The Ballad of Shirley Collins at Manchester Folk Festival, HOME

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

The Ballad of Shirley Collins at HOME Manchester, Manchester 21 October 2017 Tickets from £7 — Book now

Fresh from a premiere at London Film Festival, The Ballad of Shirley Collins arrives in the North for an advance screening as part of this year’s Manchester Folk Festival.

The documentary catches up with Shirley Collins, a folk singer widely regarded as the 20th century’s most important singer of English traditional song, more than three decades after she lost her voice under mysterious circumstances. Now back behind the mic, the film follows Collins’ efforts to rediscover her voice, whilst at the same time using the audio-archive she created alongside her then-lover (and pre-eminent ethnomusicologist) Alan Lomax, to recount their seminal 1959 road-trip around the American Deep South. A moving work, The Ballad of Shirley Collins also features cameos from comedian Stewart Lee and David Tibet of Current 93 as it explores its themes of talent, heritage, love and loss.

Producer Paul Williams and directors Rob Curry and Tim Plester will be present for a Q&A following this special preview screening at HOME.

The Ballad of Shirley Collins at HOME Manchester, Manchester 21 October 2017 Tickets from £7 Book now

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Where to go near The Ballad of Shirley Collins at Manchester Folk Festival, 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.

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Music venue
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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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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