Contact Young Company + Young Identity: Old Tools >New Masters ≠New Futures at Manchester Art Gallery

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

Book now

Contact Young Co + Young Identity: Old Tools > New Masters ≠ New Futures

Manchester Art Gallery, City Centre
12-16 June 2019

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Image courtesy of Contact.
Book now

In this new performance piece directed by Tunde Adefioye, the Contact Young Company and dynamic poetry and spoken word collective Young Identity will join forces. A loud and proud Mancunian mash-up, Old Tools >New Masters ≠New Futures will unpick what it means to decolonise popular culture.

Tunde Adefioye is a dramaturg at KVS, The Brussels City Theatre and has experienced life in three different continents. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Adefioye also spent some of his childhood in Nigeria before his studies brought him to Europe sometime later. Now as a ‘city dramaturg’ at contemporary arts centre KVS, his work aims to bridge the fractures between theatre and the street.

Old Tools >New Masters ≠New Futures will use both spoken word and theatre as a creative toolkit to shape a brand new performance work.

Most recently the Contact Young Company (CYC) received critical acclaim for their experimental off-site works: She Bangs The Drums, performed at the Science and Industry Museum as part of Wonder Woman 2018, and Oh Man which was devised with performance artist Hetain Patel. This triple artistic fusion – Old Tools >New Masters ≠New Futures – from CYC, Young Identity and Tunde Adefioye should most definitely be in your diaries for 2019.

What's on at Manchester Art Gallery

Peterloo Tour Jonathan Schofield
TourManchester
The Peterloo Massacre Tour

Visit key locations associated with a moment that helped shape the future of the nation, tracing the footsteps of those who stood for change.

From £20.00

Where to go near Contact Young Company + Young Identity: Old Tools >New Masters ≠New Futures at Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester
Restaurant
Ban Di Bul

Ban Di Bul is a longstanding Korean restaurant in the very centre of Manchester.

Salut Wines
Chinatown
Bar or Pub
Salut Wines

Salut wines pride themselves in offering “wider horizons beyond the safe choices.” With 42 wines by the glass and a regularly changing selection of bottles in their Enomatic wine preservation machines (or  “wine jukebox,” as they’re colloquially known), this is one of be best bars in Manchester for exploring new vintages.

Manchester Central Library
Manchester
Library
Manchester Central Library

The stunning Manchester Central Library is now back open for all visitors who wish to browse the enormous collection or simply relax in this magnificent building.

St Peters Square Manchester
City Centre
St Peter’s Square

St Peter’s Square is a public space in Manchester – home to the city’s iconic library, town hall, Pankhurst statue, art gallery and famous Midland Hotel.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Manchester Art Gallery Cafe

Summery bakes, seasonal salads and fresh light meals at Manchester Art Gallery’s in-house café, courtesy of highly-regarded Head Chef Matthew Taylor.

Chinatown
Hotel
The Alan

This high-end city-centre restaurant has an excellent afternoon tea option that more than matches up to the superb main menu.

Contemporary Six, art gallery in Manchester
City Centre
Gallery
Contemporary Six

Contemporary Six is an independent commercial art gallery in Manchester city centre, set up by Alex Reuben in 2010.

Manchester
Shop
Siam Smiles

Now based at the Great Northern, Siam Smiles is a food stop that’s hot on everyone’s lips.

City Centre
Restaurant
Blinker

Elegant cocktail bar in the centre of Manchester, with a relaxed atmosphere and wonderfully friendly staff.

What's on: Literature

a poster advertising Ferlinghetti Day 2026. The text reads
LiteratureHebden Bridge
Ferlinghetti Day UK 2026

An annual celebration of the life and work of poet, artist and bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Free entry

Culture Guides

A busy image created using generative AI. The image depicts a man at the centre with grey hair and rosy cheeks, surrounding him are fairies that appear to be created in his own image with multiple limbs and unique bodily proportions. Around them are hundreds of vials, microscopes and dated scientific equipment.
Exhibitions

Spring has sprung a wealth of great exhibitions in the North West, from intimate photographic shows to huge installations.

Theatre

Closer, riskier, more immediate. Our small-scale theatre picks stretch from unsettling fables about nationhood to the inner workings of a mind trying to hold itself together.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Fatoumata Diawara by Alun Be.
Music

This month’s live music picks move between ambitious new work, grassroots celebrations and a few memorable settings.

Food and Drink in the North

Spring has arrived, bringing with it al fresco dining and a rush of high-profile food and drink-related events in Manchester.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.