Manchester International Festival

[gorgu]

As a person from Glasgow (and someone who doesn't really care for that other city in Scotland) I think Manachester should go for it with their festival, but at the end of the day the UK already has the world's largest international festival (in Edinburgh) so not too sure if we need another one

Me is a bit mixed on that one!

[blackcountryboy]

I agree with Gorgu. If it was something a bit more original then I might be bothered to visit!!

[neil]

From Marketing Manchester website:

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Manchester International Festival announce first Official Supporter and first Official Supplier
With only a year to go until Manchester launches its first ever international festival of original, new work, the Manchester International Festival has announced its first Official Supporter, the Manchester Airports Group - with top law firm Cobbetts LLP confirmed as the first Official Supplier.
The Official Supporter status represents the second tier of sponsorship within the Festival. Official supporters have sector exclusivity and can promote themselves as an 'Official Supporter of Manchester International Festival'.
Negotiations have been ongoing with a number of other partners since the critically acclaimed Gorillaz: Demon Days Live concerts in November 2005, with more opportunities available for companies to add their support before the inaugural Festival in 2007.
The Festival will comprise at least ten world premiere commissions across the entire spectrum of the arts and credible popular culture; including music, art, film and theatre. Aligned with the city's history, the Festival will also focus on the important issues and stories of our time.
The Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is the second largest airport operator in the UK and comprises the airports of Manchester, Nottingham, East Midlands, Bournemouth and Humberside.

TOP TIER SPONSORS
United Utilities, Northwest Regional Development Agency, Bruntwood

OFFICIAL SUPPORTERS
Manchester Airports Group

OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS
Cobbetts LLP

Manchester Airport is the UK's 3rd largest airport with passenger numbers of 22 million and was voted best UK airport by Travel Weekly 2006. This partnership will help encourage international and national visitors to Manchester. It will also provide access to international visitors who choose Manchester as their gateway to the UK for business and leisure travel.

As Official Suppliers to the Festival, Cobbetts will deliver legal advice on areas such as artists' contracts, broadcast rights and staging and production of festival events.
The new announcements follow the already confirmed £1.8m top-tier sponsorship agreement with United Utilities, Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Bruntwood - the largest sponsorship deal for a single festival in the UK. (Source: Arts & Business Survey 2005).
This major sponsorship deal is in addition to over £2.5m of funding already awarded to the Festival from Manchester City Council and the Urban Cultural Programme.

Festival Director Alex Poots is already reaping the benefits of significant private and public support for the Festival:

"The support we have received has enabled us to attract some of the world's greatest artists to the Festival, and the development of relationships between businesses and the arts in the UK will only help us both."

Manchester Airports Group Chief Executive Geoff Muirhead commented that:

"We are delighted to be confirmed as the Manchester International Festival's first Official Supporter. The Festival will bring worldwide visitors to Manchester and will be a huge boost to the city, the Northwest, and the UK. It will be a pleasure to welcome them."

[neil]

From Manchesterinternationalfestival.co.uk

ruth mackenzie obe appointed as general director // 25 July 06

Manchester International Festival - the world's first international festival of original, new work - has today announced the appointment of Ruth Mackenzie OBE as General Director.

Ruth will use her wealth of experience within the arts to develop partnerships within public and private sectors, as well as international arts organisations around the world.


For the past four years Ruth has been Artistic Director at the Chichester Festival Theatre, since which she has been working on a consultancy basis for the Arts Council, BBC, Tate and City University. She was awarded her OBE for services to theatre in 1995.


Before her role at Chichester Festival Theatre Ruth was Special Adviser to Chris Smith and Tessa Jowell, Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport; General Director of Scottish Opera and Chief Executive of Nottingham Playhouse.


Ruth's role takes senior executive responsibility for the Festival's sponsorship. A record £1.8m sponsorship deal has already been secured with United Utilities, Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Bruntwood and recently the Festival announced its first Official Supporter, the Manchester Airports Group. Negotiations are underway with a number of international brands to complement the Festival's international aspirations.


"I'm thrilled to be taking up this role in such a brilliant festival and am looking forward to developing partnerships which will enable the Festival to reach markets and opinion formers around the world," comments Ruth "Manchester has always been one of my favourite cities, from when I worked in the North in the 1980s, and it is great to be back at such an exciting time for the city."


On Ruth's appointment Festival Director Alex Poots commented:
"Ruth's experience and knowledge is invaluable and she will have a vital role in securing funding and building relationships with regional and international arts organisations. It's a great pleasure to welcome her onto the Festival team."

FOR INTERVIEWS OR MORE INFORMATION
Idea Generation : +44(020) 7428 4949
Leon: leon@ideageneration.co.uk
Ben: ben@ideageneration.co.uk

[neil]

From Manchesterinternationalfestival.co.uk

ruth mackenzie obe appointed as general director // 25 July 06

Manchester International Festival - the world's first international festival of original, new work - has today announced the appointment of Ruth Mackenzie OBE as General Director.

Ruth will use her wealth of experience within the arts to develop partnerships within public and private sectors, as well as international arts organisations around the world.


For the past four years Ruth has been Artistic Director at the Chichester Festival Theatre, since which she has been working on a consultancy basis for the Arts Council, BBC, Tate and City University. She was awarded her OBE for services to theatre in 1995.


