Preview by Steve Cooke
The Den is back in Greater Manchester, and this year they’re in Rochdale – the Royal Exchange have announced The FestiDale, named and curated by the Rochdale Ambassadors and Champions.
Hosted by Kingsway Park High School from Thursday 8th August to Sunday 18th August 2024, there’ll be something for everyone in this vibrant, captivating programme in the Royal Exchange’s eco-friendly mobile theatre.
With a pay-what-you-can model, each production, workshop and activity is accessible and open to everyone who wants to go along.
The Rochdale Ambassadors and Champions, who have been working with the Royal Exchange’s Local Exchange programme since 2023, have programmed this festival full of exciting new voices and established names.
The festival aims to connect and provide space to people from all over Rochdale and beyond, creating radical moments of joy and showcasing local artists and opportunities.
One of the most exciting elements of this year’s programme is the headlining production Tales of the Dale, helmed by award-winning theatre and audio directors Nickie Miles-Wildin and Polly Thomas.
Curated with Shahid Iqbal Khan (Love Across The Ages, BBC Radio 4; 10 Nights, Bush Theatre), the team will be collecting hundreds of stories from far and wide across the borough of Rochdale, in community centres, hospices, libraries, sports centres, schools, clubs and other civic spaces.
The tapestry of stories will then be woven together into a live audio experience and performed in the Den over three days, by a company compiled of both professional actors and community members, celebrating the stories of the people of Rochdale and putting them centre stage.
These stories will be collected in person or gathered digitally by submission via the Royal Exchange website, via email or text. If you have a story to tell about Rochdale – its undiscovered gems, your favourite bits, what a day-in-the-life looks like or the places that mean the most to you – check out where and when you can meet the Story Collectors to share your stories in-person, or through the Royal Exchange website: https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/project/rochdale-story-exchange/.
Residents of Rochdale are invited to tell their Story Collectors their story in person on:
Wed 19 June, 2pm-5pm at One Riverside Library
Thurs 4 July, 10:30am-1pm at One Riverside Library
Joel Fildes.
Tales of the Dale also offers the opportunity for the people of Rochdale to perform, get involved in the creation and execution of the show – and they’d love to invite you to be part of this unique experience.
The Royal Exchange are looking for community members to work alongside professional actors to bring these stories to life – minimal rehearsal is required, where you will learn about stage craft and using a microphone, with the production performed script-in-hand.
This opportunity is open to absolutely anyone in Rochdale over the age of 14 with no performing experience necessary, and the performances would be 15th – 17th August with rehearsal sessions within the weeks before and casting sessions from mid-July 2024.
You can express your interest via a short sign-up form on the website, where you will find all the details and dates once confirmed: https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/project/rochdale-community-performers-call-out/.
Joel Fildes.
The Royal Exchange are also excited to be partnering with several organisations across the festival, without whose generous support this would not be possible – these include Rochdale Development Agency, Culture Coop, Kingsway Park High School and Touchstones (Your Trust), with Bridgewater Hall, Cartwheel Arts, M6 Theatre Company and Skylight Circus all contributing to the programme and its wraparound activity.
And there’s so much more to come, with the complete programme still to be announced – keep an eye on socials for more!
The Den is a key part of the Royal Exchange’s wide-reaching community programme Local Exchange, bringing incredible shared live experiences right to people’s doorsteps.
It aims to develop long-lasting relationships between artists and communities, celebrating local talent and establishing paths to the arts for Greater Manchester residents.
Local Exchange is generously supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Oglesby Charitable Trust. Full details can be found on the Royal Exchange website:
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