Hollywood star Riz Ahmed will premiere his new live show as part of Manchester International Festival's pre-Factory events programme.
The Long Goodbye is billed as 'a bracing and emotional live music show' from musician, storyteller, actor and activist, examining the breakup of a toxic relationship with the country you call home.
Written and performed by Ahmed, it will run for three nights at Mayfield Depot from March 26 to 28, before transferring to New York as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's new season.
Ahmed said: “I can’t wait to come to Manchester and share the world premiere of this live experience. It takes us on a journey through our past to the current crossroads we face as a multicultural society.”
Ahmed's screen credits include the films Rogue One, Venom, Nightcrawler, and Four Lions, and HBO drama The Night Of, for which he won an Emmy.
As a musician, Ahmed came up in the London music scene as a rap battle champion, going on to write and perform both as a solo artist and with Swet Shop Boys.
The Long Goodbye is directed by Kirsty Housley, whose previous work includes the critically acclaimed Tao of Glass at MIF last year, with creative direction from Andrea Gelardin.
Co-commissioned and produced by MIF, the show is the latest in a series of events paving the way for the opening of Manchester's mammoth new arts centre The Factory.
Currently taking shape in the city's new St John's neighbourhood, the venue will be the festival's future year-round home.
John McGrath, MIF artistic director and chief executive, said: "We are so pleased to be working with Riz Ahmed to premiere his new show The Long Goodbye in Manchester.
"Riz is an extraordinary and fearless artist and an increasingly important commentator and activist. For audiences it will offer a hint of the range and calibre of work that will be made and experienced when we open The Factory.”
Tickets will go on general sale on Monday, February 17, 2020, priced at £25, or £10 to Greater Manchester residents. Visit mif.co.uk to find out more.
