warnmcr: the tension is rising for Action Hero vs. Go Project and Emergency...

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

 

warnmcr: Emergency and Word of Warning programmes now online..

Word of Warning...

Our hot-off-the-press news of the week is that the bijou new Word of Warning programme is now online - as is the new-look, Emergency site with loads of info on the 40, yes 40, pieces involved.

Don't forget that today, Fri 28th is the final day of  Lost & Found Festival and, also out and about is the Alexandra Arts - One Day wonder[ment] in Alexandra Park on Sun 29 Sept.  The Lowry's InOnTheAct festival continues in Salford Quays with Happystorm Theatre's Borderline Vultures from 6-28 Oct.

Axis Arts Centre in Crewe kicks off its Autumn season with Fuel presents Ring on Thurs 4 October then focus shifts rapidly to Leeds with Light Night Leeds on Fri 5 October, including a preview of Pigeon Theatre's The Smell of Envy at the University of Leeds and dance with the Marc Brew Company's Triple Bill at Stage@Leeds on Sat 6 October. A couple of tips from the Biennial courtesy of Lena Simic:
Unfinished Conversation film about Stuart Hall by John Akomfrah at the Bluecoat and, on the live side, there are good reports about Anfield Tour.

Then, for fear of labouring the point - the following week sees the Manchester Weekender including our season launch with Action Hero vs GO Project's full-on reboot of Frontman at GORILLA on Fri 12 Oct followed by a truly gigantic Emergency on Sat 13th.

best

Tamsin

 

warnmcr: autumn picking up pace

 

 

Word of Warning... 

 

So the tell-tale signs of a Manchester Autumn are upon us... the streets have miraculously re-filled with students, the weather's freezing and I'm going to start banging on about Emergency!

 

And. more appositely, there's more and more work out there to see:  Tonight, Fri 21, sees Ladies Night, the first Mother's Ruin of the season, at Contact.  Next week sees the second Lost & Found Festival take to streets, shopping centres and trams (Weds 26-Fri 28 Sept).  Sited work is always a tricky one to plan to catch, but taking a tram from Piccadilly Gardens out to Salford Quays and the Lowry Outlet Mall one afternoon looks like it might be a plan - or joining the Albino Mosquito finale at Great Northern Amphitheatre on the evening of Fri 28th. (For individual events you'll need to click here and go through the listings one by one).

 

Up in Lancaster, LEAP's Leaping Out at the Dukes, this Saturday 22nd, sees the culmination of a week-long collaborative experiment by a dozen young artists.  Live at LICA's sited programme continues with Invisible Flock's Sand Pilot (Sat 22 + Mon 24 Sept).

 

Of interest, over in Leeds is Victoria Melody's Northern Soul on Weds 26th (also coming to the Lowry Studio, on 18 Oct). In Liverpool, Liverpool Biennial enters its second week, and, for those looking for something of a more physical theatre bent TmesisTheatre's Wolf Red is on at the Unity, Weds 26-Sat 29 Sept.  There's also Mary Pearson's ongoing improvisational Failure Lab at TILT Dance Studios every Thursday til December.

 

...and finally, we are just putting the finishing touches to the Word of Warning programme and website for Autumn. But as a major heads-up - we have a manic weekend coming up on Fri 12 and Sat 13 October as part of the Manchester Weekender.  On Friday night we return to a familiar old railway arch now known as GORILLA - for Action Hero vs GO Project's full-on reboot of Frontman. And on Saturday we take over three venues for a ridiculously enormous Emergency.

 

best

 

Tamsin

 

Standing reminders:

www.facebook.com/warnmcr     @warnmcr

 

warnmcr: MAPS and Guilds and more...

Word of Warning...

The end of summer flurry of activity continues - thanks largely to Preston Guild Week which is reaching its climax.  Alongside the general activity in Preston this weekend of interest is AND's The Humble Market (which I think is sold out), Jeremy Deller's Sacrilege and the climactic Lakes Alive On The Nightshift. 

Whilst there is some great stuff on in Preston and much of it is free, like the above, a quick heads-up that if you are wanting to book for any of their ticketed events, Preston Guildhall online box office charges both 50p per ticket booking fee and £1.50 per transaction card charge for debit cards so you might want to find an alternative.

Happily the main point of interest for WoW is tomorrow's MAPS festival and it's free! A full day of live art and contemporary performance across a range of venues, with some familiar faces.

