Word of Warning... Happy nearly-New Year... and welcome back to my regular scamper-through of the less conventional performance, theatre, live art and general arti-ness. The world is a bit post-xmas sleepy still so there's not a lot coming up in the next week - though the Library Theatre's re:play festival at The Lowry does kick-off on Mon 14 Jan. Intriguing me in the first week is Liz Postlethwaite + Monkeywood Theatre's Stars Are Fire (17-19 Jan). re:play continues til Sat 26 Jan and we'll be high-tailing it over for Kumaluva's Pandamonium (following Pitch Party) on Fri 25th. This hiatus before the full Spring onslaught gives a little opportunity for a touch of self-indulgence - ok a blatant plug - for our own Word of Warning Spring 2013 Performance Collection. I think we got a bit carried away this season - we'll be cropping up at the Lowry, Contact, the Bluecoat and, of course, Z-arts - to the extent that we've had to divide the season in two - so look out for a whole new wave after Easter. Our shiny new season website is already up and running and our even shinier new print will be gracing the leaflet racks shortly. First off is Lowri Evans' The Secret Life of You and Me at the Lowry Studio on Thu 31 Jan and Fri 1 Feb. Following her Works Ahead mini commission in 2012, Lowri invites you to join her on the night of her 30th birthday for a live scrapbook of her jumble-sale life to date. Following that we enter into brand new territory, our first 'all ages' live art event: Haphazard at Z-arts on Sat 9 Feb. A cross between Hazard and Emergency, we are inviting a range of artists to take over the building in a free day out for kids and their adults AND adults and their adults! The programme is still emerging but we suspect it will live up to its name... With seven events in just this first half of the season, I won't go on any more, except to say that we look forward to welcoming: Hetain Patel, Michael Pinchbeck, Plane Performance and Pigeon Theatre - alongside the forty or so artists who will make up 'Poolside Emergency and Turn.
Talking of which - for those looking to make some work - there's just one week to go until the deadline for Turn 2013 AND the call for 'Poolside Emergency has just opened. hÅb (Word of Warning's 'parent' company) also has a new website, with a platform planner and an invitation to join the Emergency artist e-group.
Word of Warning...
Today marks St Andrew's day and the Word of Warning's season closer at Z-arts: Made In China's We Hope That You're Happy (Why Would We Lie?), a National Theare Studio and BAC Take Out supported company. Promising quick wit, dark insight, pop music and plenty of mess, they're generating great buzz around the country and we're delighted to be the final gig on their tour. Unbelievably, today also marks the finale of the first year of Word of Warning's programme and we're celebrating that, and patron saint of performers, St Andrew, with (loosely) themed drinks and nibbles after the show, hosted by Angel Club (north)'s MacMirror Twins. We really hope you can join us! Elsewhere, at Contact, the final Mother's Ruin of the year is also tonight (Fri 30 Nov) and there's Larkin' About all over the building, tomorrow Sat 1 Dec. Also tomorrow, Sat 1 Dec, is the Economies of Generosity Symposium at the Bluecoat, Liverpool; and in Lancaster, Live at LICA has the final, very special outing of Rajni Shah's Glorious. Next week, on Tues 4 Dec at the LBT in Huddersfield, you can catch Phoenix Dance Theatre's Crossing Points. Tip for the week, if you didn't catch it in Manchester, is Katherina Radeva's Fallen Fruit at the Capstone Theatre, Liverpool Hope University on Fri 7 Dec, as part of the Cartographies of Justice event. (nb - there seems to be a problem with Captone's website - hopefully it will get resolved soon). Looking further ahead, on Weds 12 Dec in Manchester there's the Michael Mayhew curated 12-12-12 Humanity Night at Antwerp Mansions, and in Lancaster, at Ludus, LEAP's First Time - Last Time
Fri 14 Dec sees Tosh Ryan's Orchestra of Fools at the Black Lion, Salford and on Sat 15 Dec at the Whitworth Art Gallery is Afters Hours: Hockney's New York Loft Party Though I'm sorely tempted to advocate for a mass outing to see "The Hoff" in Peter Pan, I'll refrain, but I will give a quick mention to one seasonal outing, which promises not to be your usual fayre: Breaking Cycles' Pinocchio premiers at Live at LICA (8-10 Dec), then comes to our own Z-arts from 13-22 Dec. And that, to the best of my knowledge, is pretty much, that for the year... Unless something exciting comes to our attention, Word of Warning is going to take a break until early in the New Year, when we'll have news of our own Spring season and what's coming up around the region. Until then, really hope to see lots of you tonight at Z-arts for some great work and a bit of a seasonal tipple, otherwise bah humbug! and see you in the New Year! Best Tamsin
Word of Warning...
