FRIDAY 5
Theatre / SparkPlug
Exploring family, race and identity, SparkPlug tells the story of a white man who becomes the adoptive father and best friend of a mixed race child. Written by and starring David Judge, this punchy and poetic piece now arrives in Bury following its world premiere at HOME back in February.
The Met, Bury / themet.org.uk / 0161 761 2216 / Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6, 7.30pm / £11
Clubbing / Arcadia Sounds 1st Birthday
The Arcadia Sounds crew are pulling out all the stops for their first birthday celebrations, enlisting the services of house titan Casey Spillman, joined by residents Eastfield Swing, Hardy and Cooke.
Underdog / 0161 236 4899 / Friday, April 5, 10pm-4am / £5/£7/£9
Clubbing / Zutekh
Zutekh’s excellent ‘All Night Long’ series continues with a headline set from Teneil Throssell, aka HAAi, the Australian former psych-rocker turned rapidly ascending DJ and producer. Put on your best dancing shoes for this one.
Soup Kitchen / soupkitchenmcr.co.uk / 0161 236 5100 / Friday, April 5, 11pm-4am / £12
Exhibition / Emma Smith: 5Hz & Euphonia
An artist whose work uses places, histories and happenings as raw materials, Cambridge-based Emma Smith brings two of her wonderful pieces to HOME this weekend. Euphonia is an ambitious sound installation based on the musicality of social interactions, while 5Hz explores psychological and neurological responses to the human voice.
HOME / homemcr.org / 0161 200 1500 / Preview on Friday, April 5, 6pm-9pm; exhibitions runs from April 6 to May 19 / Free
Preview – Exhibition / Football is Art
Some would argue that art and football aren’t natural bedfellows – one is seen as more niche, the other intended for the masses. Here in Manchester, however, a city which has been home to numerous footballers of aesthetic wonderment – George Best, Eric Cantona, pretty much all of Pep Guardiola’s current City squad – you’ll surely find many people who would passionately disagree with such statements.
How fitting, then, that Manchester should now host a new exhibition which brings together those supposed cultural opposites – Football is Art, opening this weekend at the National Football Museum. Bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘the beautiful game’, this impressive new exhibition will explore how the art world has depicted the beauty, drama and passion of football.
Spanning almost one hundred years, the show features a diverse selection of work with abstract pieces (Michael Rothenstein’s Moment of Victory) sitting alongside politically conscious work (the Muslim women footballers depicted in Jill Illiffe’s Banned) and prize-winning paintings (Mid-week Practice at Stamford Bridge by Laurence Toynbee). In a major coup, the show also includes a piece from street artist Banksy, called Football Terrorist, which is being displayed for the first time in a UK museum.
As you’d expect from the National Football Museum, the show also boasts a strong interactive element with the chance for visitors to create their own 3D artworks using Google Tilt Brush.
National Football Museum / nationalfootballmuseum.com / 0161 605 8200 / Starts Friday April 5, runs until October 27 / Free
SATURDAY 6
Music / Sundara Karma
With their fondness for quoting Greek philosophers and esoteric literature, Reading four-piece Sundara Karma have cemented their position as the brainiest, artiest band in the current Brit indie firmament. Prepare for more intellectual engagement – and, of course, soaring indie-rock anthems – as the band showcase tracks from their excellent new LP, Ulfilas’ Alphabet.
O2 Victoria Warehouse / victoriawarehouse.com / 0161 660 7000 / Saturday, April 6, 7pm / £18
Music / Boyz II Men
Now in their forties and therefore by no stretch of the imagination ‘boyz’, the massively successful American R&B trio return for an evening of emotional ballads, acapella harmonies and smooth romantic overtures.
O2 Apollo / academymusicgroup.com/o2apollomanchester / 0844 477 7677 / Saturday, April 6, 7pm / £35
Comedy / Group Therapy
Part comedian, part singer, part clown – the charming Elf Lyons headlines this month’s instalment of Group Therapy; support comes from Harriet Dyer, the brains behind the CityLife award-winning comedy night Barking Tales.
Gorilla / thisisgorilla.com / 0161 826 2998 / Saturday, April 6, 7pm / £12
Comedy / Best of Buzz Comedy
Sale Waterside prepares for another epic invasion of top-notch comedy talent. This month’s guests include the pun-tastic Darren Walsh, deadpan stand-up Simon Lomas, cheeky Bristolian Jeremy Flynn and confessional comic Jay Handley.
Waterside Arts Centre, Sale / watersidearts.org / 0161 912 5616 / Saturday, April 6, 8pm / £13
Theatre / West Side Story
The Royal Exchange has a most impressive track record when it comes to Broadway classics (recent productions of Guys and Dolls and Sweet Charity). Directed by Sarah Frankcom, this latest revival of Bernstein and Sondheim’s West Side Story – which transposes Romeo and Juliet to gritty 1950s New York – promises to be another terrific take on a much-loved classic.
Royal Exchange Theatre / royalexchange.co.uk / 0161 833 9833 / Saturday, April 6 to Saturday, May 25 / £25
Clubbing / Lost Control 6th Birthday
The brainchild of top Manc DJ Black Eyes, Lost Control has become the first port of call for revellers of an acid house-loving persuasion. For tonight’s sixth birthday shindig, they’ll be joined by Jus-Ed, the American house stalwart and founder of the venerable Underground Quality record label.
The White Hotel, Salford / thewhitehotel.club / Saturday, April 6, 11pm-7am / £12.10
Literature / Peter Barlow’s Cigarette
Showcasing the finest new and established poetry talents, the awesomely-named Peter Barlow’s Cigarette returns with a bumper line-up featuring Gilbert Adair, Sarah-Clare Conlon, Patricia Farrell and Colin Herd.