A reminder that  Live at LICA starts a series of sited projects with Invisible Flock's Sand Pilot (Sat 8, Mon 10, Sat 22 + Mon 24 Sept) and Louise Ann Wilson's Ghostbird  on Sat 15 + Sun 16 Sept.  In Lancaster itself, the Leaping Out event takes place at The Duke's on Sat 22 Sept, and sees the outcome of a week-long, 12 artist collaborative experiment.

Closer to home, Tam Hinton's And All These Sleepless Nights continues at the Lass O'Gowrie tonight 7 Sept and over in Salford, The Lowry's In On The Act Festival continures with You Once Said Yes (6-16 Sept).  Recent Works Ahead artist Lowri Evans embarks on a couple of sited projects  - here in Manchester on Sat 15 Sept with We Are Ten, an audio walk around Manchester, though if you fancy a daytrip further afield, she's in Llandudno with Give and Take this Sunday (9th).  Also intriguing is Tales of Whatever #12
 at the Castle Hotel on Oldham Street next Weds 12 Sept.

Not to forget, Liverpool Biennial kicks off next weekend, so I'll be keeping my eye out for anything of live interest there.

...and finally, if you are feeling generous, please go along to the Kidneys for Life Fundraiser at BLANKSPACE all afternoon tomorrow, Saturday (8 Sept).

best

Tamsin

 

warnmcr: coming out of summer snooze!

Word of Warning...
Summer seems to have vanished and Autumn seems to have snuck up on us rather suddenly - both weather and an enormous flurry of stuff to see.  I'm still wading my way through everyone's season info but I thought I'd send you this special, slightly premature WoW before deciding when to start back up in earnest.

As you may have noticed in Manchester, Abandon Normal Devices (AND) kicked off last night.  Way too much to summarise - but check out Lanfranco Acetti's A Dream Came Through at BLANKSPACE, today (Thurs 30 til 6pm) and Trixie Carr's Right to Rule at Gorilla on Sat 1 Sept.  I'm also intrigued by the Empire Drive In cinema and Meme Junkyard with Wafaa Bilal's inflatable Technoviking.

PAPER Gallery also has its opening on Sat 1st, Tam Hinton's And All These Sleepless Nights is at the Lass O'Gowrie on 6+7 Sept and over in Salford, The Lowry's In On The Act Festival kicks off with You Once Said Yes (6-16 Sept).

Preston Guild Week also kicks off tomorrow (Fri 31 Aug) - things you might want to check out are the Light Night (Fri 31) and Preston Tringe Festival (31 Aug-9 Sept), plus Sonia Hughes's My Dad Made Cars (2-5 Sept) and the MAPS festival on Sat 8 Sept. 

Further north, Live at LICA starts a series of sited projects with Invisible Flock's Sand Pilot on Sat 8, Mon 10, Sat 22 + Mon 24 Sept and Louise Ann Wilson's Ghostbird  on Sat 15 + Sun 16 Sept.

As I said, an enormous flurry of activity, so enjoy!  I'll go back to wading through Emergency proposals (Sat 13 October) and finishing off the WoW Autumn programme.  I'm guessing the WoW will be in a couple of weeks (14 Sept) unless something takes me by surprise in the meantime!

best

Tamsin

 

warnmcr: last call for festival fortnight!

Word of Warning... back to white!

Now the giddiness of Hazard has died down, we're back to normal, but think WoW will be taking a break for a few weeks as the seasons have well and truly wound down!

The Truth About Youth Festival is into its final few days, so don't forget to go and share some knowledge in the Quarantine, Between Us We Know Everything booth.24:7 Theatre is ongoing, but the big story of the weekend is the Urban Moves Festival in Castlefield, two days of free sited dance (Sat 28 + Sun 29 July).

Beyond that, it looks like everyone's going to either be glued to the Olympics - or hiding from it by heading for Edinburgh.

We, meanhwile are getting to grips with Autumn - the first thing we can reveal is that Emergency, our annual marathon of performance, will be back for its thirteenth Manchester outing and will be blossoming into 3 venues as part of the Manchester Weekender on Sat 13 October!  For anyone interested in presenting work, the call will open early next week at emergencymcr.org (deadline 28 August).

Have a nice summer and we'll be back - either in September (with some hints about our own Autumn season) - or on an ad hoc basis if something exciting pops up!

