/THEATRE&ARTS
CONTEMPORARY theatre and arts venue Contact will close at the end of the year for a £6.75m redevelopment - but its performances continue in other sites across Greater Manchester.
During the refurbishment, Contact’s staff will relocate to the Millennium Powerhouse in Moss Side for a year-long programme in a huge range of venues - from Manchester Academy to a sari shop on Wilmslow Road.
The new season will kick off in February with two high profile shows as part of the annual Queer Contact Festival. First to show is Dancing Bear at the Palace Theatre Manchester (Tue –Wed , February 6–7). Produced by Jamie Fletcher and Company and Contact, Dancing Bear flips between dramatic storytelling and catchy pop songs to explore personal, social and mental health issues experienced by LGBT+ people.
This will be followed by club culture meeting high art at the House of Suarez and Contact Vogue Ball at Manchester Academy 2 (Sat, Feb 10).
Queer Contact Festival marks its 10th anniversary year with its biggest line-up of events yet. A packed programme of theatre, music, cabaret, film, clubbing, dance, spoken word and visual art examining gender, sexuality, health, religion, politics and more, will be hosted at venues across Greater Manchester (Sat – Sat, Feb 3–24).
The award-winning Contact Young Company will present Manchester’s rich social history in a celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act (1918). She Bangs the Drums will take place at the Museum of Science and Industry (Thu–Sat, Mar 8–10) in a humorous and political reflection on votes for women and working-class men.
Following this, Contact and Rasa co-production Handlooms by Rani Moorthy shifts the scene to a working sari shop, Alankar House of Saris on Wilmslow Road (Tue–Sun, Mar 13–25). Handlooms explores the generational gap between a mother and son, who are both seeking solutions to a business crisis. Finally, as a teaser for what’s to come later in the year, Contact has announces a one-off gala performance of Sophie Willan’s smash-hit Contact commissioned show Branded at The Lowry (Thu, May 31).
Working alongside a dedicated team of local young people, Con:Struct, and with architects Sheppard Robson, Contact will re-open in 2019.
The refurbished building will feature a new performance space, a recording studio for young people, new offices and rehearsal spaces for artists and other cultural organisations, and a new café and bar.
According to Contact, the project aims are to increase the number and range of creative opportunities for young people and to strengthen the organisation’s financial sustainability. Access throughout the building will also be upgraded as well as improving its environmental performance.
The project will be funded by over £6million of investment from Arts Council England and Manchester City Council with generous grants and donations from local and national trusts and foundations. Corporate and individual supporters and a public fundraising campaign will raise the remaining £600,000.
Matt Fenton, Artistic Director and Chief Executive at Contact said: “As a team we’re really looking forward to forming new relationships with the organisations there to provide new opportunities for young people in the area.
“We are extremely grateful to Arts Council England and all our other funders, trusts and foundations, and our partner venues for their support on this project which will enable Contact to offer even more lifechanging opportunities for young people.”