Before her role at Chichester Festival Theatre Ruth was Special Adviser to Chris Smith and Tessa Jowell, Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport; General Director of Scottish Opera and Chief Executive of Nottingham Playhouse.


Ruth's role takes senior executive responsibility for the Festival's sponsorship. A record £1.8m sponsorship deal has already been secured with United Utilities, Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Bruntwood and recently the Festival announced its first Official Supporter, the Manchester Airports Group. Negotiations are underway with a number of international brands to complement the Festival's international aspirations.


"I'm thrilled to be taking up this role in such a brilliant festival and am looking forward to developing partnerships which will enable the Festival to reach markets and opinion formers around the world," comments Ruth "Manchester has always been one of my favourite cities, from when I worked in the North in the 1980s, and it is great to be back at such an exciting time for the city."


On Ruth's appointment Festival Director Alex Poots commented:
"Ruth's experience and knowledge is invaluable and she will have a vital role in securing funding and building relationships with regional and international arts organisations. It's a great pleasure to welcome her onto the Festival team."

FOR INTERVIEWS OR MORE INFORMATION
Idea Generation : +44(020) 7428 4949
Leon: leon@ideageneration.co.uk
Ben: ben@ideageneration.co.uk

[Northbeach]

There's a rather good interview with Alex Poots in this weeks North West Enquirer. I'm quite sure this will be a very succesful for our city.
Not sure if there's an online version knocking around....I'll have a look later.

[Northbeach]

And here it is for those interested (it's fairly long):

Alex Poots: world first

Published on Aug 10 2006 by Angie Sammons
_____________________________________
ALEX Poots is full of surprises. The trouble is, he is keeping most of them to himself.



“They wouldn’t be surprises if I told you about them, would they?” he reasons with you patiently, like the grown-up who holds the keys to the Christmas cupboard.

Poots doesn’t deliver this assertion in a patronising way. Rather, he can barely contain his excitement, let alone his intentions, when the talk turns to the Manchester passion that has consumed his every waking thought for the past two years.

Entrusted with the legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Poots is at the artistic helm of the city’s first international festival. The big time, you could say, in cultural programming circles.

£5m budget


With its £5m budget, and with the cash in the private coffers rising, the Manchester International Festival is being seen as a serious rival to the artistic offerings of Edinburgh where the 39-year-old grew up and cut his professional teeth under the eye of his mentor, festival director Brian McMaster.

“I’m like a kid in a sweetshop,” he freely admits, with the broadest of grins, recalling his whirlwind appointment to “the best job in the world” in 2004, after an Awayday-ticket interview in which the then contemporary arts director with English National Opera swept council officials off their feet to such a degree that the job was his by the time he walked back into his London flat that evening.

“I was asked to apply. I thought I’ll go up and see what they’ve got to say. I said, ‘Look, I’ve got an idea for you, but I’ll understand if you don’t want it’.

“I’ve worked with a lot of councils in the past, and often they would rather do fewer things than more, because it’s just a hassle isn’t it? If you don’t do it, it can’t go wrong. So, I thought, ‘I’ll just lay it on the table, what I think would make a great festival. If they say yes it’s like my greatest dream come true’.

So many festivals


“This had to be a festival that was needed,” he says. “There are so many festivals.”

So Poots pitched the idea of a festival solely built on world premières, new work and innovation, and with a strong focus on music.

The council also wanted to attract people from all over the world. “It wanted to put up a beacon saying Manchester was a really strong cultural city,” he says. “Like any city, the day-to-day cultural things that happen aren’t always noticed by the media. A lot of people don’t know that Manchester has a really rich cultural offering, year in year out, and I am happy to say it’s probably stronger than Edinburgh’s. With this model of world-class premières by world-class artists you can attract local, national and inter-national audiences. You don’t need to make a choice, it doesn’t need to be either for the community or for the outside world.

“What you put on will make it inclusive.”

Stylish MIF offices


Poots can barely sit still as he follows his train of thought at the stylish MIF offices in Portland Street, all pale brick and wrought iron balconies and populated by efficient and fashionable young people.

He is aware of the controversy surrounding the “inclusive” issue up the M62, where the Liverpool Capital of Culture’s artistic director, Robyn Archer, recently quit her post amid criticisms that the 08 event is in chaos. “There’s this whole raging debate: Should it be all about Liverpool or should it be about international acts? You’ve got to have balance. You can’t eat cake all the time, there’s got to be some soup as well,” Poots says.

As a biennial event, the intention was for MIF to premier this year, but Poots moved it to 2007, feeling it would have been a mistake for a second MIF to go head-to-head with Liverpool in 2008. “A strong Liverpool event makes for a strong North West,” he asserts. “But they need somebody really strong in charge there. They need to really, really shine.”

Artistic integrity


There is no doubt who is in control of the Manchester event. MIF is limited by guarantee in a bid to foster artistic integrity and control. “I didn’t want people telling me what to put on,” Poots declares, adding that he felt it was imperative to obtain private funding to match, or even exceed, the council’s £2.5m, “to send out the right message”.

He also wanted MIF to be about the important and urgent stories of our time, so that it has a sense of conscience. “Manchester was the first nuclear city, it had the suffragettes. It’s not a city that is afraid to speak its mind, we should do a little bit of that. But this is not a preaching festival.”