Best

Tamsin

warnmcr: Hazard dawns... and Manchester becomes Festival City #FestCityMcr #hazardmcr

Word of Warning... Manchester Festival City!
 
So we're exactly 24 hours away from Hazard and understandably giddy.  We have a gazebo, badges, t-shirts, sandwich boards and banners... and above all rain ponchos at the ready!  All we need now is a vintage double-decker bus, some artists and a city full of people and we'll be off.  Please do come and join us in St Ann's Square between 12 and 5pm tomorrow Saturday 21 July or keep your eyes peeled for yellow and black idiosyncracies all round town!

We're print-free this year, so all the details are online at hazardmcr.org.

We're really looking forward to welcoming our Nottingham visitors, Hatch, when the vintage bus rumbles slowly into town - and yes, we'll be holding our breath til it does!  Meanwhile,  if you feel like getting active, there's gaming aplenty from Larkin' About, and please, help us keep the #hazardmcr hashtag lively!

Despite frantic preparations, it hasn't escaped my notice that Manchester is absolutely bursting with festivals this fortnight  - there's a dramatic collision of four festivals this weekend alone - all developed firmly in the city, showing the full variety of what Manchester has to offer and featuring an eclectic mix of local, national and international work in every form imaginable!

Just as Hazard springs into life, Manchester Jazz Festival reaches its climax... and 24:7 Theatre Festival  (20-27 July) steps in to take its place.  We are very happy to be working alongside the Truth About Youth Festival (16-29 July) at the Royal Exchange Theatre, featuring Quarantine, Company Chameleon and lots of work by lots of young people. There's also the ongoing 'new kid on the the block', the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival and the fortnight then comes to a choreographic close with Urban Moves Festival (27-29 July) just before we all metaphorically take cover for the Olympics! 

And finally not a festival but exciting nonetheless, Blank Media Collective is also stepping outside its traditional home with the Projector Series, which launches at the Salutation on Thurs 26 July.

Anyway, back to weather proofing anything that's not tied down - hope to see you at Hazard tomorrow.


Best

Tamsin

warnmcr: the yellow edition! #hazardmcr

Word of Warning... Hazard special
Apologies for this unashamed bit of self-promotion, yellow background and all - but this week's Word of Warning is our big chance to harp on about next weekend's artistic goings-on in Manchester City Centre and our shiny new website hazardmcr.org.

It's time for the biennial Hazard micro-festival - sited intervention, unexpected performance and occasional strange behaviour.  So if you happen to be passing St Ann's Square between 12 and 5pm on Saturday 21 July please do come and see us... we'll be the ones with the big red vintage doubledecker bus.  (And if you really want to know - I'll be the one on the scooter probably lookng hassled.)

Alternatively if you happen to see a flash of yellow and black anywhere in the city centre then there's a good chance it's one of our roaming artists... or else the City is just playing along!

This fourth incarnation of Manchester's stripiest festival invites artists to play with the City - so in this year of all things olympian, get fit in the hula-hoopathon, see the goal posts shifting, or take a soapbox tour from the Olympics to the End of the World.  If you prefer things more contemplatvie, you can see the world through teen eyes, locate a missing soldier, have your fortune told or join our flatpack Nottingham tourists on their summer holiday to the North West. All the details are online at hazardmcr.org

We are delighted to be joined by Nottingham's Hatch and their bus-load of 'cultural tourists' and to boast a full-on pervasive gaming programme courtesy of our own Larkin' About.  We have something like 25 separate pieces (I keep losing count!) featuring:

Bill Aitchison, Amelia Beavis-Harrison, Alex Bidolak, sean burn, Clare Cochrane, Dangerous Times, Annette Foster, Gale-Feeny & Fishman, The Gramophones, Martin Hamblen, Tim Jeeves, Larkin' About, Lembrança UK, Liquid, Jessica Mautner, Julieann O'Malley, Rachel Parry, Michael Pinchbeck, Katherina Radeva, Simon Raven, SHRUG, Nicola Smith, Harald Smykla, Small Things, Zoo Indigo

The full programme - subject to change, and subject to the vagaries of the weather - is at hazardmcr.org  or for more of my ramblings you can follow me @hazardmcr or join in using #hazardmcr.

And finally - just to pretend I'm not completely partisan - it is a quiet week elsewhere.  To remind you Hazard is slotting itself right in the middle of the Royal Exchange's Truth About Youth Festival (16-29 July); and is followed closely by Urban Moves the following weekend before the world finally gives itself over to non-stop sport!

