'Best of BE', THE EVENTS, INSOMNIA Set for HOME's Autumn 2014 Season

HOME, the organisation formed by the merger of Manchester's Library Theatre Company and Cornerhouse, continues its programme of productions with three visiting shows for autumn 2014. Having presented Angel Meadow in a disused pub, and Romeo & Juliet at Victoria Baths, HOME presents three productions at Number One First Street, a vast contemporary office space overlooking the site of the company's new £25m city centre home, which is scheduled to open in spring 2015.

Best of BE (BIRMINGHAM EUROPEAN) FESTIVAL (17/18 October) features four exciting and distinctive productions per performance: From the Waltz to the Mambo by Radioballet, a disarmingly straightforward, funny, and personal meeting of a vintage text and a contemporary performance from Hungarian dance artist Mila?n U?jva?ri; Beating McEnroe, a brilliantly bonkers performance by Jamie Wood (UK) about being a younger brother and a bad loser. The final point of an epic Wimbledon final is relived with the audience as a hilarious and cathartic ritual of rivalry, love and moving on; Loops & Breaks by Austrian improviser Julia Schwarzbach, in which the artist invites the audience to make the action by responding to a series of shifting instructions prepared specially for the crowd; and Waiting by Mokhallad Rasem, in which different worlds clash quietly through traces of dance, performance and film in a meditation upon the fundamental everyday human experience of waiting.

As part of the evening's proceedings, the ticket price includes a festival dinner with fellow audience members and performers.

The Best of BE FESTIVAL is followed by the award-winning The Events (22-25 October) presented by the Actors' Touring Company, which was named Best New Play of 2013 by The Guardian after its world premiere at that year's Edinburgh Festival. David Greig's moving and strangely uplifting play asks why do terrible things happen? Featuring Derbhle Crotty as the vicar, Claire, and Clifford Samuel, The Events asks how far forgiveness can go in the face of an appalling atrocity, and features a local choir at each performance.

Finally, Insomnia, a pas de deux drama for two girls and a piano man, presented by international dance-theatre company Riotous Company (6/7 November), is a dance-theatre piece full of humorous, ironic, and captivating moments for children, adults and insomniacs alike. Insomnia weaves together strands of physical and musical storytelling, leaving it up to the audience to decipher the actions and inventions, or simply enjoy the performers' ongoing excuses to stay

awake. Insomnia is accompanied by a live score performed by award-winning Macedonian composer Nikola Kodjabashia, who created the music for HOME's Romeo & Juliet, and directed by Tage Larsen from the renowned Odin Teatret in Denmark. The ticket price includes a one-hour master-class led by the creative team (Fri 7 November, 16:30), and a post-show discussion each evening entitled 'making cross-art theatre'.

The final piece in the run-up to the opening of the new building is re:play Festival 2015 (12-24 January 2015) celebrating the best of Manchester and Salford's fringe theatre. re:play's move to First Street marks the return of the annual festival, established by the Library Theatre Company, to the city centre for the first time since 2009.

All the productions will be presented at the Second Floor, Number One First Street, Manchester M15 4FN.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

BEST OF BE FESTIVAL
DATES: Friday 17/Saturday 18 October 2014, 19:30.
VENUE: Second Floor, Number One First Street, Manchester M15 4FN.
TICKETS: £15 (£13).
PRESS NIGHT: Fri 17 Oct 2014, 19:30 (please note there is a very limited capacity and we regret we are unable to offer press and media a plus one).

www.besfestival.org

THE EVENTS

DATES: Wednesday 22 - Saturday 25 October 2014, 19:30; matinee Sat 14:30. VENUE: Second Floor, Number One First Street, Manchester M15 4FN.
TICKETS: Wed SOLD OUT, Thu £15 (£12, £10); Fri/Sat eve, Sat mat £17.
PRESS NIGHT: Wednesday 22 October 2014, 19:30 (please note there is a very limited capacity and we regret we are unable to offer press and media a plus one).

www.atctheatre.com

INSOMNIA

DATES: Thursday 6/Friday 7 November 2014, 19:30.
VENUE: Second Floor, Number One First Street, Manchester M15 4FN.
TICKETS: Fri/Sat £12 (£10).
PRESS NIGHT PERFORMANCE: Thursday 6 November 2014, 19:30 (please note there is a very limited capacity and we regret we are unable to offer press and media a plus one).

www.riotouscompany.com

RE:PLAY FESTIVAL

DATES: Monday 12 - Saturday 24 January 2015.
VENUE: Second Floor, Number One First Street, Manchester M15 4FN.
TICKET AND PRESS NIGHT INFORMATION: More information will be available later this year at http://homemcr.org/production/replay-2015.

ABOUT HOME - HOME, the new home for the company formed by the merger of Manchester's Library Theatre Company and Cornerhouse, will open as a new multi-art form venue in spring 2015 in the city centre. HOME will commission, produce and present an ambitious programme of provocative contemporary theatre, film, and visual art. It will be a HOME for all, introducing audiences to new and extraordinary experiences and outstanding art while unlocking the creative potential of the city and providing development opportunities for local communities.

HOME theatre is international, interdisciplinary and provocative, centred on a bold vision that encourages risk and collaborative working that explores new ways of making theatre for a contemporary audience.

HOME will include a 500-seat theatre and a 150-seat flexible studio space. It will collaborate and co-produce with international partners. It will also have a 500m2, 4m high gallery space; five cinema screens; digital production and broadcast facilities; a cafe? bar and restaurants.

The new purpose-built centre, designed by Dutch architects Mecanoo and built by Wates Construction, will provide a cultural hub and social space for

Manchester, as well as being a 'making place', producing new and innovative work, with an emphasis on exploration and experimentation. HOME will be the cultural heart of First Street North, a landmark development that marks the latest stage in the hugely successful regeneration of Manchester city centre.

Pictured: The Events presented by ATC. Photo by David Levine.

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