Returning to the land of plenty, prepare for another week of feast - and make the most of it, as Xmas silly season is looming suspiciously large. Next week's WoW might be the last of the year, unless you know differently - so if anyone has anything exciting happening between now and Xmas, let me know asap or I'll be condemned to doing a panto round-up! A late entry for tonight is Accompany Geddes Loom's Prelude to a Number at Cornerhouse, while Dawn Crandell's Xenophobadelica is ongoing at Contact tonight and tomorrow. Next week, on Thurs 29 Nov. Manchester Dance Consortium presents Platform 0.1 at Z-arts and Paper Cinerma's Odyssey is at Contact, as is the final Mother's Ruin of the year on Fri 30 Nov. Natural bias would of course have me tell you that the place to be on Fri 30 Nov is Z-arts where WoW is presenting Made In China's We Hope That You're Happy (Why Would We Lie?). Whilst they might not be so well known up here, everyone I know down south has got excited when I've mentioned them coming to Manchester... We're also getting a bit frisky with the after show entertainment - with a bonus extra from Angel Club (north)'s errant children the Mirror Twins - and we really hope people will join us for a touch of end of season, Word of Warning style frivolity - Xmas carols and tinsel it won't be! Further afield:
In Liverpool, the Bluecoat sees the second Giving in to Gift Festival (26-30 Nov) with a week of performances and interventions, entitled the Horse's Teeth from the likes of Richard Layzell, Mamoru Iriguchi and Jordan Mackenzie,culminating in the Economies of Generosity Symposium on Sat 1 Dec. And in Lancaster, Live at LICA has Rajni Shah's Glorious is also on Sat 1 Dec. A final random factoid... Friday 30 November is St Andrew's day. As well as being patron saint of Scotland, he spread his patronage around a bit: Ukraine, Russia, Sicily, Greece, Cyprus, Romania (amongst others) and to fishermen, fishmongers, rope-makers, golfers and performers. Don't imagine that next Friday's Word of Warning event won't exploit that bit of trivia! Best Tamsin
Word of Warning... This season really is proving to be a bit feast or famine... this week has been a brimming cornucopia (very cheesey metaphor, sorry) while next week supplies are a bit thin on the ground. Note to all of us programming stuff - we really do need to get our heads together more! A recap of tonight and tomorrow sees Dickie Beau's Blackouts: Twilights of the Idols continue at Contact, Manchester, Volcano's L.O.V.E at the Unity, Liverpool (Thurs 15- Sat 17 Nov) , Invisible Flock's Distant Threads at the LBT, Huddersfield both Fri/Sat and GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN's Big Hits at The Carriageworks, Leeds just Sat 17 Nov. Also, tonight at the Rose Theatre, Edgehill is a collaboration between Eleni Edipidi of Levantes Dance Theatre and third year students to produce Banquet. Next week Dawn Crandell's Xenophobadelica is at Contact from Thursday (22-24 Nov), Ridiculusmus's Total Football is at the Unity, Liverpool and 12˚ Degrees North Dance Company's Triple Bill comes to Live at LICA, Lancaster on Thurs 22 Nov. I guess that leaves me opportunity for a bit of a plug for Word of Warning's next and final outing of the season (yup we're there already): Made In China's We Hope That You're Happy (Why Would We Lie?) at Z-arts on Fri 30 Nov. A BAC and National Theatre Studio supported company on their first visit to Manchester - we really hope you'll come and make them feel welcome. Aside from all that it's a loud, frantic and very messy rollercoaster of a show... which may well encourage us to let the whole evening descend into some form of season-closing messiness! Best Tamsin
Word of Warning...
