa’s Robben Island, this award-winning dance work explores mental freedom and restrictions we impose on ourselves. Concept by Kent Ekberg. Choreography / design by Themba Mbuli. Music by Phil Thurston.

Skierlik

Presented by arrangement with Lentswe Arts Projects. Written and performed by Phillip Dikotla.

Thursday 30 and Friday 31 October, 7:30pm. Tickets: £9/5. Suitable for over 14s.

This award-winning play brings to light the racially-motivated shooting spree that devastated a remote settlement in 2008, told through the eyes of a man who lost everything there. Compelling theatre.

The Soil

Saturday 1 November, 8pm. Tickets: £11/6. Suitable for all ages.

Afrovibes music nights are famed for their energy and great sounds and this year will be no exception. The Soil are an award-winning, platinum-selling three member a cappella vocal group combining a stunning mix of musical styles including township jazz, hip hop, Afro-Pop and Afro-Soul.

 

Tyler Dolan: Africa Inspired

Monday 27 October to Saturday 1 November, open daily. Free.

Durban-based photographer Tyler Dolan presents Africa Inspired, a group of studio shots manipulated digitally to reflect the vibrant colours and beauty of Africa.

 

 

 

Afrovibes Fringe

Monday 27 October to Saturday 1 November, various times. Free.

Workshops, performances, after-parties, discussions and more to compliment the main Afrovibes events. Featuring an array of local artists, special editions of RAW (Rhythm and Words) and Mixed Movement, rehearsed readings of Elusive Spring and Brothers In Blood.

 

Common Wealth: No Guts, No Heart, No Glory

Wednesday 5 and Friday 7, 2:30pm and 7:30pm; Thursday 6, 2:30pm; Saturday 8 November, 7:30pm.

Tickets: £11/6. Suitable for over 14s. Off site at Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Gym.

A new, Contact-commissioned play staged in a boxing gym, from acclaimed immersive theatre company Common Wealth. Based on interviews with Muslim female boxers, exploring being young, fearless and doing the unexpected.

Shakespeare Schools Festival

Monday 3 to Friday 7 and Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 November, 7pm. Tickets: £9/6. Suitable for all ages.

Shakespeare Schools Festival works with schools all over the UK, making it possible for them to stage Shakespeare productions in their local professional theatres. Come and celebrate the achievements of Greater Manchester schools with four different abridged Shakespeare plays each night.

Paul Sinha is a Stand-up Comedian

Saturday 15 November, 8pm. Tickets: £14/8. Over 18s only.

Paul Sinha is many, many things: quiz geek, doctor, Gemini, sports fanatic, and according to Jim Davidson, ‘an Indian poof’. But first and foremost, he is a stand-up comedian. A bloody great stand-up comedian.

Contact and The Lowry present A Farewell to Arms: New theatre performed at The Lowry, Salford Quays.

imitating the dog: A Farewell to Arms

By Ernest Hemingway. Adapted by imitating the dog.

Thursday 13 and Friday 14, 8pm; Saturday 15 November, 2:30pm and 8pm.

Tickets: £17 to £21 (incl. £2 booking fee). Suitable for over 14s. Post-show talk on Thursday 13 November.

Acclaimed theatre makers, imitating the dog present a stunning adaptation of one of the great love stories of the twentieth century. Against the backdrop of World War I, an American ambulance driver and a British nurse discover the redemptive power of love.

Co-produced by imitating the dog and The Dukes, Lancaster in association with Live at LICA and CAST, Doncaster. Supported by Arts Council England.

Monument: A workshop residency at Contact. Led by imitating the dog.

Monday 10 to Wednesday 12 November, 2pm to 7pm. Places: £50/30. Suitable for over 14s.

Taking inspiration from a box of mementos and memories, projection and digital specialists, imitating the dog invite early career artists to build a monument with them. Working with the company, you will create a screen-based work (showcased at both Contact and The Lowry) as a companion piece to A Farewell to Arms.

Show Booking: 0843 208 6000 / www.thelowry.com Residency booking: 0161 274 0600.

Krip-Hop Nation

Wednesday 19 November, 8pm. Tickets: £6/3. Suitable for over 16s. Led by founder Leroy Moore.

This international Hip Hop collective uniquely blend lyricism, activism and breakbeats. Krip-Hop Nation works internationally as a platform for disabled Hip Hop artists and an independent voice for disability led justice and politics. Featuring MC’s, rappers, DJ’s and musicians from the USA, Germany, Uganda and the UK.

Supported by Disability Arts Touring Network (DATN) and Arts Council England.

