Lots of activities fall victim to Manchester’s infamously wet weather. But theatre performances aren’t usually one of them. Yet last week, I found myself in a stormy Salford Quays, being told by a soaking-wet stage manager that the play I was supposed to review was off because the actors’ umbrellas kept threatening to break.
Unlike most plays, Contact is performed outdoors – and fair weather is an unusually important factor in the play’s success. Thankfully, the second time I ventured over to Media City, the clouds had parted and the sun was shining: creating the perfect climate for outdoor, immersive theatre.
As I arrived, the group that became the play’s audience were sprawled across the steps in front of the BBC building, sorting out the smartphone app essential to how Contact works. This tech provides the audio for the play, which is synced across each of the audience’s and actors’ phones. The actors never speak aloud – we hear their voices in our ears through a pre-recorded soundtrack.
Audio-walking theatre has been growing fast due to the pandemic, as theatres have been closed and social distancing measures enforced. It’s something that Manchester has embraced, with two audio-theatrical offerings launched this year already.
Chloe Gentles and Cellan Scott in Contact (Phil Tragen)
The elements that make up these plays – listening through headphones, being outdoors, walking around, engaging with passers-by, the weather – are all distinct and unusual things to bring to theatre under any circumstances. Combining them all into one performance seems ahead of its time.
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The experience of being both watcher and watched, audience and performer, is very strange. It’s the sort of thing that would fit brilliantly in the arty, edgy Edinburgh Fringe. However, participating in such immersive live theatre definitely requires a confidence (which I’m not sure I have).
Contact, originally a French play written in three weeks at the start of lockdown and now brought to Manchester, is about Sarah, who, when out on her daily walk, meets her guardian angel. Her deepest fears and anxieties then start to bubble to the surface. The audience follows Sarah as she sits, walks, and thinks. It’s a strange experience, as the clearly demarcated lines between reality and fiction blur. Walking past people drinking and eating, the audience becomes part of the performance, and creates its own spectacle for passers-by.
Manchester-based theatre company ThickSkin have created an audio-walking play series called #WalkThisPlay, with the first episode ‘Keep Going then Vanish’ set in a big loop around central Manchester. The play physically drives you around the city as you search for something you’ve lost, that you keep forgetting, that you know you need to find. As you walk, your location triggers the next part of the story.
What’s most exciting about these plays is the opportunity to experience theatre again after such a long time. #WalkThisPlay doesn’t involve any live performance from professional actors, but as you walk around, listening to the evocative voices of Danielle Henry and Esme Bayley, you become the live element of the experience, immersing yourself in the world of the show. This is heightened in Contact by watching actors perform live in front of you: I couldn’t help but shiver with anticipation as the play started. There is no substitute for live performance.
Chloe Gentles in Contact (Phil Tragen)
Aliveness becomes all-encompassing in outdoor theatre like this. Smells, the breeze on your face and in your hair, a spot or two of rain: all become noticeable. As you walk, directed through your ears, you take in your surroundings in a different way. ‘Keep Going then Vanish’ directs you through the “black and white alley” of St Ann’s Passage, to stop in front of the old Theatre Royale, and to listen to the voices of those buried beneath St John’s Gardens.
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The technology surrounding the experience is both simple and complicated. The #WalkThisPlay series uses GPS tracking on your smartphone to map your movements, and when you reach a hotspot, the next part of the story plays. Contact relies heavily on very tight syncing of the audio in the audience’s ears to the actors’ performances. It’s possible as well to listen to the show in a different language, but still exactly synced with the performance (just as foreign language films are dubbed into English and vice versa).
These plays are very different experiences. #WalkThisPlay, simply an audio play with technology enabling you to interact with the story, is more internal and more personal. You aren’t sharing the experience with anyone (although it would be easy to do the walk with friends, each listening on their own phones). Contact, with its live performance, seems an elevation of #WalkThisPlay, pushing the concept further (perhaps than is comfortable).
They exist as a way to experience theatre in a year without it, but more than that, they’re charting a path forward in what theatre could be in the future. This is what I’m excited for.
Contact featured images: Phil Tragen 2021
Contact is running until 27 June in Salford and central Manchester. For more information and tickets, head to the show’s website.
#WalkThisPlay’s first episode is available for free on the Echoes app. The second play, ‘Monuments’, will be available from 30 May.Click here for more details.