Poots announced a series of high-profile Trailblazer events to keep the public interest going until 2007. The first, last summer, featured Damon Albarn’s cartoon band Gorillaz in a five-night sell-out run at Manchester’s Opera House, starring people such as Neneh Cherry, Ike Turner and Shaun Ryder, which subsequently became a best-selling DVD. There are two similar events to go, which should have been announced by now, but once again Poots is keeping his cards close to his chest.

Manchester songwriter


“The second Trailblazer will happen before Christmas, I promise,” he says. He has two ideas on the boil but is yet to make up his mind. Poots is also working with a “very famous Manchester songwriter” but won’t announce who it is, of course, on a special project that will be revealed soon.

“I need to keep it a big surprise, but everyone will smile, I promise you. We are not going to put something out if it’s not ready. You can crucify me. I am not prepared to do something that’s not right. I’ve been a bit quiet for the past three months but I’ve had nothing to say. I don’t like making promises that I can’t keep. With a festival like Glastonbury, you won’t know anything until four months before. But I know that isn’t good enough. There’s taxpayers’ money involved and I hope we get there in time, even though I put it back a year, without people feeling that they’ve been waiting too long.”

Poots will give a few nuggets away. One is the commissioning of a film by director Greg Hall. “He’s 23 and looks about 12,” says Poots. “He’s in the middle of a shoot and has been here for months now. Has created a narrative of universal stories, all rooted here. The film involves an all-Manchester cast of actors and non-actors. The star has never acted before in his life but he‘s phenomenal. All of the crew are from a local college, it’s part of their course.

Feature film


“It’s a community project but a feature film, properly financed. I wanted to make a great piece of work with a great director that people could be proud of.”

Poots has also co-commissioned, with Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet and Berliner Staatsoper den Linden, a circus opera based on the story of The Monkey King. Set to a musical score by Damon Albarn and a visual setting designed by Jamie Hewlett – the graphic artist behind Gorillaz, it will feature 50 of China’s finest acrobats (auditions are taking place as we speak), Shaolin monks and singers from the Peking Opera. It will be written and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng who has just completed his first feature film, Dark Matter, with Meryl Streep.

“The co-commission means that although we get the world premier, we are linking up with pretty serious people and, importantly, the show is only costing us a third of the total,” Poots says. “When it goes to Paris and Berlin, in all the programmes it will say ‘co-commissioned with Manchester‘, ‘world premier in Manchester’ and it will start to get the message out that the city is a big international player.”

New works


That’s the opener - “who is not going to think the circus is for them?” - Poots says, and there will be 10 new works of this calibre over the fortnight from June 28.

As to the rest of the structure of the festival, there is an international music series where world class artists will either come to the city and stage something unique or launch an album there. Poots is also planning a series of debates to discuss the “important stories of our time. There is also an emerging music series: “We are going to choose, from around the world, the 10 best emerging music acts, at least two of them will be from the North West” he adds and also talks about plans for a special free weekend of entertainment for children.

Poots and his team “plan to show a bit of leg” to the media in October and then go on sale with a couple of big shows in October and November. The full programme will be announced next spring.

Football and music


“All over the world, people think of two things when they think of Manchester: football and music. I was talking to Ennio Morricone a while back, and he said the same, even though he’s never been here.”

Such name drops keep falling on our heads as Poots, a classically trained trumpet player who played on the It’s Immaterial track New Brighton, and with Pulp at Glastonbury, talks. He is extremely well connected, although, he says, “you never know who you will meet next. I talk to anyone and everyone.”

Manchester’s satanic rumour mill is in full grind, and the whisper on the street is that Poots is organising a collaboration between David Bowie and the Bolshoi for his next trick. And with chums like PJ Harvey, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Asian Dub Foundation, Nick Cave, there are plenty of favours to call in and nothing and everything will be a surprise.

The MIF PR man anxiously emails later: “Did the interview with Alex go OK? I hope he didn’t give too much away.”

Any guesses for the next trailblazer? Johnny Marr dueting with Sam Fox inside a giant Vimto bottle? Clockwork Orange dramatised by goats in Styal Woods? Gerald Simpson acting as Gerald Ratner in '808 Bracelets' at the Royal Exchange?

[The Longford]

A 'very famous Manchester songwriter'?
Surely it can only be...........

[SleepyOne]

great post, thanks N. Just going to repost so it fits on my screen!

Alex Poots: world first

Published on Aug 10 2006 by Angie Sammons
_____________________________________




ALEX Poots is full of surprises. The trouble is, he is keeping most of them to himself.



“They wouldn’t be surprises if I told you about them, would they?” he reasons with you patiently, like the grown-up who holds the keys to the Christmas cupboard.

Poots doesn’t deliver this assertion in a patronising way. Rather, he can barely contain his excitement, let alone his intentions, when the talk turns to the Manchester passion that has consumed his every waking thought for the past two years.

Entrusted with the legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Poots is at the artistic helm of the city’s first international festival. The big time, you could say, in cultural programming circles.

£5m budget


With its £5m budget, and with the cash in the private coffers rising, the Manchester International Festival is being seen as a serious rival to the artistic offerings of Edinburgh where the 39-year-old grew up and cut his professional teeth under the eye of his mentor, festival director Brian McMaster.

