Manchester HIV Activists continue the fight to eradicate AIDS by 2030
Right here in Manchester, a community-led outreach program called ‘In Equal Parts’ is taking on HIV - aiming to eradicate the disease within ten years whilst ending the shame and stigma surrounding it.
Community Exhibition on HIV presented alongside the original production of ‘First Time’
As scientists across the world have spent 2020 scrambling to find a vaccine for the virus putting life on pause – another group much closer to home have been fighting a battle against a very different beast.
Right here in Manchester, a community-led outreach program called ‘In Equal Parts’ is taking on HIV – aiming to eradicate the disease within ten years whilst ending the shame and stigma surrounding it.
This incredible project also has an incredible origins story. It all began with a play.
First Time was a performance written by the Mancunian creator of the project Nathaniel Hall (who describes himself as an ‘accidental activist’). Premiering in 2018 and appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it documents the protagonist’s difficult journey with HIV, whilst also keeping the audience laughing.
After two successful sold out tours of First Time, the 2020 Autumn tour was cancelled due to coronavirus, which spurned Nathaniel to create and curate In Equal Parts instead.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nathaniel Hall at Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The goal of this project is to help with the global aim to end all new transmissions of AIDS worldwide by 2030, but also to open up a dialogue on a smaller scale about an issue that affects over 38million people.
According to Worldaidsday.org: “Each year in the UK over 4,450 people are diagnosed with HIV, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with the condition.”
ADVERTISEMENT
‘In Equal Parts’ combines artists and non-artists, people with HIV and people without, and educates them on modern healthcare and prevention, destigmatize the virus and empower people to understand their role in ending all new transmissions by 2030.
In preparation for World Aids Day on the December 1, Nathaniel Hall will be leading the project alongside Yvonne Richards, Paul Fairweather and Mark Holder. All four have different relationships with the virus, and all are determined in their plight to bring awareness to the disease.
Nathaniel said: “To date, In Equal Parts has engaged over 5.5k people in creative workshops, talks, exhibitions, rapid HIV testing and fundraising parties – over 18k people have been engaged online.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Education and Outreach Workshops, In Equal Parts
The project is working in partnership with George House Trust, Positive Steps North West, Contact and Waterside Arts.
At 8pm on World Aids Day, a digital event hosted by Contact in association with George House Trust and Superbia will join Nathaniel and Jordan Roberts in a creative discussion panel about HIV stigma and shame, with Positive Speakers from George House Trust.
The panel will be open to all questions surrounding the disease, and the event will be closed by the premier of Jordan Roberts’ brand new film: HIV + Me.
Free condoms are provided at theatre venues
Coming soon, HIV+Me will also showcase the lives of three people in Greater Manchester currently living with AIDS, through three short films.
The project has also created ACTUP+Live, a free virtual learning resource for local schools and community groups that will help to raise awareness of HIV in the younger generation, and explores how everyday creativity can inspire radical change.
ADVERTISEMENT
The activities continue into 2021, with events such as ‘a conversation with Russel T. Davies’, artist development workshops with Nathaniel Hall, and increased promotion of sortHIVorg.uk, which encourages access to HIV testing and PrEP.
Community Exhibition on HIV displayed alongside the ‘First Time’ production
Tickets for the first In Equal Parts digital event can be found here.
More information on the In Equal Parts outreach program can be found online.
News
Pat Regan at the Fairfield Social Club – a brilliantly unhinged evening of standup comedy
Clementine Hall
There’s a particular kind of chaos that only Pat Regan can deliver, and the recently re-recognised Fairfield Social Club got the full force of it last night.
Making his Manchester debut as part of the ‘A Lovely Time’ series at the equally as lovely Fairfield Social Club, the New York comic, writer, and podcast host arrived with the energy of someone who had already lived through three emotional breakdowns before breakfast and somehow still had the worst to come.
Known for his work on HBO’s Hacks and the cult-favourite podcast Seek Treatment with fellow comic Catherine Cohen, Regan’s stand-up feels less like your traditional comedy set and more like being trapped in the world’s funniest group chat.
The perfectly intimate room beneath Fairfield’s railway arches was packed with adoring fans who were immediately on side as Regan launched into stories about traumatic trips to Paris, Grindr dates, massage tables and having crushes at the gym.
The audience was in the palm of his slightly sweaty hands (don’t worry, he’ll be fine with me saying so), laughing at every awkward punchline and self-deprecating anecdote.
The material is nothing groundbreaking, but this is what makes it so deeply hilarious; never before has shopping for the perfect pair of jeans been so serious and unserious at the same time.
There was laughter rolling through the venue for virtually the entire set, and after an hour of never-ending quips and jokes, we were left wanting more.
And the best part is, it won’t be long until we get more from this place, and it’s no wonder they’re starting to get the hosting plaudits they deserve.
It’s safe to say Fairfield Social Club has become one of Manchester’s most exciting homes for alternative comedy, and this felt like exactly the sort of booking that justifies its growing reputation.
By the time Regan left the stage, the audience looked equal parts exhausted and delighted. An absolutely classy evening indeed.
Find out about what else is on at the Fairfield Social Club HERE.
First-ever JD Wetherspoon pub to open at Manchester Airport
Danny Jones
In news that we feel many Mancs and travellers all-round have been waiting on for a long time, the well-known British chain, JD Wetherspoon, will be opening its first-ever pub at Manchester Airport.
That’s right: soon that first airport pint of the holiday could actually be a relatively cheap one.
While Wetherspoons are no strangers to popping up in terminals across the UK and Ireland, they’ve never done so here in Manchester despite having three, yes THREE, in Gatwick alone.
Not for much longer, though, as soon T2 will be lending more than 3,000 square feet of its prime leisure and retail real estate to a new Greater Manchester ‘Spoons’.
Posting on social media, the airport wrote: “Wetherspoon comes to Manchester Airport this September! The pub will be located in the Terminal 2 Departures lounge and will have more than 300 seats.
“This will become the final major food and drink venue to open its doors as part of our decade-long £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2. It will be named ‘The Belle Vue’, in a nod to Manchester’s historic showground [now a sports complex and leisure hub].
“It was a focal point for social life in the city from the Victorian period up until 2020, when the final event was held at Belle Vue stadium. The design of the pub is inspired by the history of Belle Vue and the sporting culture of the North West of England. We look forward to welcoming you all in September!”
While a lot of money has been pumped into T2’s refurb as a whole over the past few years, it remains unclear just how much this particular new addition will cost; we do know that great sums were set aside for the launch of the Great Northern Market last year.
The inaugural Manchester Airport Spoons is just the latest in a series of major renovations.
As mentioned, the company already operate several up and down the country – 10 airport pubs, to be specific – but this will be the first in the North West.
Speaking on the news, JD Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said in a statement: “We are looking forward to opening at Manchester Airport. We believe our new pub will prove popular with travellers of all ages and be an asset to the new terminal.”
With Manchester Airport adding a dozen new routes to its roster this summer, you can expect to see even more people flying in and out than ever – no doubt having already polished off a cut-price pint or two beforehand.
Gemma Bradley -
30th November 2020 