The Worst of Scottee

Directed by Chris Goode.

Thursday 20 and Friday 21, 8pm; Saturday 22 November, 8:30pm. Tickets: £9/5. Over 18s only.

Most of us bury the worst of our past, but eight months ago Scottee hired a psychotherapist and a film-maker to dig up his regrets. The Worst of Scottee sees him encounter past flames, ex-friends, and people who no longer like him, in an attempt to find out where he went wrong.

Bryony Kimmings: That Catherine Bennett Show

Saturday 22 November, 2pm and 7pm. Tickets: £11/6 (Under 12s £5). For anyone aged 6 to 106.

BSL interpreted performance: 2pm showing.

Bryony Kimmings and her niece Taylor have made a family show based on the pop-star they created as a rounded female role model: Catherine Bennett. Expect pop songs, silly dances, real-life video and more in a show about believing in your power to change the world, no matter what your age.

The Arches presents

Peter McMaster: Wuthering Heights

Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 November, 8pm. Tickets: £12/7. Suitable for over 16s.

Post-show talk Wednesday 26 November.

This all-male performance revisits the landscapes and characters of Emily Brontë’s classic novel.

Expect overly high drama, romantic violence, a touch of Yorkshire bleakness, and alternative endings.

Presented by Switchflicker Productions, supported by Arts Council England. Originally developed as part of Queer Contact’s Shortcuts.

Debs Gatenby: Hi, Anxiety

Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 November, 7:30pm. Tickets: £9/5. Suitable for over 16s.

Post-show talk Wednesday 26 November.

Debs Gatenby’s one woman show is a laugh-out-loud funny yet wistful look at how mental illness affected her. And her mum. ‘A two-for-one. An emotional meal-deal.’

Apples and Snakes and Ben Mellor present

Hit the Ode

Hosted by Ben Mellor and Bohdan Piasecki.

Friday 28 November, 7:30pm. Tickets: £6/3. Suitable for over 14s.

Hit the Ode brings exciting poets to the heart of Manchester. For this edition we’re pleased to welcome three-time world champion spoken word artist, Buddy Wakefield as our international guest.

Contact in association with Aurora Nova present

Red Rabbit, White Rabbit

By Nassim Soleimanpour.

Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 December, 7:30pm. Tickets: £9/5. Suitable for over 14s.

Imagine being 29 and forbidden to leave your country. Nassim Soleimanpour dissects the experience of a whole generation in a wild, utterly original play from Iran. Unable to travel, he turns his isolation to his advantage with a play that requires no director, no set and a different actor for every performance.

The Future: Shift

Friday 5 and Saturday 6 December, various times/prices. Over 16s.

A two-day artist takeover — featuring installations, conversations, bingo, chips, karaoke and performance from some of the North West’s most exciting contemporary theatre makers. Line-up to be announced.

Accompanied by exhibition – The Future: Context

Monday 29 September to Saturday 20 December

A series of individually designed typographic prints, by The Future’s Lisa Mattocks, featuring specially commissioned pieces of advice from major contemporary artists.

Mother’s Ruin

Friday 12 December, 8pm. Suitable for over 18s. Tickets £9/5.

Mother’s glorious, raucous cabaret returns to Contact to kick off the Christmas season. An anarchic, alternative night of glamour, glitter and fun. Line-up to be announced

#folksonomy

Directed by Aitor Basauri (Spymonkey) in partnership with Aqueous Humour. Starring Contact Young Actors Company (CYAC). BSL interpreted performance: Friday 19 December.

Wednesday 17 – Saturday 20 December 7.30pm. Tickets: £11/6. Suitable for over 14s.

How do we label ourselves in this multi-cultural, multi-sexual, multi-grain world? #folksonomy will combine Spymonkey’s raucous comedy with Aqueous’ grotesque frivolity and the youthful exuberance of CYAC.

Future Fires: The Negatives

In addition to the exhibitions listed above which tie-in to live shows, Future Fires: The Negatives isexhibited at Contact from 29 September to 20 December. The exhibition is the result of Victoria Lowe’s Future Fires project reflecting the lives of a group from Emmaus who’ve experience homelessness.

Regular Events

Join Young Identity for their regular Contact event: One Mic Stand at 7pm on Friday 14 November (tickets: £6/3). Featuring two open slams and special guests.

In addition to the Afrovibes Fringe edition of RAW (Rhythm and Words) on 27 October, our regular open mic event for poets, vocalists and MCs runs on 29 September and 24 November at 8pm.

Contact Theatre
Oxford Road
Manchester
M15 6JA
Tel: 0161 274 0600
www.contactmcr.com

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