Best

Tamsin

 

warnmcr: is it too late to build an ark for Hazard?!

Word of Warning...

Just a brief word on this diluvian day - maybe we should turn our efforts from Hazard (Sat 21 July) to ark building!  On the subject of which (Hazard not arks) I was planning to boast about our shiny new website today but the gods of domain pointing seem to be too busy with the weather.  Anyway, the full programme will be up there for all to see very shortly indeed. Look out for things bus-shaped and with a touch of the Cliff Richards courtesy of our visitors from Hatch, Nottingham alongside a brand new crop of truly random incursions into an unsuspecting city centre!

Please do let me know if I'm missing stuff - but a very quick recap for next week :
At Z-Arts Ellie Harrison and Roshana Rubin-Mayhew's What is left - Grief Series Pt 3 on Tues 10 July. 
Future Artists at The Black Lion are screening Marina Abramovic's The Artist Is Present on Tues 10 July. 
At 3-Minute Theatre, Fighting Fit Productions show June Bride, a gay wedding cabaret. on Sunday 8 July,

Live at LICA Lancaster have a one-off:  Elfriede Jelinke's Sports Play on Weds 11 July
At Liverpool's Arabic Arts Festival  (6 - 15 July) there's an intriguing installation:  1979 on 12 July at the Unity,

Looking ahead, there's some really interesting stuff coming up at the Royal Exchange in the Truth About Youth Festival (16-29 July); as if I'd let you forget Hazard nestles in amongst all of that on Sat 21 July in St Ann's Square, then the city is taken over the following weekend by Urban Moves.

Best

Tamsin
 

warnmcr: some forward looking tips while we plan city domination!

Word of Warning...

Still beavering away on Hazard(Sat 21 July), yesterday was 'tell the powers-that-be-day', always amusing when you try to explain why someone's building a full size lego post box or turning themselves into a beach...

Things are definitely slowing down and heading into festivals mode for Summer - so, until we start bombarding you with Hazard information, I might go a bit quiet - so I thought it worth a quick re-cap and a glance ahead.

In Manchester, there's still time to catch Ben Mellor's Everything We Need at the Royal Exchange Studio (Thurs 28-Sat 30 June); a pre-Edinburgh showing of Gag Queens at the Black Lion  tonight Fri 29 June or Verve 2012 at the Lowry. 
Pigeon Theatre's, The Rehearsal book launch is this coming Tues 3 July at Z-arts;
and also at Z-Arts Ellie Harrison and Roshana Rubin-Mayhew's What is left - Grief Series Pt 3 on Tues 10 July. 
Future Artists at The Black Lion are also screening Marina Abramovic's The Artist Is Present on Tues 10 July. 
Also, on Sundays 1 + 8 July,  at 3-Minute Theatre, Fighting Fit Productions launch June Bride, a gay wedding cabaret. 
Incidentally, if the budget stretches, I'm also intrigued to catch Library Theatre's site-specific Manchester Lines, running til 7 July at No1, First Street.

There's still time to catch Ludus Festival(til Sun 1 July) in Leeds with a range of installations and interactions, and shows like Bobby Baker's Mad Gyms and Kitchens,  Ontroerend Goed's Audience, Balbir Singh's Synchronised and for families, Unlimited Theatre's The Giant and the Bear. Also in Leeds, InXclusion are active on Saturday with Achtung You Wayward Skies

And Live at LICA Lancaster have a one-off Elfriede Jelinke's Sports Play on Weds 11 July

Liverpool is taking over the crown of festival city with the Arabic Arts Festival  (6 - 15 July) - what caught my eye was a dance performance installation 1979 on 12 July at the Unity, and DaDaFest starts its extraordinary 6 week run (13 July - 2 Sept).  I'll be digesting its programme and making some suggestions shortly but, at first glance, late August (28-31)  looks like a good time to be heading that way.

And finally, a last minute one... if anyone is looking for a mad weekend away this weekend, grab your tent and head down to Gloucestershire for Inbetween Time Productions' Up to Nature... live art in a forest!

Back to the HAZARD planning  - today is shopping day - how much street branding paraphernalia can I buy for 50p?! Other interesting questions... how do we make a big red bus look yellow and black..? Ideas on a postcard...  Keep watching hazardmcr.org for details.

More thanks for the Edinburgh suggestions - please do keep them coming here!