“I’m like a kid in a sweetshop,” he freely admits, with the broadest of grins, recalling his whirlwind appointment to “the best job in the world” in 2004, after an Awayday-ticket interview in which the then contemporary arts director with English National Opera swept council officials off their feet to such a degree that the job was his by the time he walked back into his London flat that evening.

“I was asked to apply. I thought I’ll go up and see what they’ve got to say. I said, ‘Look, I’ve got an idea for you, but I’ll understand if you don’t want it’.

“I’ve worked with a lot of councils in the past, and often they would rather do fewer things than more, because it’s just a hassle isn’t it? If you don’t do it, it can’t go wrong. So, I thought, ‘I’ll just lay it on the table, what I think would make a great festival. If they say yes it’s like my greatest dream come true’.

So many festivals


“This had to be a festival that was needed,” he says. “There are so many festivals.”

So Poots pitched the idea of a festival solely built on world premières, new work and innovation, and with a strong focus on music.

The council also wanted to attract people from all over the world. “It wanted to put up a beacon saying Manchester was a really strong cultural city,” he says. “Like any city, the day-to-day cultural things that happen aren’t always noticed by the media. A lot of people don’t know that Manchester has a really rich cultural offering, year in year out, and I am happy to say it’s probably stronger than Edinburgh’s. With this model of world-class premières by world-class artists you can attract local, national and inter-national audiences. You don’t need to make a choice, it doesn’t need to be either for the community or for the outside world.

“What you put on will make it inclusive.”

Stylish MIF offices


Poots can barely sit still as he follows his train of thought at the stylish MIF offices in Portland Street, all pale brick and wrought iron balconies and populated by efficient and fashionable young people.

He is aware of the controversy surrounding the “inclusive” issue up the M62, where the Liverpool Capital of Culture’s artistic director, Robyn Archer, recently quit her post amid criticisms that the 08 event is in chaos. “There’s this whole raging debate: Should it be all about Liverpool or should it be about international acts? You’ve got to have balance. You can’t eat cake all the time, there’s got to be some soup as well,” Poots says.

As a biennial event, the intention was for MIF to premier this year, but Poots moved it to 2007, feeling it would have been a mistake for a second MIF to go head-to-head with Liverpool in 2008. “A strong Liverpool event makes for a strong North West,” he asserts. “But they need somebody really strong in charge there. They need to really, really shine.”

Artistic integrity


There is no doubt who is in control of the Manchester event. MIF is limited by guarantee in a bid to foster artistic integrity and control. “I didn’t want people telling me what to put on,” Poots declares, adding that he felt it was imperative to obtain private funding to match, or even exceed, the council’s £2.5m, “to send out the right message”.

He also wanted MIF to be about the important and urgent stories of our time, so that it has a sense of conscience. “Manchester was the first nuclear city, it had the suffragettes. It’s not a city that is afraid to speak its mind, we should do a little bit of that. But this is not a preaching festival.”

Poots announced a series of high-profile Trailblazer events to keep the public interest going until 2007. The first, last summer, featured Damon Albarn’s cartoon band Gorillaz in a five-night sell-out run at Manchester’s Opera House, starring people such as Neneh Cherry, Ike Turner and Shaun Ryder, which subsequently became a best-selling DVD. There are two similar events to go, which should have been announced by now, but once again Poots is keeping his cards close to his chest.

Manchester songwriter


“The second Trailblazer will happen before Christmas, I promise,” he says. He has two ideas on the boil but is yet to make up his mind. Poots is also working with a “very famous Manchester songwriter” but won’t announce who it is, of course, on a special project that will be revealed soon.

“I need to keep it a big surprise, but everyone will smile, I promise you. We are not going to put something out if it’s not ready. You can crucify me. I am not prepared to do something that’s not right. I’ve been a bit quiet for the past three months but I’ve had nothing to say. I don’t like making promises that I can’t keep. With a festival like Glastonbury, you won’t know anything until four months before. But I know that isn’t good enough. There’s taxpayers’ money involved and I hope we get there in time, even though I put it back a year, without people feeling that they’ve been waiting too long.”

Poots will give a few nuggets away. One is the commissioning of a film by director Greg Hall. “He’s 23 and looks about 12,” says Poots. “He’s in the middle of a shoot and has been here for months now. Has created a narrative of universal stories, all rooted here. The film involves an all-Manchester cast of actors and non-actors. The star has never acted before in his life but he‘s phenomenal. All of the crew are from a local college, it’s part of their course.

Feature film


“It’s a community project but a feature film, properly financed. I wanted to make a great piece of work with a great director that people could be proud of.”

Poots has also co-commissioned, with Paris’s Théâtre du Châtelet and Berliner Staatsoper den Linden, a circus opera based on the story of The Monkey King. Set to a musical score by Damon Albarn and a visual setting designed by Jamie Hewlett – the graphic artist behind Gorillaz, it will feature 50 of China’s finest acrobats (auditions are taking place as we speak), Shaolin monks and singers from the Peking Opera. It will be written and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng who has just completed his first feature film, Dark Matter, with Meryl Streep.

“The co-commission means that although we get the world premier, we are linking up with pretty serious people and, importantly, the show is only costing us a third of the total,” Poots says. “When it goes to Paris and Berlin, in all the programmes it will say ‘co-commissioned with Manchester‘, ‘world premier in Manchester’ and it will start to get the message out that the city is a big international player.”

