Manchester International Festival, the biennial international arts festival which focuses on original, boundary-pushing work, has returned to Manchester for the summer and we’re excited to see a pair of high profile queer performances leading the lineup.
First up we have a new ballet adaptation of A Single Man, Christopher Isherwood’s classic queer novel which Tom Ford famously adapted into an Oscar-nominated movie (starring Colin Firth) back in 2009. This new production is directed and choreographed by Jonathan Watkins and features original songs written by John Grant (who performs live during the show) and Jasmin Kent Rodgman. Dancers from the Royal Ballet, alongside guest artists, tell the classic tale of George, a gay professor navigating queer life in 1960s California. The show plays at Aviva Studios and more information can be found here.
We’re also excited to see that HOME has been taken over by queer indigenous collective FAFSWAG, with stunning digital art, live cultural ceremony and a programme of films and talks grounded in Pacific identity and culture. It will explore the reality of home as a precarious notion for cultures in a constant state of motion and displacement. The FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE exhibition is at HOME and more information can be found here.
While we’re excited to see works with a specifically queer lens featured so prominently within the lineup at Manchester International Festival, it’s a diverse programme showcasing new works from a wide array of cultures and communities – a stampede of life-sized animal puppets? Works inspired by football? New films and sound installations? All this and more besides will be happening across the city over the next three weeks – if you’re in Manchester (or passing through) do consider checking the festival out!
Manchester International Festival runs until 20 July and the full lineup can be found here.
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