CityLife

Must see: Hazard

Various venues - July 17, 2010

There will no doubt be a few Mancunians wondering what’s been slipped into their midday espresso on Saturday afternoon when they see 100 Dorothys from The Wizard Of Oz marching by.

If that leaves them rubbing their eyes in amazement, wait until they get a load of Hazard MMX’s synchronised swimming in Piccadilly Gardens or the woman left crushed by a giant knitted boulder.

Put together by Greenroom, Håb and Larkin’ About with support from Cornerhouse and Manchester Arndale, Hazard is designed as an ode to oddness – an afternoon of eccentricity to remind us all why life outside of the box is so much cooler.

There are more than 20 events planned across the city on Saturday, but things actually start tonight with a screening of My Beautiful Laundrette by Scratch ‘n Sniff Cinema at HUB M3 (on Chapel Street). It is as it sounds; a classic movie complete with the stimuli of a scratch ‘n’ sniff card issued to all viewers.

The focus then spreads from Halle Square up to Oldham Street and out to the Peace Gardens outside Central Library, in St Peter’s Square. Theatre, social networking, audience experiments, lunar landings, recruitment drives, letter writing, treasure hunts and architectural art pieces feature.

Among our favourites are Astrid Breel’s The Dating Game (St Ann’s Square, 2pm-4pm), Andy & Gaz & Jon’s transformation into pedestrian super helpers in Crossing Market Street (Market Street, noon-5pm), Clare Charnley’s Splat (across Manchester, noon-5pm) and James Topple’s Phone-in, which requires passers-by to answer an abandoned mobile and embark on a mystery journey.

A real blast of the bizarre.

Visit www.hazardmcr.org.