A huge new festival-style temporary outdoor venue that’s three times the size of Albert Square is preparing to open in Manchester city centre.
In an attempt to provide an outdoor summer destination for those looking for a safe and fun night out as lockdown eases even further over the next couple of months, local theatre and arts centre HOME Manchester is launching its latest venture, Homeground, on a disused patch of land close to the First Street venue itself on Friday 28th May.
Building on a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ theme, Homeground is set to boast theatre shows on two stages, alongside pop-up street food vendors, comedy clubs, DJ sets and more.
Partnering with other cultural institutions such as Frog & Bucket, Contact Theatre, and Trans Creative to bring a programme of events to the city centre, the first two Homeground shows to be announced are Filter’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream – which was first seen at Latitude Festival – and a brand-new production of Alice in Wonderland, which has been created by Stockroom Productions especially for Manchester.
We're super excited to be able to finally announce our brand new outdoor venue for culture, cocktail and food! Introducing Homeground. Located on First Street and featuring a 400-seat socially distanced theatre. Opening Friday 28 May! Find out more here: https://t.co/XUlS8qvvfepic.twitter.com/9JUeauJUHq
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – a remixed and reworked version of Shakespeare’s tale of young lovers and warring fairies – will run from 3rd June – 26th June.
ADVERTISEMENT
The brand-new production of Alice In Wonderland – running from 15th July – 7th August – features classic anthems and catchy new songs, and will follow Alice and her little brother Lewis as they tumble into an alternative world full of magic and mayhem as Manchester turns to Madchester.
Tickets for both shows will be just £10 for adults.
ADVERTISEMENT
A second stage, to be known as ‘The Manchester Stage’, will feature DJ slots that have been curated by DJ Paulette, as well as a Manchester Folk Festival takeover and several other free events.
Street food venders will include cocktails by Wolf at the Door, Tibetan Kitchen, Black Market Espresso, and Basilico pizza.
Speaking ahead of the launch of Homeground, Dave Moutrey – Director and CEO at HOME Manchester – said: “As we start to emerge from the strangest year many of us have ever experienced, arts and culture play a vital role in the recovery of the country [so] I’m delighted to announce Homeground.
ADVERTISEMENT
“[It will be] a safe and enjoyable space for the people of Manchester to have fun, reconnect and celebrate the city’s artistic talent in all its forms”.
HOME Manchester & Homeground / Drew Forsyth
The site has been designed by Cordelia Ashwell, of Decordia Events, who added: “The idea behind the overall site design grew from a collaboration with HOME’s Curator, Bren O’Callaghan.
“From the outset, we felt that rather than try to disguise the brownfield nature of the site, we would lean into the detritus that accumulates in pockets of the urban fabric [so] influenced by scrapyards, the neon graveyard of Las Vegas and remnants of stories that attach themselves to architectural salvage, we settled upon a method of display popularised by the Victorians and in municipal museums – the Wunderkammer, or Cabinet of Curiosities.
“In this way, seemingly random and otherwise ordinary objects become extra-ordinary.
“Bren and I have been hunting down key iconic artefacts, some of which we think the public will recognise, and others may come as a bit of a surprise”.
ADVERTISEMENT
More shows and events will be announced over the coming months.
You can find more information ahead of the venue’s launch on Friday 28th May via the HOME Manchester website here, and by following @homegroundmcr on Instagram.
New survey reveals one in three shoppers admits to stealing at self-checkouts
Emily Sergeant
Almost 40% of UK shoppers have failed to scan at least one item when using self-checkouts, new research has revealed.
Self-checkouts started to become popular in the UK in the 1990s, and since then have evolved to meet consumer demands and solve the problem of queueing, especially taking on a life of their own in supermarkets from the 2010s onwards… but now, some exclusive new research for The Grocer has revealed that could be causing more hassle than they’re worth.
A national survey of more than 1,000 shoppers found that only 63% said they ‘never’ failed to scan an item when using self-checkouts, which leaves almost two in five who do so at least occasionally.
A third (32%) also admitted to having weighed loose items incorrectly, while 38% said they had put through an incorrect loose item.
Experts say these statistics show that “a new breed of shoplifter” has been created.
A new survey has revealed that one in three shoppers admits to stealing at self-checkouts / Credit: Aldi
“You’re creating opportunities for people who otherwise wouldn’t even think about shoplifting,” commented Matt Hopkins, who is an associate professor in criminology at the University of Leicester,
When it comes to the biggest culprits of failing to scan items at self-checkouts, the survey revealed that the under 35 age group, and men overall, came out as the most common, but it’s unclear whether this could be blamed on system error, missing barcodes, or rushing shoppers, instead of being intentional.
Surprisingly though, despite public perception and a recent headline-grabbing move by supermarket chain Booths to remove self-service checkouts from all but a select few of its busiest stores, this new research also shows that shoppers actually prefer to use self-checkouts (54.2%), over staffed checkouts (29.8%).
“In a short space of time, the self-checkout option has gone from zero to an accepted norm – and now to an active preference for many,” commented Lucia Juliano, the UK head of research and client success at Harris Interactive.
The speed and relative freedom provided by self-checkouts were the main advantages of using them, according to shoppers, with 56% choosing to use them because they’re faster.
52% cited the fact that self-checkouts allow them to ‘go at [their] own pace’.
Juliano did, however, comment that shoppers’ preference for self-checkouts may only be a reality “when there are no tech issues during the transaction”, which is said to be the “biggest bugbear by far” according to the survey.
“Retailers need to ensure the tech is spotless, the space is ample and staff are quick to intervene when needed,” Juliano concluded.
Featured Image – Ben Stevens / Parsons Media(via Tesco)
Trending
Only 11% of Brits see Brexit as more of a success than a failure, new poll reveals
Emily Sergeant
It’s been just over five years since Britain officially left the European Union, but a new poll has revealed that just 11% think it was actually a success.
On what was a day many will struggle to forget, Britain officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, finally putting into action the 52% to 48% vote to ‘leave’ from the 2016 referendum, but now five years on, how do Brits actually feel that Brexit has gone? And what do they want our future relationship with Europe to look like?
This most-recent survey found that just three in 10 Brits (30%) now say that it was right for the UK to vote to leave the EU, which is the lowest proportion of people since YouGov began asking this question in the aftermath of the referendum.
55% now say it was wrong for the UK to leave the EU, and what’s more, just 11% now see Brexit as more of a success than a failure.
A new survey has revealed that only 11% of Brits now see Brexit as more of a success than a failure / Credit: Flickr
In what is potentially an even more damning statistic than that, however, is that one in six ‘Leave’ voters (18%) who responded to the survey now say that it was wrong for Britain to choose to leave the EU.
By contrast, just 7% of ‘remain’ voters now think it was right for the UK to leave, compared to 88% who stand firm in their decision.
Another interesting viewpoint from the survey is that among the young Brits who were unable to vote in the 2016 referendum, those aged 18-24 years old, three-quarters (75%) say that Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU, compared with just one in 10 (10%) who say the UK made the right choice.
Five years on, few Britons think Brexit has been good for anything
% saying Brexit has had a positive impact on… Control the UK has over its laws: 31% UK’s ability to respond to COVID-19: 23% British politics: 12% UK’s level of international trade: 11% British businesses: 11%… pic.twitter.com/nAN81yOHHd
When it comes to the visions for the future, 55% of Brits who responded to YouGov’s survey say they would support a complete undoing of Brexit, with 39% saying they ‘strongly support’ Britain rejoining the EU, and 33% opposing rejoining to any degree.
One in five ‘leave’ voters (20%) support rejoining the EU.
Emily Sergeant -
8th April 2021 
