It is more than a century since Benjamin Disraeli remarked that “what Manchester does today, the rest of the world does tomorrow” and that desire to innovate and experiment remains central to the city’s influential cultural festival.
When Alex Poots, the outgoing chief executive and artistic director of the Manchester international festival, took over a decade ago, he phoned Peter Saville, the designer behind many of Factory Records’ album sleeves, and asked him about the city. “He said that Manchester was the first industrial city and the first modern city. And that struck a chord with me and translated to a festival of original, new work.”
Ten years later, and the Manchester international festival has gained a reputation as an artist-led, commissioning festival comprised solely of new productions and premieres drawn from the worlds of performing and visual arts and popular culture.
The 2015 festival kicked off with the premiere of wonder.land, Damon Albarn’s new musical. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the show is directed by the National Theatre’s artistic director, Rufus Norris, and written by the dramatist, Moira Buffini.
“The book is hardwired into our subconscious,” Buffini wrote in the Guardian, explaining Alice’s enduring appeal. “Everybody seems to react differently to the book … Everyone has their own personal relationship with Alice.”
The Manchester international festival has established a track record of producing award-winning shows that go on to tour internationally. This year’s hot tickets include Albarn’s wonder.land and Tree of Codes, a contemporary ballet inspired by the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer. It has been co-created by the choreographer Wayne McGregor, the visual artist Olafur Eliasson, and the Mercury prize-winning producer and composer Jamie xx.
Another big draw is Maxine Peake at the Royal Exchange theatre, playing the title role in a revival of Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker, which features specially commissioned music by Nico Muhly and Antony from Antony and the Johnsons.
Björk, who returns to the festival for a one-off gig at the Castlefield Arena, is already sold out. This will be Björk’s first European show since the release of her new album, Vulnicura. Meanwhile, fresh from Glastonbury, the singer/songwriter FKA twigs is premiering her seven short films, Soundtrack 7, during four performances at the Old Granada Studios.
Although the festival line-up includes artists from all over the world, Poots says that local talent is important.
“Although we only do 16 to 18 commissions each festival, every year we keep finding amazingly talented people here in the region. This year we have FlexN Manchester, a transatlantic show with dancers from Manchester and Brooklyn,” he said.
“There’s [also] the Sacred Sounds women’s choir, which consists of interfaith organisations all singing together. They’re performing in [Turner Prize-winning artist] Douglas Gordon’s Neck of the Woods with Charlotte Rampling.”
Other shows over the 18-day festival include Richter/Pärt, Sara Pascoe’s The Museum of Robot Pussycats, and The Tale of Mr Tumble.
In previous years, premieres at the Manchester international festival have ranged from Kenneth Branagh’s award-winning Macbeth to Steve McQueen’s Queen and Country and Robert Wilson’s The Old Woman starring Willem Dafoe and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
In 2013, nearly a quarter of a million people attended events at the festival, generating £38m for the Manchester economy.
