Manchester International Festival (MIF) kicks off in the city this Thursday with a huge two-week program showcasing the best new art, theatre, music and film across a number of venues in Manchester.
Running from 1-18 July, the festival is able to safely continue with social distancing, despite England not reaching stage 4 in the unlocking roadmap. Organisers have also included some online events for those unable to come down in person this year.
The first major event to return to Manchester since the pandemic hit, MIF 2021 brings a series of important artworks into open public spaces as part of a big new focus on outdoor events.
From the premiere of a new film starring Cillian Murphy to a theatrical performance of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay about grief, there are some real stand-out works forming part of the city’s annual international festival.
Our City Our Festival day takes place on Saturday 3rd July / Image: ameliahall_art
What’s on at MIF 2021?
Things will kick off with a huge flash mob-style dance performance on Deansgate this Thursday, featuring hundreds of dancers and over 150 local people from Manchester.
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The creation of French choreographer Boris Charmatz, the huge outdoor dance performance will fill the central street with a throng of professional and non-professional dancers.
Elsewhere, an anti-consumerist grocery store, EART, will open as a fully-functioning Manchester shop selling generic, locally-sourced and unbranded produce as part of a project from leading Pakistani artist Rashid Rana.
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And artwork from Christine Sun Kim will cover the city centre, ‘captioning the world that surrounds us’ with descriptions scrawled onto buildings and a plane flying a banner through the sky above.
The free music stage at Festival Square, this year on Cathedral Gardens / Image: thrimage
Over in Piccadilly Gardens, a thought-provoking sculpture of Big Ben is currently being erected (on its side) according to the specifications of artist Marta Minujín. At 42 metres long, the iconic London landmark is being re-built from 20,000 copies of books that have shaped British politics over the years.
And at Manchester Central Library, a book of love letters told by over a hundred Greater Manchester residents is set to appear upstairs in the historic building’s grand Reading Room – rewritten in the words of a team of writers and poets.
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Hanging in Manchester Arndale will be 100 portraits of Black British people, created by photographer and “56 Black Men” campaigner Cephas Williams to highlight the contribution of Black people living in the UK and challenge negative stereotypes.
In what will be the inaugural event for The Factory, MIF’s new dedicated arts centre, a field of starry, luminous tents will house a murmuring soundscape of poetry inspired by the natural world as part of Arcadia: a unique new light and sound installation created by opera and theatre director Deborah Warner.
For one weekend only (10-11 July), they will whisper the immortal words of nature poets ranging from WB Yeats and William Blake to Sappho, read by a cast including the likes of Brian Cox, Jane Horrocks and David Thewlis.
An immersive exhibition using fragmented moving image, reflection & performance to dismantle Western notions of knowing in relation to feminine spirituality in North Africa / Image: p21_gallery
Further out of town at the Whitworth, exhibit Cloud Studies explores how state power reshapes the very air we breathe: shining a light on the environmental racism in Louisiana’s so-called ‘Cancer Alley’ – an area along the Mississippi River where majority-Black communities are exposed to the most toxic air in the US.
Curated by Forensic Architecture, a research agency of architects, artists, filmmakers, journalists, lawyers, scientists and software developers, it will examine how even air can be weaponised; from the air pollution that targets the marginalised to chemical weapons that eviscerate entire neighbourhoods.
Whilst in Cheetham Hill, a new commission by Turner Prize winner Laure Prouvost will open the newly refurbished Manchester Jewish Museum. It will include a new film inspired by the museum’s history as a former Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, that has been shot inside the museum and the surrounding Cheetham Hill area.
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On top of all this, there’s a huge free music program going on at Festival Square – to be found this year at a new home on Cathedral Gardens, and online channel MIF LIVE will stream a mix of performance, live music, exclusive interviews, and a range of commentary and talks for those unable to attend in person.
How do I get tickets?
So far, three events have sold out – music performances from Arlo Parks and Damon Albarn, as well as outdoor Deansgate dance performance Sea Change – at the time of writing but the majority are still open and ready to book.
For the full list of events and tickets to all the exhibits, theatre performances, poetry, music shows and more, head to the MIF website.