New works


That’s the opener - “who is not going to think the circus is for them?” - Poots says, and there will be 10 new works of this calibre over the fortnight from June 28.

As to the rest of the structure of the festival, there is an international music series where world class artists will either come to the city and stage something unique or launch an album there. Poots is also planning a series of debates to discuss the “important stories of our time. There is also an emerging music series: “We are going to choose, from around the world, the 10 best emerging music acts, at least two of them will be from the North West” he adds and also talks about plans for a special free weekend of entertainment for children.

Poots and his team “plan to show a bit of leg” to the media in October and then go on sale with a couple of big shows in October and November. The full programme will be announced next spring.

Football and music


“All over the world, people think of two things when they think of Manchester: football and music. I was talking to Ennio Morricone a while back, and he said the same, even though he’s never been here.”

Such name drops keep falling on our heads as Poots, a classically trained trumpet player who played on the It’s Immaterial track New Brighton, and with Pulp at Glastonbury, talks. He is extremely well connected, although, he says, “you never know who you will meet next. I talk to anyone and everyone.”

Manchester’s satanic rumour mill is in full grind, and the whisper on the street is that Poots is organising a collaboration between David Bowie and the Bolshoi for his next trick. And with chums like PJ Harvey, James Brown, Herbie Hancock, Asian Dub Foundation, Nick Cave, there are plenty of favours to call in and nothing and everything will be a surprise.

The MIF PR man anxiously emails later: “Did the interview with Alex go OK? I hope he didn’t give too much away.”

[jrb]

Delete

[neil]

For anyone interested

From the Festival Website:


manchester firsts: manchester cultural organisations to premiere new work // 06 September 06
28th June - 15th July 2007

All of the Manchester Firsts projects will have their world premiere at the 2007 Festival and feature an exciting range of work across film, visual and performing arts produced by a mix of leading individual artists and organisations based in Manchester. These currently include:

Castlefield Gallery: To the Left of the Rising Sun
An exhibition with live performance that engages with notions of the North - of myth and nostalgia, identity, nationalism, romanticism and the transformation of cultural identity. The exhibition is to be held at Castlefield Gallery with the live performance held in a found space in Manchester. The exhibition is curated by independent curator Cecilia Andersson and features artists from Scandinavia and the UK amongst others.

Community Arts North West: Exodus Live International Orchestra
The Exodus Live International Orchestra will feature musicians and bands from Manchester's Refugee communities working with other locally based musicians. It will be launched in 2007 to create and perform a new orchestral piece specially commissioned for the Festival. The project will explore the links between music from around the world, in a melting pot of musical disciplines, instruments and sounds. There is an aim to expand the project over three years to create a large-scale orchestra for the Manchester International Festival in 2009.

Futuresonic: Manchester Peripheral
A Futuresonic project with Alastair Dant, Tom Davis & David Gunn (The Folk Songs Project) in partnership with The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. An interactive SoundMap enables audience members to be 'urban sound jockeys', remixing and replaying the sounds of Manchester. Working with community groups in four wards across Manchester including Ancoats and Clayton, Moss Side, Chorlton and Levenshulme, Manchester Peripheral aims to create an audio portal of each ward. Through this extensive community engagement the sounds recorded and used for the project will include street musicians, interviews with residents, local rappers and the ambient noises of school playgrounds and cricket matches. The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester has been chosen as the location for this interactive work to be showcased.

Performing Arts Network and Development Agency (PANDA): PANDA-MONIUM
PANDA presents a showcase of pioneering work from PANDA incubated companies: Hercules Productions, Ikebana; Pigeon Theatre; Running to Paradise and Upasana who are at the forefront of new performance in Manchester. Featuring work as wide-ranging as traditional Bharatanatyam dance to theatre created from and about inner city Manchester and including the first UK production of an American classic, parts of the showcase will be site-specific, created specially for Manchester city centre venues be they tiny pubs or splendid icons of gothic grandeur.

Rachel Davies: The Assembly
Rachel Davies makes film, video and animation that employs the themes of personal experience and travel to attempt to find truths in how we all navigate and recall our life experiences. Rachel's project 'The Assembly' will be a film and music installation at Cornerhouse Gallery about Mancunian teenage experiences from the early 1980s to now - as told by past and present members of the Manchester Girls Choir. Rachel lived and grew up in Stockport and is a John Thaw Fellow of Manchester University, working with the Department of Drama on this project.

Shisha: 'The Rusholme Project'
Led by two internationally renowned artists, Rashid Rana from Pakistan and Subodh Gupta from India, the Rusholme Project will create a number of spectacular site-specific works that engage with the urban architectural vernacular of Rusholme and aim to transform that neighbourhood. The Rusholme project will have a two- phase education and outreach programme involving local schools, colleges and community groups. Phase 1 involves 4 local artists and workshops with Claremont and St Edwards Schools in Rusholme in conjunction with Manchester Art Gallery. Phase 2 will take place in summer 2007 with the installation premiering during the Festival.

