PUSH Festival 2018 at HOME

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

Book now

PUSH Festival 2018

HOME Manchester, Manchester
12-27 January 2018

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

Offstage Theatre & Most Wanted The Political History of Smack and Crack
Book now

There’s absolutely no reason to feel at a loose end in January – theatre in Manchester is positively booming due to PUSH Festival, an annual celebration of the North West’s best-emerging theatre makers and creatives.

Showcasing all of the best shows from the previous year, PUSH Festival gives you the opportunity to revisit your favourite performances again. It also gives you the chance to catch the ones that got away the first time. We’re also quite excited that this year sees the premiere of four brand new theatre pieces, specially commissioned by HOME for the festival.

First up is True Stories – fusing hip-hop, storytelling and instrumentation to present the unique stories of five different artists who have made Manchester their home. Each of the stories, hilarious, unsettling or unbelievable are completely true. Promising to be a captivating performance, True Stories aims to bring people together from different backgrounds who have made a home in Manchester.

Meraki Collective’s Only Speak When Spoken To uses the body as a storytelling device in a fascinating and lively dance piece exploring the funny side of social etiquette and polite behaviour. In contrast, Manchester’s brightest young talent present See Me After – an explosion of dance, sound and spoken word – seeks to explore the frailty of the human condition, our need to interact and where we end up.

Manchester favourites Monkeywood Theatre Company try to investigate what being Mancunian means in their new production, The Manchester Project. The award-winning company have commissioned eighteen new creatives to write eighteen short plays in a bid to examine what it means to be part of the city. In addition to the main performance, one of the tiny plays will be performed before every Theatre 2 show during the festival.

There’s also the opportunity to experience the sharing of work-in-progress performances by local theatre-makers and take part in workshops with industry professionals. We get ridiculously excited about PUSH every year. You might be having a dry January but you can certainly satisfy your creative thirst at HOME.

 

What's on at HOME Manchester

Freaky Friday at HOME
FamiliesManchester
Freaky Friday at HOME

HOME’s Christmas show Freaky Friday makes its UK stage premiere. A funny, heartfelt Disney musical offering a body-swappingly brilliant alternative to panto.

From £27.70

Where to go near PUSH Festival 2018 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

Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
Castlefield
Gallery
Castlefield Gallery

The influential Castlefield Gallery sits at the edge of Manchester’s exciting Castlefield district, an ideal home for thought-provoking contemporary art.

What's on: Theatre

Black Power Desk at Lowry
TheatreMediaCityUK
Black Power Desk at Lowry

Following a sell-out premiere at Brixton House, this bold new musical brings the hidden history of Britain’s Black Power movement to Salford.

From £16.00
Myra's Story at Lowry
TheatreSalford
Myra’s Story at Lowry

Direct from London’s West End, a critically acclaimed play shining a light on homelessness, addiction and resilience through one woman’s unforgettable story.  

From £10.00

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Theatre this month bursts with contrasts - from bold new writing and Black History Month highlights to contemporary arts and reimagined classics.

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.

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.

Cinema in the North

A host of Halloween horrors, experimental shorts, plus pioneering black British cinema make our October Cinema Guide.

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...