Fat Roland Celebrates 45th Birthday On Stage In New Show 'Seven Inch' At The Lowry's Week 53 Festival

Commissioned by The Lowry for Week 53 festival 2018, 'Seven Inch' (Thu 17 - Fri 18 & Thu 24 - Fri 25 May) is a spoken word comedy performance about loneliness and music's digital coming of age by Manchester artist Fat Roland.

Fat Roland works in a record shop but the front door hasn't chimed for years. Amid the cobwebbed racks and fading album sleeves, he faces his 45th birthday alone.

He makes his own entertainment, literally shattering the Frisbee-vinyl world record, until he hits his unimpressed teenage doppelganger in the eye. Is this sudden hallucination a mirage, an omen, or simply - thank goodness - a customer?

Surrounded by a set built entirely from cartoons, Fat Roland's one-man show is a hilarious and touching spoken word comedy about music, loneliness and not-quite-teenage kicks.

Week 53 festival 2018 coincides with The Lowry's 18th birthday celebrations. The theme for the festival is coming of age. Vinyl singles known as 7-inch play at 45 rpm and Fat Roland responds to the theme of 'coming of age' by presenting Seven Inch in the year he turns 45.

Seven Inch is part of The Lowry's 'Developed With' series. Fat Roland has been the recipient of a package of support to help him develop a new show. This work forms part of The Lowry's artist development programme, a scheme supported by Arts Council England and The Eranda Rothschild Foundation.

There will be a limited allocation of Pay What You Decide tickets for all Week 53 productions, more details to be announced.

The Lowry's artist development scheme is made of three core strategic areas of focus. Studio Members, Developed With, and Associate Artists.

Studio Members is a free scheme for aspiring theatre makers of all ages who are keen to learn more about working professionally. Members have access to a dedicated programme of workshops, masterclasses and seminars, performance opportunities, discounted tickets and one-to-one advice surgeries.

Developed With is The Lowry's flagship artist development programme. Since 2009 The Lowry has supported over 40 artists and companies to create new touring productions through this programme. Artists receive both commissioning funds and a bespoke year-long programme of professional development support as they take a significant leap forward in their practice.

Associate Artist allows The Lowry to develop deep and long term relationships with a small number of locally-based companies with outstanding potential. They receive core funding, commissioning opportunities and highly specialised bespoke support as they establish themselves on the national stage.

The Lowry's Associate Artist programme is generously supported by Arts Council England and The Eranda Rothschild Foundation.

The Lowry is a large arts and entertainment venue based in Salford, housing two galleries, three theatres, and a bar and restaurant called Pier Eight. Named after the painter LS Lowry, the building is home to the worlds largest collection of his works, and has a dedicated gallery to them. The second gallery presents exciting new exhibitions from contemporary artists. The three theatres present productions of all sizes including dance, drama, musicals, circus, opera, music, comedy and family shows. Pier Eight is a new development of the bar and restaurant area, serving two modern British menus including a casual dining bar menu and formal menu within the restaurant.

The Lowry's Under26 scheme launched in 2016 to ensure that money isn't a barrier to young people experiencing the arts. The Under26 scheme offers cheap tickets to shows at The Lowry through regular emails. Shows include drama, musicals, circus, dance and much more for no more than £10!

To be eligible, people need to be aged between 16 and 25 and can sign up here. The first time Under 26's book tickets, they will need to pick them up from The Lowry's box office and bring along some ID to prove their age. With an Under26 ticket, patrons are also eligible for discounts on food & drink in the bar.

The Lowry is an accessible venue with a range of facilities to meet visitors' requirements. All visitors are welcome and the venue strives to meet all individuals needs where possible. The Lowry has a Silver award from 'Attitude is Everything' for its dedication enabling access to the venue.

Audio Described, BSL Interpreted, Baby Friendly, Captioned and Dementia Friendly Performances and Audio Described and BSL Delivered Gallery Tours are among the accessible events on offer at The Lowry.

The Lowry has a dedicated access line on 0161 876 2183 and email. People can also join an access mailing list by sending an email.

For more information visit the website.

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