The Bruntwood Playwriting Competition for The Royal Exchange
In November 2005, Manchester based Property Company Bruntwood and The Royal Exchange Theatre launched a major national playwriting competition to search for the best original and unperformed new writing for the stage. With substantial cash prizes and high profile judges who include Lord Smith of Finsbury, Brenda Blythen, Kwame Kwei -Armah, Nicholas Hytner, Royal Exchange's Artistic Director Braham Murray and Bruntwood Chairman Mike Oglesby, the competition attracted over 1800 completed scripts. Entries were submitted from all across the UK and the Republic of Ireland and the judges will announce the winners at a star-studded ceremony on the 18th September. Awards will be made to the best three plays, the best regional play and best play by a writer under 26 years, plus a bursary to be awarded for a year's writer in residence. The Royal Exchange Theatre will be staging two of the winning plays during the Manchester International Festival and hosting a National Playwriting Conference to encourage the highest standards of new writing for the future.

Festival Director Alex Poots comments that: "Manchester Firsts is an exciting part of the Festival where selected artists and organisations from Manchester produce and present an exciting and diverse range of original, new work for next year's festival."
MANCHESTER FIRSTS WILL BE PREMIERED THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVAL
28TH JUNE - 15TH JULY 2007
WWW.MANCHESTERINTERNATIONALFESTIVAL.COM

Peter Mearns, Director of Marketing at the Northwest Regional Development Agency comments:
"The North West has a strong pedigree in delivering world-class arts, and this selection of top quality local organisations and artists is a great reflection of Manchester's cultural vibrancy."

[neil]

A Bit more info:


festival commissions award-winning director and composer // 18 September 06
Acclaimed young filmmaker Greg Hall and composer Steve Martland create gothic fairytale for Manchester International Festival


14th September 2006


The Manchester International Festival has today announced that award-winning filmmaker Greg Hall and internationally renowned composer Steve Martland have been commissioned to direct and compose music for a new feature film that will premiere at the inaugural festival in 2007.


This commission follows critical acclaim for Greg Hall's first feature length film 'The Plague' - released into cinemas on Friday 6th October - for which he received 'Best Director' Award at the 2004 Portobello Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at Raindance East 2005 and was the inaugural winner of the Katrin Cartlidge Foundation Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2004.


Hall is collaborating with renowned composer Steve Martland, whose powerfully rhythmic music has been extensively choreographed, most notably in Drill for the Sydney Opera House and Crossing the Border for the National Ballet Holland.-


This collaboration is the only film commission at the world's first international festival of original, new work.


GREG HALL &STEVE MARTLAND'S FILM WILL PREMIERE AT THE MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
JULY 2007


The film will explore a number of traditional fairytales from diverse mythologies such as Norse and Aboriginal - retelling them in a contemporary Mancunian setting. The production will be unscripted, with certain parts improvised to ensure the process emphasises the creativity of the producing and acting teams.


Hall has worked closely with Manchester City College's Art Department on the design for the film, with rehearsals taking place at the Zion Centre, Hulme. The film uses trained and un-trained actors from Manchester, with all filming taking place in and around the city.

"I'm extremely grateful that the Festival has given me the chance to create a project that is all about innovation and creativity," comments Hall. "I've really had the chance to immerse myself in Manchester, as well as working with some extremely talented people."


"This project represents a true collaboration between film and music," comments Steve Martland, "Greg's enthusiasm and passion for this project has been incredible, I am so excited about what we can achieve."
Festival Director Alex Poots commented: ""I was interested in Greg's innovative and grass roots film making and Steve Martland's powerful musical style and their idea to make a feature film about the stories of people, whose lives are largely unseen and unheard. We'll find out what they have created at next year's Festival'.

[neil]

And a bit more:

exclusive membership scheme launched today // 19 September 06
TICKETS ON SALE FOR WORLD PREMIERE OF MONKEY

Exclusive membership scheme launched today

Tickets on sale to members Monday 23rd October 2006

Tickets to Manchester International Festival's launch commission, Monkey: Journey to the West - a groundbreaking new circus production based on the Chinese literary classic - will go on sale on Monday 23rd October to Festival members.

Monkey will be set to a musical score by Damon Albarn and a visual setting designed by Jamie Hewlett - the artists behind the award-winning animated band Gorillaz. The show, at the Palace Theatre, will also feature Shaolin Monks and singers from the Peking Opera.

Adapted and directed by Chinese theatre director, Chen Shi-Zheng, the production is based on the story of the Monkey King and is co-produced by Manchester International Festival, Théâtre du Châtelet Paris (lead producer) and the State Opera House in Berlin (Staatsoper Unter den Linden). Monkey will open the Festival on June 28th 2007 and will run for 12 performances.

The exclusive membership scheme offers seven days priority booking to virtually all of the Festival's world premiere commissions. Online tickets to the Festival's first Trailblazer - Gorillaz: Demon Days Live - sold out in 20 minutes, with the total 10,000 tickets being snapped up within two hours.
Festival organisers are expecting another ticket stampede for Monkey, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Tuesday 31st October. The membership scheme will offer members the chance to claim their tickets first - along with a series of other unique benefits.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS:
- One week priority booking for virtually all shows*
- Membership card
- Discount at the Festival Pavilion (the Pavilion is the Festival hub with entertainment, food and drink available)
- Official Festival brochure sent free of charge
- Monthly e-newsletter and podcasts
- Exclusive Festival member offers
*Excludes free shows and shows with lower than 100 seats in total or per performance
**Membership costs £20

"We've developed a membership scheme with a range of benefits that we hope will appeal to people eager to be first in the know about the Festival, along with the chance to buy tickets early." comments Helen Palmer, Marketing Director.