After a brief respite we're already getting ready to go with our next rocktastic offering - not one but two full length shows next Friday 2 Nov at Z-arts with Ollie Smith's 27 and Richard DeDomenici's Popaganda. Ollie is best known in these parts for Method Lab, Instant Win and his work with Michael Pinchbeck; whilst the satirically mischievous Richard DeDomenici was last spotted running through Exchange Square, dressed in a Gregg's white overall carrying a roll of gold sequin punchinella, seconds ahead of the Olympic Torch! This is definitely a doublebill not be missed - pathos, storytelling, satire and activisim rolled into one evening - we might throw in a few fireworks for good measure! Looking at the week ahead, if you're keen to see more than our double bill ;) - it's a truly frenetic week: the latest Mother's Ruin is tonight at Contact; who also present the site-specific Yellow Earth's Dim Sum Nights (Weds 31 + Thurs 1 Nov), Tuheen Huda's MSF2012: What Am I Worth? (Thurs 1 - Sat 3 Nov) and Leonie Higgins's I May Not Be Where I Intended To Go (Sat 3 Nov).
Also Thursday to Saturday is New Art Club's Quiet Act of Destruction at the Royal Exchange Studio and Company Chameleon's Gameshow is at Z-arts on Sat 3 Nov. Further afield a reminder of West Yorkshire Playhouse's Furnace today and tomorrow.
Live at LICA hosts the first of the northern outings for Forced Entertainment's The Coming Storm on Mon 29 + Tues 30 Oct, and Company Chameleon on Thurs 1 Nov.
Over in Liverpool Homotopia kicks off on 30 Oct (til 30 Nov), including Darren Pritchard's 1 (Weds 31 - Fri 2 Nov). The Gary Clarke Company's triple bill is also on Sat 3 Nov at the Capstone Theatre in Liverpool Hope University. I'm a bit gutted to be missing some of that lot - while I do a mad dash to Ipswich for Spill Festival though of course I will be back (with Mr DeDomenici in tow) for Friday's Word of Warning epic with Ollie+Richard. Hope to see you all there! Best Tamsin
Word of Warning... Still reeling a little from last week's goings on - when I said marathon of performance I really did mean it. Huge thanks to EVERYONE - artists, audiences, venues, techs, volunteers who came with us on our Weekender journey - there was some truly extraordinary work and some downright bonkers goings-on. With a moment or two to draw breath, it's time to think about seeing some work. Slightly out of the normal vein, but I have it on good authority that it's well worth a visit: Mark Thomas's Bravo Figaro is on at The Dancehouse on 24+25 Oct (as well as various venues around the North). It's also time for the next Mother's Ruin at Contact on Fri 26 Oct Tonight is a good time to visit Liverpool for the Long Night of the Biennial. And in Lancaster, Live at LICA has Ockham's Razor Not Until We Are Lost on Sat 20 (continuing til 24th.). Axis Arts Centre in Crewe has 12˚North Dance Company's Triple Bill on Thurs 25 Oct. At Bradford's Theatre in the Mill Northern Creative's Museum of Terrifying Example
is on tomorrow, Sat 20 Oct. And in Leeds, Ellie Harrison and Jaye Kearney's The Reservation - an intimate one on one - is back at The Wren's Hotel on 24, 25, 31 Oct + 1, 7, 8 Nov. At the weekend, West Yorkshire Playhouse plays host to Furnace on Fri 26 + Sat 27 featuring sharings from RashDash and Invisible Flock amongst others. The following week is gearing up to be immense - for the truly 'dedicated' (for which read unhinged and prepared to drive overnight diagonally across the country...like me) Spill Festival takes place in Ipswich while, MUCH closer to home, the next Word of Warning event carries on our rock musings at Z-arts of Fri 2 Nov, featuring the very marvellous Ollie Smith and Richard DeDomenici. Hope to see you all on the 2nd Best Tamsin
