CityLife

Re:Play season sets benchmark

DEBATE: Longmore

WE’RE now just about halfway through the Library Theatre’s laudable Re:Play season, dedicated to showcasing some of the best theatre from Manchester’s independent theatre scene at venues such as Studio Salford and Taurus as well as the 24:7 Theatre Festival.

Beautiful House, written by Cathy Crabb, can be seen on Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

On Monday there’s a new feature for this year’s Re:Play, an evening called first stage.

Curated by Nicky Hatton and Jenna Omeltschenko from over 60 submissions that they’ve sorted through, it’s designed as an opportunity for writers, devisers and performers to test work in development.

Previously seen at Studio Salford, when it was decribed in these very pages as ‘sharp and telling’, The Bench tells the story of a group of characters who all intersect around a park bench.

They range from a boxer and his trainer to a thief, a fake medium, a homeless man, an artist, a widow, a dealer, a loan shark - and even an angel and a ghost.

Written by Joe O’Byrne, it stars M.E.N. Theatre Award-nominated Stella Grundy, Clyve Bonelle, Phoebe Marie-Jones, Ian Curley, Ste Myott and Ben Hood. Performances are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Ways To Look At Fish, was first seen as part of last year’s 24:7 Theatre Festival, from where this touching and funny tale won Best Fringe Performance for Ruth Jones at the M.E.N Theatre Awards.

Three generations of a family come together, reopening old wounds, settling scores and finding some sort of reconciliation. You can see it on Thursday afternoon, then Friday and Saturday evenings.

Unlike most of the Re:Play performances, Tape is not a piece of new writing but has even been filmed.

But the Library’s Artistic Director Chris Honer was so impressed by Northern Outlet Theatre’s Company’s production at the 2008 Buxton Festival Fringe that he was determined to bring it to a wider audience.

It is on Friday and Saturday evening, plus a Saturday matinee.

And a number of interested parties, including this writer, come together on Saturday afternoon for the Re:Play debate on Manchester Fringe – What’s good? What’s bad? What’s next?

Distinguished actor and director Wylie Longmore will be chairing a debate on the present and future of Manchester’s independent theatre scene, with a panel that includes Liz O’Neil from PANDA, David Slack from 24:7, Mike Heath from Studio Salford, and John McGrath from Ikebana Performance Company. Tickets for this event are free.

For tickets to all shows, ring 0161 236 7110.