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

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.

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.

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.

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

Sarah Hall. Photo by Richard Thwaites.
Until
LiteratureLancashire
Litfest 2025 at various venues and online

One of the oldest literature festivals in the country, Lancaster Literature Festival, or Litfest to its friends, has been bringing an exciting and varied programme to audiences since 1978.

From £3.00
Deryn Rees-Jones. Credit Alison Dodd Photography
LiteratureLiverpool
Deryn Rees-Jones at Open Eye Gallery

For the seventh Matt Simpson Memorial Reading, hosted by Liverpool Poetry Space (LiPS), Deryn Rees-Jones will be reading from her new collection, Hôtel Amour.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Hofesh Shechter - Theatre of Dreams at Lowry
Theatre in the North

Picks this month include bold visual art, wondrous opera and cinematic dance - plus a touch of ghostly storytelling for the Halloween season.

A white mattress is burning in a black rocky landscape.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries in the North are far from spooky this October - instead you'll find tactile sculptures, plant magic and curatorial experiments.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

It's busy month across the cinemas of the north as Halloween programming leads into two of the region's biggest film festivals.

Poet Helen Mort.
Literature Events in the North

One to add to your TBR pile, our latest round-up is a bumper edition and features some amazing events in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and beyond...

Music in the North

From New York’s experimental underground to the most exciting sounds coming from local scenes, we're lining up a noisy autumn of gigs.