Theatre
The Rocky Horror Show at the Palace Theatre, Manchester – a night of unapologetic fun
Clementine Hall
The cult classic musical, The Rocky Horror Show, began its two week run in Manchester last night.
If you’re looking for an understated, subtle musical that’ll have you elegantly tapping your foot to the beat – then this is not the show for you.
The Rocky Horror show is wonderfully weird, wildly extravagant and about as over the top as you can get. It’s about as camp as Christmas, and it’s a night out that you won’t forget.
For someone who is completely new to the Rocky Horror world, the experience of attending the show can be quite daunting as you join the queues of fishnet-wearing fans to scan your ticket.
Image: Supplied
But as soon as you’re seated and the first round of hecklers get started as soon as the curtain flies up, the anxiety melts away.
This is a show where you’re encouraged to sing and dance along, which we all did without hesitation.
The atmosphere in the Palace Theatre was nothing short of electric, from start to finish there were roars of laughter erupting from every tier of the auditorium and why? Well, there’s a couple of reasons.
Image: Supplied
Headlining the cast was Australian super star Jason Donovan starring as the iconic Dr. Frank N.Furter, and his performance was well and truly mesmerising.
Not only did Jason play the sassy sweet transvestite side of the role so perfectly, strutting across the stage with a corset and feather boa, but there were also moments of stillness that felt rather moving.
All in all, a captivating performance which underlines Donovan’s star studded status in the musical theatre universe.
Images: Supplied
Throughout the entire cast there wasn’t a weak link, Connor Carson and Lauren Chia are suitably sexy and strong as Brad and Janet.
Job Greuter delivers a freakishly brilliant Riff Raff whilst Jackie Clune gives a masterclass in comic timing as the omnipotent Narrator.
A standout moment was of course the Time Warp singalong, where the whole cast led us in the iconic dance as we shimmied back and forth in the stalls.
Overall, if you’re looking for a fantastic night out of frivolity and fun then the Rocky Horror Show is for you and we’re looking forward to seeing theatre-goers clad in gold hot pants and fishnet ties strutting around Manchester over the next two weeks.
The Rocky Horror show is at the Palace Theatre until Saturday 31 May and you can get your tickets here.
An outdoor cinema is screening a Wicked sing-a-long this autumn
Thomas Melia
There’s an outdoor cinema screening a sing-along version of the global phenomenon Wicked later this year near just outside of Greater Manchester.
Arley Hall, in Cheshire, is hosting a very special screening of one of the biggest films of 2024, Wicked, where guests will be allowed to sing along during the film.
This one-off event will come as a relief to some fans of the movie-musical, as back when it was released, one attending was encouraged not to sing along as it may disrupt the film itself.
With a musical stacked with hits like ‘Popular’, ‘Dancing Through Life’ and obviously the huge number that is ‘Defying Gravity’, how could you not take a moment to test out the vocal cords?
Maybe we’ll see some mini Elphabas and Glindas showing up at the Wicked sing-a-long, Arley Hall.Sit back, relax, and defy some gravity.
Now, Arley Hall has teamed up with events and entertainment company Adventure Cinema for an outdoor experience that promises to be a fantastic, family-friendly day out watching Elphaba and Glinda on the big screen.
There are various ticket options available for this Wicked sing-along showing, which are all priced under a reasonable £30 range.
The standard ticket, which requires you to bring your own camping chair or blanket, is only £17.37, while the premium ticket (including a premium deck chair and prime position) costs £25.21.
Throughout the weekend, Adventure Cinema are making themselves comfy in Arley Hall‘s grounds, as they are set to play some huge movie titles and host even more wonderful events.
For instance, there will be an ‘Outdoor Cinema ExtrABBAganza’ courtesy of Mamma Mia!, a double-whammy thanks to ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘The Stick Man’ playing back to back as well as ‘Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration’ and ‘Pretty Woman’ too.
There’s an ExtrABBAganza coming to Arley Hall the same weekend.Just you, your blanket and a crowd of Wicked fans ready to sing their hearts out.
While we wait eagerly for the second part of the Wickedmovie-musicaladaptation, why not let yourself loose and see if you can out-sing the witches of Oz – Think I’ll leave the singing to Cynthia and Ariana.
The movie-musical became one of the backbones of pop culture in 2024, generating various quoted phrases and viral moments, including the unforgettable ‘Holding Space’ meme alongside many others.
Anyone looking to attend the Wicked sing-along at Arley Hall on Friday, 19 September from 6pm to 10:15pm can find all ticket prices and more information HERE.