Forced Entertainment: Real Magic at HOME

Andrew Anderson
© Forced Entertainment

Contact and HOME present Forced Entertainment: Real Magic at HOME Manchester, Manchester 29 November — 1 December 2017 Tickets from £10 — Book now

Forced Entertainment are all about exploring the possibilities of theatre. Can one actor just say the same word over and over? Could the play last for 12 or even 24 hours? And do the audience just watch, or can they perform the show themselves?

In Real Magic the company is again trying something tricky: a mind reading act. Only it turns out the magicians keep getting it wrong, failing to guess the correct answer. So they try again…and again…and again. Now, that might sound like a recipe for madness – and it certainly does come across as a touch cracked – but with each attempt the emphasis changes, until all sorts of weird ideas start to emerge.

Real Magic reminds me of the feeling you get when you repeat the same word over and over. At first it loses meaning, then you start to notice its component parts, before finally it starts to become a sort of therapeutic mantra that is beyond regular language.

Or, put another way, it’s rather like looking at a magic eye: what at first appears to be meaningless suddenly makes sense. Presented by Contact and HOME.

Contact and HOME present Forced Entertainment: Real Magic at HOME Manchester, Manchester 29 November — 1 December 2017 Tickets from £10 Book now

What's on at HOME Manchester

Where to go near Forced Entertainment: Real Magic at HOME

Manchester
Restaurant
Indian Tiffin Room, Manchester

Indian Tiffin Room is a restaurant specialising in Indian street food, with branches in Cheadle and Manchester. This is the information for the Manchester venue.

The Ritz Manchester live music venue
Manchester
Music venue
The Ritz

The Ritz was originally a dance hall, built in 1928, has hosted The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and The Smiths and is still going strong as a gig venue now.

Homeground
Manchester
Event venue
Homeground

Homeground is HOME’s brand new outdoor venue, providing an open-air space for theatre, food, film, music, comedy and more.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Burgess Cafe Bar
at IABF

Small but perfectly-formed café – which also serves as the in-house bookstore, stocking all manner of Burgess-related works, along with recordings of his music. It’s a welcoming space, with huge glass windows making for a bright, welcoming atmosphere.

Rain Bar pub in Manchester
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Rain Bar

This huge three-floor pub, formerly a Victorian warehouse, then an umbrella factory (hence the name), has one of the city centre’s largest beer gardens. The two-tier terrace overlooks the Rochdale canal and what used to be the back of the Hacienda, providing an unusual, historic view of the city.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Briton’s Protection

Standing on the corner of a junction opposite The Bridgewater Hall, The Briton’s Protection is Manchester’s oldest pub. It has occupied the same spot since 1795, going under the equally patriotic name The Ancient Britain.

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