Philip Green, Chief Executive United Utilities, comments:
"United Utilities is proud to be sponsoring the Festival and the membership scheme is an excellent way for people to get priority booking before the general public's rush for tickets."


MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST - FIRST NIGHT OF WORLD PREMIERE AT THE MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
28TH JUNE 2007


WWW.MANCHESTERINTERNATIONALFESTIVAL.COM

People who do not wish to join the membership scheme but are interested in more information about the Manchester International Festival can sign-up on to the mailing list by visiting www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com

[neil]

First events have gone on sale today for the international festival cheack out the website at www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com only 247 days to go.

[BeardedGenius]

Booked my tickets - should be a quite a spectacle...



Manchester International Festival launches with a dazzling circus opera spectacular, breathing life into an ancient Chinese legend through music, stunning stage sets, dance, acrobatics and martial arts.

Monkey: Journey to the West is a groundbreaking new production in Mandarin, set to a musical score by Damon Albarn and visual concept, set design and costume by Jamie Hewlett – the artists behind the award winning virtual band Gorillaz.

Written and adapted by Chen Shi-Zheng, whose credits range from classical Chinese opera to the upcoming Meryl Streep Hollywood movie, Dark Matter, this magical extravaganza features 45 Chinese circus acrobats, Shaolin monks and Chinese vocalists.

It promises to be a truly spectacular opener for the Manchester International Festival.

Monkey: Journey to the West has been designed and created by the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris in co-production with the Manchester International Festival and State Opera House, Berlin (Staatsoper Unter den Linden).

[macc]

I'm gonna get some tickets for that too when I get paid next week. I'm not much of a theatre man but anything with Shaolin Monks and a hint of monkey magic can't be a bad thing [waves hand in front of mouth and makes swishing sound].

[BeardedGenius]

Originally Posted by macc

I'm gonna get some tickets for that too when I get paid next week. I'm not much of a theatre man but anything with Shaolin Monks and a hint of monkey magic can't be a bad thing [waves hand in front of mouth and makes swishing sound].

Precisely!

[neil]

Website has been updated www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com

Festival Background

The Industrial Revolution forged the world's first modern city, which in 2007 will launch the world's first international festival of original, new work - created by leading artists from across the spectrum of credible popular culture, innovation and the arts.

Drawing from the city's pivotal role in music, the Festival programme will have a focus on new music - premiering work by established and emerging international musicians. In step with the city's history, the Festival will focus on the important issues and stories of our time, through debates and new commissions. It will also reaffirm the city's 24 hour party spirit by working with the city's clubs, bars, cafes and restaurants.

Many of the Festival's productions and events will world premiere in the city before touring to other international destinations, such as Paris, New York and Berlin. The Festival programme will also feature on National TV and Radio, in newspapers and magazines, on digital platforms and the internet, in books and in cinemas.

Following a series of three pre-festival commissions presented from late 2005, this city's first biennial festival will launch on 28 June 2007.

What is the Manchester International Festival?

The Manchester International Festival is the world's first international festival of original, new work - specifically created for the Festival by an extraordinary shortlist of the world's most celebrated and innovative artists, and carefully commissioned from across the spectrum of the arts, popular culture and music. In step with the city’s history and culture, the Festival will focus on music and the important issues and stories of our time – and will become one of the key events on the international cultural calendar.


What are the dates of the Festival?

28 June to 15 July 2007 (after Glastonbury and before the Proms). The Festival will be preceded by a series of pre-festival commissions leading up to 2007 – the first took place in November 2005 – the hugely successful sell out exclusive Gorillaz: Demon Days Live gigs at Manchester’s Opera House Theatre.


Whose idea was it?

The idea to launch an international festival was first conceived by Manchester City Council, who appointed Alex Poots to create a unique festival for Manchester. Alex has considerable experience of programming seasons, festivals and series on a national and international scale, working collaboratively with artists, producers and venues including work for English National Opera, Tate Modern, BBC, Channel 4, and the Barbican.


What type of events will be in the Festival?

All events and works in the Festival will be new and original. Commissions will be large-scale, both indoor and outdoor, and will be presented by world-class artists and co-producers. Whilst there will be a focus on music and important issues and stories of our time, events will span across all areas of arts, culture and innovation.


Why is Manchester holding an International Festival?

The Manchester International Festival aims to build on the legacy of the hugely successful Commonwealth Games held in 2002, celebrating the city’s pivotal role in music, culture, innovation and the arts. The aim is for the Festival to become a major cultural event in the international calendar, encouraging local, national and international visitors to Manchester, whilst providing opportunities for local communities to participate, be volunteers and/or see world-class artists in their city.


There are many festivals; can Manchester International Festival be compared to any of them?

No. Manchester International Festival will be the world’s first Festival to consist solely of work commissioned specially for the programme. Plus the Festival aspires to become a carbon positive festival by 2011 and is working with partners to work towards this ambitious aim.


Which international partners is the Festival working with?

The Festival is currently working with co-producers in Paris – the State Opera House -Théâtre du Châtelet (lead producer for Monkey) and Berlin’s State Opera House – Staatsoper Unter den Linden - and is in advanced discussions with potential co-producers in New York, Beijing, Amsterdam and Vienna.