Waterstones Deansgate / waterstones.com / 0161 837 3000 / Saturday, April 6, 4pm / Free
SUNDAY 7
Music / James Blake
The Mercury-nominated electronic soul wunderkind from Deptford returns to live action in possession of new material, Assume Form, another stunning album of moody, glitchily layered loops, jazzy piano chords and mournful vocals.
O2 Victoria Warehouse / victoriawarehouse.com / 0161 660 7000 / Sunday, April 7, 7pm / £26.50
Comedy / Seann Walsh
After showcasing his dance skills on the last series of Strictly – and getting a little too close with his dance partner – shaggy-haired comic Seann Walsh gets back to the day job. Don’t be surprised to hear a few cheeky references to his recent tabloid controversies.
The Lowry / thelowry.com / 0843 208 6000 / Sunday, April 7, 8pm / £18.50
MONDAY 8
Music / Kiefer Sutherland
Canadian acting royalty Kiefer Sutherland - star of 24, Lost Boys and Flatliners – is the latest Hollywood star to launch a music career. If you’ve ever wondered what Agent Jack Bauer would look like wearing a Stetson and singing country music, then here’s your answer.
Gorilla / thisisgorilla.com / 0161 826 2998 / Monday April 8, 7pm / £30
Comedy / Comedy? Yes!
This excellent new night offers the chance to see established comics road-testing fresh, untried material before they head off on tour. Tonight’s double-bill features nostalgia obsessed stand-up Daniel Nicholas, alongside musical comedy oddball Edy Hurst.
Gullivers / gulliversnq.info / 0161 819 2970 / Monday, April 8, 7.30pm / £5
Theatre / Abigail’s Party
Watched by some 16 million viewers when screened as a BBC Play for Today back in 1977, Mike Leigh’s dark comedy – in which a cocktail party among middle-class neighbours goes terribly awry – still packs a punch over 40 years later. Directed by Sarah Esdaile, this latest touring revival features screen and stage favourite Jodie Prenger, alongside Corrie’s Vicky Binns and Midsomer Murders star Daniel Casey.
Opera House / atgtickets.com / 0844 871 3018 / Monday, April 8 to Saturday, April 13 / £13-£41.25
Theatre / Hair the Musical
Unleash your inner hippie child as the smash hit musical Hair – telling the story of a group of politically active hippies in 1960s New York – comes to Manchester as part of its 50th anniversary tour. The cast includes Dancing on Ice winner Jake Quickenden, Hollyoaks’ Daisy Wood-Davis and X Factor finalist Marcus Collins.
Palace Theatre / atgtickets.com / 0844 871 3018 / Monday, April 8 to Saturday, April 13 / £13-£48
TUESDAY 9
Theatre / Kingdom
Founded in 2006, Barcelona-based company Senor Serrano have earned rave reviews for their playful, boundary-pushing shows which fuse classical and experimental theatre styles. Their latest production – featuring as part of HOME’s ¡Viva! Festival – is a typically inventive affair, using video cameras, projection and live music to explore the mechanics of western capitalism.
HOME / homemcr.org / 0161 200 1500 / Tuesday, April 9 to Saturday, April 13 / £15
Preview – Theatre / Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Given the recent debates regarding the lack of working class voices in British theatre, this month’s touring revival of Andrea Dunbar’s Rita, Sue and Bob Too seems impeccably timed.
Written for the Royal Court Theatre in 1982, Rita, Sue and Bob Too was considered incredibly groundbreaking for its time. Based on her own experiences of growing up in a run-down part of Bradford, Andrea Dunbar’s writing exhibited a fearless, working class realism – one which had never been portrayed before on the British stage.
Part sex comedy and part critique of the social division of 1980s Britain, Rita, Sue and Bob Too tells the story of two 15-year-old girls living on the deprived Buttershaw estate in Bradford. The girls seek to alleviate the boredom of their lives by entering into a ménage a trois with Bob, a middle-aged married man who is flash and aspirational. What follows is a play teeming with sex, lust, jealousy and racial tension.
Dunbar, of course, also went on to adapt her play into a successful 1987 film directed by Alan Clarke. Now, over thirty years later, this current touring revival – a co-production between the Bolton Octagon and Out of Joint – will surely prove how Dunbar’s world of poverty and urban desolation still resonates in 2019.
The Lowry / thelowry.com / 0843 208 6000 / Tuesday, April 9 to Saturday, April 13 / £20.50-£27.50
WEDNESDAY 10
Music / Beirut
After a four year hiatus, American outfit Beirut – led by singer-songwriter Zach Condon – return with a new record, Gallipolo, showcasing their tried-and-tested formula of upbeat melodies, joyful trumpet arrangements and lyrics inspired by travel.
Albert Hall / alberthallmanchester.com / 0161 817 3490 / Wednesday, April 10, 7pm / £25
Literature / Candice Carty-Williams
The woman behind one of 2019’s most buzzed about debut novels, Queenie – described as a cross between Bridget Jones and Americanah – is dropping into Waterstones Deansgate for a special Q&A session.
Waterstones Deansgate / waterstones.com / 0161 837 3000 / Wednesday, April 10, 6.30pm / £3
THURSDAY 11
Exhibition / Jallianwala Bagh 1919: Punjab under Siege
A collaboration between Manchester Museum and the Partition Museum in Amritsar, India, this exhaustive new exhibition will reflect on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, in which British troops opened fire on peaceful Indian protestors. Using archival and audio-visual material, the show will revisit that fateful day, exploring its causes and aftermath.
Manchester Museum / museum.manchester.ac.uk / 0161 275 2648 / Starts Thursday, April 11, runs until October 2 / Free