Word of Warning... A rather breathless and late WoW coming to you from the depths of BLANKSPACE... I've ducked out from the get-in for tonight's Action Hero vs GO Project at Gorilla, to check on preparations for tomorrow's Emergency. Whoever thought 40 shows across 4 venues was sensible needs a serious word in their ear! The Manchester Weekender is now underway - don't forget to check it out online - as mentioned last week, what caught my eye was David Shrigley HOW ARE YOU FEELING and Sketch-O-Matic at Cornerhouse, Jane and Louise Wilson at the Whitworth and Gina Czarnecki's The Wasted Works plus Lip Service's Hysterical Historical tour also on Saturday and The Flaneurs Guide to the Northern Quarter.and good luck to our neighbours Lip Service's Inspector Norse public dress rehearsal at Z-arts... Staggeringly there is life after this weekend, so moving onto next week at the Lowry Happystorm Theatre's Borderline Vultures is ongoing, Jasmin Vardimon's Freedom is on Tue 16 Oct and my Salford outing for the week will be Victoria Melody's Northern Soul in the Studio on Thurs 18 Oct. Further afield, Axis Arts Centre in Crewe has New Art Club's Quiet Acts of Destruction, also on Thurs 18. A good time to visit Liverpool might be on Friday 18 for the Long Night of the Biennial. And in Lancaster, Live at LICA has Ockham's Razor Not Until We Are Lost on Sat 20 (continuing til 24th.) My adrenalin is now reaching peak levels which tells me to get myself back to check on progress at Gorilla. Really hoping lots of you will be joining us tonight or for Emergency. best Tamsin
Word of Warning... Welcome to a rather adrenalised WoW... anxiously awaiting our new print to arrive and really getting to grips with the unfeasibility of next weekend's undertaking! The idea of returning to an old haunt (greenroom) that is totally new (Gorilla) on Fri 12 Oct for Action Hero vs GO Project is a bit mind-blowing. Not to mention the sheer scale of Emergency the very next day (Sat 13). And then there's that feeling of being a party host, who's not sure if they're billynomates... and that's where you can help... please do join us at one or, preferably, both! Amidst all that I'm attempting to head to Light Night Leeds tonight including the preview of Pigeon Theatre's The Smell of Envy at the University of Leeds. The folks at Light Night have circulated a link to a map and app which I'm sure will help, but if anyone that side of the Pennines wants to tweet @warnmcr with some tips, they'll be much appreciated. As mentioned last week there's also Marc Brew Company's Triple Bill at Stage@Leeds on Sat 6 October and the Lowry's InOnTheAct festival continues in Salford Quays with Happystorm Theatre's Borderline Vultures from 6-28 Oct. For the more theatrically inclined, Contact has Fields of Grey running until 13 October. Tues 9 Oct sees the very lovely GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN's Big Hits at Axis Arts Centre and, for the more dance-inclined, The Lowry Studio also has 12˚ Degrees North. Thursday 11th seems to be a bonkers day, particularly in Liverpool with MDI Northern Dances at the Unity, Rowena Easton' "!" (Hollywood Blues) at the Bluecoat and Oreet Ashery's Party for Freedom at Metal, Liverpool. Skeleton Project Newk is also at Stage@Leeds, not to mention the launch of the Manchester Weekender at Mancheser Art Gallery. Of course on Fri 12th there's absolutely nothing else going on anywhere, at all except Action Hero vs GO Project's Frontman at Gorilla :) (apart from those of you going to the public dress rehearsal of Lip Service's Inspector Norse at Z-arts...!) And on Sat 13th Emergency is the only place to be... though over the course of the Weekender you might want to check out David Shrigley HOW ARE YOU FEELING (and his Show and Tell on Saturday luncthime) and Sketch-O-Matic at Cornerhouse, Jane and Louise Wilson at the Whitworth and Gina Czarnecki's The Wasted Works plus the Pop-Up Cinema at MOSI. For a bit of light relief (if Emergency isn't that already) you might also consider Lip Service's Hysterical Historical tour also on Saturday. If you've any energy left by Sunday our tip would be the The Flaneurs Guide to the Northern Quarter. Back to panicking about print and editing equipment lists now... best Tamsin
