A new installation at The Factory has given the public a chance to look inside the under-construction £186 million landmark arts complex for the first time.
Although still predominantly a building site and not due to open its doors fully until next year – with budget issues and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic cited as reasoning – audiences were invited inside The Factory this past weekend to experience major new sound and light installation Arcadia.
Created by theatre and opera director Deborah Warner and partly-inspired by a painting of Manchester by William Wyld, Arcadia saw a field of luminous tents emitting an original sound composition that wove together some of the greatest nature poetry ever written, by poets including Sappho, John Clare, WB Yeats, G. E. Patterson, Seamus Heaney, Jackie Kay, Simon Armitage, Alice Oswald and Sabrina Mahfouz, among many others.
It featured recorded contributions from several leading Northern actors and musicians including Jonathan Pryce, Jane Horrocks, RoxXxan, Brian Cox, Simon Russell Beale, Lioness and David Thewlis.
Arcadia was designed as a space for “thought and reflection” / Credit: MIF / Andrew BrookesAudiences were invited to wander freely through the space to connect with nature / Credit: MIF / Andrew Brookes
Arcadia was designed as a space for “thought and reflection”.
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Audiences were invited to wander freely through the space to connect with nature and consider “the relationship between the urban and the rural”.
“It has been enormously exciting to create a project for MIF inviting the public into The Factory for the very first time,” said Deborah Warner.
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“It’s been thrilling to watch this extraordinary landmark building take concrete form from the core of one lift shaft, to its present stage of well-defined auditoria, rehearsal spaces, loading docks and offices.
“The Factory will not only change the cultural face of Manchester, but that of the UK, Europe and the world.”
John McGrath – Artistic Director at & Chief Executive of MIF and The Factory – added: “We are delighted to welcome such a visionary director to this year’s festival to transform a space that will ultimately play a crucial role in the future of Manchester and the arts internationally.
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“This work has created an opportunity for audiences to encounter The Factory as it is being shaped and invites them to reflect on the juxtaposition of urban and rural.”
The Factory will be a “world-class cultural space” once it opens in 2022 / Credit: MIF / OMA
The Factory – being developed by Manchester City Council in partnership with Manchester International Festival (MIF) – will be a “world-class cultural space” in the heart of the city centre and the year-round home for MIF once it opens in 2022, with a programme of groundbreaking, and interdisciplinary work by leading artists from across the globe.
The landmark building is setting out to be one of the “largest, most ambitious, and most versatile purpose-built arts spaces in the world”.
Featured Image – MIF / Andrew Brookes
What's On
A charity auction is selling memorabilia from the ACTUAL Peaky Blinders set
Thomas Melia
Peaky Blinders super-fans get ready, because there’s a charity auction is currently open and items worn by the stars of the iconic TV seriesare up for grabs.
This exclusive event gives bidders the chance to own a piece of modern-day TV history in the form of not just merchandise but authentic memorabilia.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all wanted to pull on a flat cap and pretend we were a gangster at one point in our lives, and what better way to do so and relive your Peaky Blinders fantasy than by doing so with one from the show? Especially since you know your money is going towards a good cause.
Whether you want to look as dapper as Tommy Shelby, or you just want to add a culture-soaked collector’s item to your, well, collection, you might want to check this one if you’re a big Peaky fan.
Maybe you could own something from this very picture at the Peaky Blinders charity auction event.Walk away feeling dapper as ever with exclusive merchandise up for grabs at the Peaky Blinders charity auction event.Credit: BBC
Anyone planning on going to the Peaky Blinders charity auction event can bid in person or even register to bid online now if you won’t be free during the proceedings.
As for what is on the table, you could raise your virtual paddle for everything from a full suit worn by Cillian Murphy himself to Sam Claflin’s homburg hat, a pair of Michael Gray (Finn Cole) shiny shoes and much more.
And where else to hold said event and than Manchester’s very own Peaky Blinders bar on Peter Street just off the main Deansgate strip, where the action will culminate in a flamboyant and free-to-all event.
Those attending in person will be greeted with a welcome drink before being encouraged to join in with the final day of the auction – guests are encouraged to turn up in ‘true Shelby style’ of course.
All the funds raised will go towards the much-loved NHS foundation and specialist hospital, The Christie, Europe’s largest cancer centre, right here in Manchester.
Peaky Blinders bar on Peter St in Manchester city centre.Everyone knows the Peaky Blinders like a drink.
Tickets for this event cost nothing, but there is an option to add an additional donation if you wish, and bidding on items taken from the cult favourite TV show is open to everyone.
Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
Thomas Melia
British boyband Scouting For Girls are heading out on an extensive UK tour with dates up and down the country, including right here in Manchester.
If the first thing that pops into your mind when you read this headline is “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know how we’ll make it through this”, then you’re on the right side of history.
Nearly 20 years since their single ‘She’s So Lovely’ reached catastrophic heights and had everyone putting on their best Roy Stride accent, Scouting For Girls are heading back on the road.
This UK tour announcement comes two years after their last project, The Place We Used To Meet, reached our ears and was coined by the band as “Our best work since our debut”.
It’s been 18 years since this Brit trio captivated our hearts with their eponymous debut album, which sold over one million copies and went number one on the UK official charts for two weeks.
Whether you know them for ‘Heartbeat’ or ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’, it’s clear to say this band had their fair share of smash hit singles throughout the noughties.
This tour, however, celebrates the sophomore follow-up: Everybody Wants To Be On TV, which went on to continue their legacy and secure them their only number one, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, back in 2010.
Now, the boys are treating UK fans to an array of live performances, and if you can’t make one date, fear not because there are 20 different locations for you to choose from.
The group will also be playing the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and a whole host of other Northern cities, so you have plenty of chances to catch them.
If you can’t wait all the way until March 2026 for your next Scouting For Girls fix, lead singer Stride has his own cameo account where you can get the star to read out a message or even sing you a song: “‘Michaela Strachan’ in full, please?…”
Scouting For Girls are coming to O2 Apollo in Manchester on 21 March 2026, with tickets going on sale next Friday, 2 May at 10am HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2021 