What is a pre-festival commission?

The Manchester International Festival pre-festival commissions are a series of 3 high profile events to build excitement prior to 2007. The 2nd pre-festival commission is for a large-scale schools chorus to be announced in late October. The final pre-festival commission will be announced in early October and will run from 28 February – 15 July 2007.


How many people are expected to attend the Festival?

We will attract thousands of visitors – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Cambridge Policy Consultants carried out an economic impact assessment that estimated that the Festival will attract approximately 160,000 visitors in the first year with an economic impact of £28.8m.


How many events are there likely to be?

It is estimated that across the Festival there will be at least 10 major new commissions, as well as a number of strands, including a debates strand.


Where will the events take place?

The events will take place in a range of established venues across Manchester including major venues such as Bridgewater Hall, Palace Theatre, Opera House Theatre, Manchester International Convention Centre and small to mid-scale venues including Cornerhouse, Manchester Museum of Science and Industry, Royal Exchange Theatre, Castlefield Gallery and some non traditional locations.


Why is the Festival a biennial event?

The Festival will be showcasing solely original work on a large-scale, which takes time to develop, create and produce. Artists working with the Festival are internationally renowned, therefore long-lead times are needed in order to fit in with schedules. A two-year run-up provides the opportunity to bring in funders and sponsors to work with the Festival. The timing also allows the Festival the opportunity to evaluate and plan for the next Festival and seek out new talent.


Will there be any free events?

Yes, there will be some free events including a major free event for families.


When will the programme be announced?

The second and third pre-festival commissions will be announced in October 2006. The full 2007 Festival Programme will be announced at a press conference in March 2007.


How is Manchester City Council involved in the Festival?

The idea of a festival in Manchester was first conceived by Manchester City Council in order to enhance the national and international reputation of the city. Manchester City Council's aim is to improve cultural and economic opportunities for everyone who lives, works, invests and enjoys themselves in Manchester. The Festival also builds on the legacy of the successful Commonwealth Games in 2002.


What other partners is the Festival working with?

The 3 universities – University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford – have, with the support of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, funded a Higher Education Festival Liaison Manager – Dr Jennifer Cleary, to work as part of the Festival team to identify and foster links with the three universities from programming, staff and student engagement, to volunteering opportunities, placements and other opportunities. The Festival team is working closely with the city region’s audience development agency Arts About Manchester to develop innovative ways to engage with local communities and to work in partnership with venues and cultural organisations to develop new audiences. The team is also working with the city region’s tourist board Marketing Manchester to target regional, national and international visitors to the Festival.


Where is the funding for the Festival coming from?

The Festival is a limited company and registered charity with funding from the public and private sectors. The operating budget for the inaugural Festival is £6m. Manchester City Council, Urban Cultural Programme (Arts Council England, Millennium Commission). Festival top tier sponsors: United Utilities, Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and Bruntwood. Festival supporters: Manchester Airports Group. Festival suppliers: Cobbetts law firm.


How can local people get involved?

There will be many opportunities for the public to get involved in the Festival:As audiences for Festival events and as a volunteer. The Festival will be launching a volunteer scheme through which local people will have the opportunity to participate in some events (register now on http://www.manchesterinternationalfe...m/volunteering) Certain large-scale commissions will need local involvement. Opportunities to get involved in creative skills development workshops and arts education workshops with international and local artists.



How are local people being involved?

In addition to the volunteer scheme there will be specific opportunities for local people to work with artists on new work. The Festival’s local producer Billie Klinger will be working to ensure the involvement of local people. The Festival is working with Greater Manchester’s audience development agency Arts About Manchester to develop a new community network and audience development scheme with community partners and community groups.

How have local people been involved to date?

Gorillaz: Demon Days Live provided several opportunities for local people to get involved with the Festival’s first pre-festival commission: Each night there were approx 86 people performing on stage, of which 53 were from Manchester. Two choirs were set up including 44 local children from Wythenshawe schools and 8 children from the National Youth Choir. A brand new gospel choir containing 22 local men and women was set up and the choir now continues as the Manchester Sing Out Choir. 7 musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music joined the strings section of the band and performed every night. Manchester Business School student Zeng Zhen performed the Gu-Zheng (Chinese Zither instrument) on the Damon Albarn solo. Young filmmaker Greg Hall has employed local actors and non-actors to star in his new feature film and he is also working with local companies and students from City College Manchester on the production of the film which will be premiered in the Festival. The Festival has just announced a distinctive strand within the main Festival that celebrates the long-standing commitment of Manchester based artists and organisations who share the Festival’s aims of commissioning and producing innovative, new work. All of the Manchester Firsts projects will have their world premiere at the 2007 Festival and feature an exciting range of work across film, visual and performing arts produced by a mix of leading individual artists and organisations based in Manchester.

What do you think of it? does it sound good? will you come?

Anyway check out the website: www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com

[dronkula]

So, basically this is a major cultural festival in Manchester.

A year before Liverpool is going to be European Capital of Culture....

Maybe a bit of a spoiling tactic from Manchester over their neighbour?

[Scarecrow]

Not really. Our 800th anniversary is in 2007, and they're shitting bricks over that.