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The Long Goodbye: Livestream Edition

Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor

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The Long Goodbye (Livestream)

19 December 2020

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

From £5.00
The Long Goodbye - livestream
Riz Ahmed. Image courtesy of the artist.
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Musician, storyteller, actor and activist, Riz Ahmed will perform The Long Goodbye via a livestream this December.

The live stage show of The Long Goodbye, commissioned by MIF, was originally meant to premiere in March 2020 – but was postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now this one-off digital performance, which uses binaural sound, has been specially developed for audiences to experience from home.

A fierce blend of storytelling, music, archive footage and immersive sound.

Following on from his recent acclaimed album of the same name, The Long Goodbye takes “a close-up look at the breakup of a toxic relationship with the country you call home”. In a fierce blend of storytelling, music, archive footage and immersive sound, the piece explores Ahmed’s complicated relationship with the UK.

Performed by Ahmed and directed by Kirsty Housley, who co-directed Tao of Glass at MIF 2019, the digital piece also incorporates creative direction from Andrea Gelardin and innovative sound design by Gareth Fry.

The piece explores Ahmed’s complicated relationship with the UK.

Ahmed has starred in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Venom, Four Lions, Nightcrawler, and the final season of the hit HBO show Girls. He also took the spotlight as the first South Asian actor to win an acting Emmy for his lead role in HBO’s The Night Of.

As a musician, Ahmed started out as a rap battle champion on the London music scene. He then went on to write and perform as a solo artist and as part of rap group Swet Shop Boys. His provocative solo release, Post 9/11 Blues, was banned before a groundswell forced it onto the radio. His other incendiary releases, as part of Swet Shop Boys, include Cashmere and Mogambo, which have both toured to sold-out live shows.

The team at MIF are working to reschedule a new date in 2021 for the world premiere of the live stage show of The Long Goodbye. Until then, this online performance, although a different type of experience, offers an insight into the energy, emotion and themes we can expect from Ahmed’s work.

If you liked this – why not take a look at our top picks of online things to do in Manchester and the North.

Where to go near The Long Goodbye: Livestream Edition

Manchester
Restaurant
Maki & Ramen

Japanese sushi and ramen restaurant on High Street, Northern Quarter, founded by Teddy Lee. House-made noodles, eight-hour broths, plus sushi, donburi and vegan options.

Restaurant Orme
Manchester
Restaurant
Restaurant Örme

A hidden gem in the suburbs of Greater Manchester, serving high-level British small plates to a soundtrack of indie rock and roll.

The Abbey
Manchester
Restaurant
The Abbey

Historic Hulme pub with a very good live gig space, brought to you by the very capable team behind YES, Gorilla, Now Wave and Manchester Psych Fest.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
Pigeon Beer Wanderer

Pigeon Beer Wanderer brings wine-level ceremony to Manchester’s new “Beermuda Triangle”, courtesy of Joshua Lightfoot and his crack team of booze experts.

Image courtesy of Unitom.
Castlefield
Gallery
UNITOM Projects

The exhibition arm of Manchester indie bookshop UNITOM is a dedicated space for contemporary visual culture in the St John’s neighbourhood.

City Centre
Restaurant
Portfolio

Portfolio is a Champagne boutique on Manchester’s Bridge Street, offering a set menu of fine-dining small bites.

Manchester
Gallery
Gwafu Vegan
at Bridge 5 Mill

Cameroonian chef Ngwafu Tansie brings allotment-grown, plant-based cooking to Bridge 5 Mill’s solar-powered Ancoats venue, pairing bobolo with cabbage parcels and live vinyl.

1853 gallery 1
Manchester
Gallery
1853 Studios

1853 Studios and Gallery is a Creative Studios and community of creative professionals occupying the 3rd floors of Osborne Mill, Oldham.

Deansgate
Restaurant
Podium

Podium delivers high-end, seasonal dishes, largely geared around produce and ideas from the British Isles, but with a few deft twists and turns.

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