Manchester's HOME Announces 2019/2020 Theatre Programme

HOME, Manchester has today announced its theatre programme for Autumn 2019 into Spring 2020 featuring brand-new HOME commissions, returning favourites, UK premieres and brand-new work.

Opening the season is HOME's co-production with National Theatre Scotland: Jackie Kay's Red Dust Road. Jackie is the Scottish national poet, or Makar, Chancellor of the University of Salford and HOME patron, and her memoir has been gloriously adapted by Tanika Gupta. The season also features the regional premiere of Debris Stevenson's semi-autobiographical Poet in Da Corner, direct from the Royal Court, and the UK premiere of Forced Entertainment's Out of Order. Following a sold-out run of their inaugural production, Emma Rice's Wise Children return with new show Malory Towers, and HOME Associate Artists 1927 also return to headline Christmas at HOME with new-show Roots. More Christmas theatre fun is offer for families with Little Angel's adaptation of David Walliams' The Slightly Annoying Elephant.

The line-up also features work from the Young Vic, Roundhouse, Breach Theatre, Bryony Kimmings, English Touring Theatre, Brief's Factory, Little Angel and a special guest appearance from the safari rangers from Chester Zoo at a December Family Fun Day.

Two new productions building on HOME's work to integrate captioning alongside bilingual English and BSL performers also feature. Both Ad Infinitum and Told by an Idiot make their debut with HOME-commissioned Extraordinary Wall of Silence and The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel respectively.

Further HOME commissions include Manchester artists Chanje Kunda's Plant Fetish first seen at Push Festival 2019 - and Company Chameleon's The Shadow. Frequent collaborators Gecko team up with Mind the Gap for new commission A Little Space.These add to previously announced commissions by associate artist Scottee with his swansong production Class and Javaad Alipoor's Rich Kids. This work continues HOME's commitment to developing distinctive new work, underlined by the recent HOME 2020 Commission announcement, and the appointment of new Associate Director Jude Christian.

Finally, rounding out the jam-packed season are two HOME calendar staples. September's fourth annual Orbit Festival presents 10 shows in 15 days from some of the most exciting theatre companies and performers working in the UK today. Push Festival will then return in January showcasing the wealth and breadth of creative talent in north west England, across multiple art-forms and spaces.

Director and CEO Dave Moutrey said:

"This is a very exciting time for HOME's stages as we create, collaborate and play host to distinctive work and stories that speak up for our city. Featuring old friends and new artists, our journey to reach more people, develop more ground-breaking ideas and support a new generation of artists continues as we move toward our fifth birthday year.

We are committed to creating original work that excites and engages the people of our city, and to developing the careers of artists - especially those who call Manchester home. With the recent appointment of Jude Christian as our new Associate Director, over the next few years we will increase our investment in developing new work and support even more of this exciting new generation of artists."

To view the full season brochure homemcr.org/September-theatre-season