A much-loved Manc grassroots venue is hosting a live screening of The Traitors final
Danny Jones
A beloved grassroots venue here in Manchester city centre is holding a big screening of this year’s The Traitors final.
Consider already there with bells, whistles and a big hood on.
Yes, following the return of The Traitors mainline show this month, not to mention even more versions of the show landing on the BBC in 2026, we’re expecting record-breaking numbers of viewers for this year’s highly anticipated ‘Grand Final’.
With that in mind, Manc favourite arts and entertainment venue, Fairfield Social Club (FSC), will be playing The Traitors season four final on the big screen.
You do not want to miss this, and we don’t just mean the episode: we’re talking about the unparalleled and often unhinged vibes at Fairfield.
Having been to plenty of live events at FSC over the past 18 months or so, from live viewing parties and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia quizzes to nights out with other social clubs and community organisations, we can personally vouch for their hosting chops.
As for this particular watchalong, they’ve promised they’re “going all in for The Traitors Finale 2026, live on the FSC big screen with a full crowd, big reactions and plenty of drama.”
With the team set to deliver a full pre-show Traitors quiz with plenty of prizes up for grabs, and even free drinks for anyone who turns up in a cloak or top-notch Claudia Winkleman fancy dress, there are so many reasons to make this gaff the place you choose as your venue for the final.
We’ll also be making sure to attend their upcoming Lily Allen line-dancing show, because we’re still obsessed with West End Girl.
Like with The Traitors final, don’t worry, they’ve done this dance MANY times before.
Honestly, this place never disappoints when it comes to variety or enjoyment.
As if any of the above wasn’t already convincing enough for you, tickets are just a fiver, and they also include a welcome drink. Doors will open 6pm, and seating plans are simply first-come first first-served.
Not only is that a great deal across the board, but it’s also probably one of the cheapest drinks you’ll find in town these days…
If you fancy joining in the chaos and inevitable chorus of gasps when the Grand Final goes live, you can grab your tickets for the conclusion of this season’s Traitors at Fairfield Social Club right HERE – and we promise you that it will sell out fast.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (via BBC)/Fairfield Social Club (supplied)
What's On
The Boots recycling scheme where you can get £5 off every shop
Thomas Melia
UK high street retailer and healthcare shop Boots has launched an innovative recycling scheme that entitles customers to £5 off their future shopping trips.
If you’re still struggling to come up with a New Year’s resolution, why not try a spot of recycling and earn some money off your next cosmetics shop while you’re at it?
Started in 2020, the Boots Recycling Scheme allows Advantage Card holders the opportunity to get money while also being more conscious about how we recycle our used health and beauty products.
Their third-party app, Recycle at Boots, uses a ‘Scan2Recycle‘ system where users can upload items from various beauty brands by taking a picture of the empty packaging before identifying its form.
This scheme takes items that can’t usually be recycled at home, such as lotion pumps, toothpaste tubes, lipstick, mascaras, travel minis, make-up palettes and more.
Once you have five items approved, head over to your nearest participating Boots store, drop off your empties and scan the QR code on the deposit box.
After you’ve followed all these steps, a voucher will appear entitling you to 500 Advantage Points when you spend £10 in-store at your nearest location, and not only do you have £5 worth of points with your name on it, you’re also an eco-warrior.
There’s even a dedicated section of the app to recycling empty medicine and vitamin blister packs, which gives customers 100 Advantage Points when they spend £5 in-store.
Brilliant.
Credit: Publicity pictures (supplied)
Items dropped into these deposit boxes are taken to MyGroup, a recycling and waste management service which works around the clock to help divert waste from landfill.
These empties will be washed and traditionally recycled into a material called MyBoard, a construction board material most similar to plywood, with lots of different uses.
Nearest Boots locations in Manchester running the Recycle at Boots scheme:
Manchester Market Street – 32 Market Street, M1 1PL
Salford Regent Park – Regents Park, M5 3TP
Manchester Didsbury – 736-740 Wilmslow Road, M20 2DW
The Trafford Centre – 10 Peel Avenue, M17 8BD
Trafford Retail Park – Neary Way, M41 7FN
If you’re up for getting money off your next Boots splurge while also helping recycle cosmetics containers and more, you can download the Recycle at Boots app and find your nearest HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
29th June 2021 
