Preview by Steve Cooke
The Royal Exchange Theatre is dedicated to bringing incredible shared live experiences right to people’s doorsteps. Established in 2019, their pioneering LOCAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME has developed long-running creative partnerships across five areas of Greater Manchester. This wide-reaching community programme aims to develop long-lasting relationships between artists and communities, celebrating local talent and establishing paths to the arts for all residents.
This year the theatre is resident in Rochdale.
There’s a fantastic summer ahead, as the Royal Exchange announces the full programme for The FestiDale in eco-friendly mobile theatre The Den. Hosted at Kingsway Park High School from Thursday 8th August to Sunday 18th August 2024 and with a pay-what-you-can model, each production, workshop and activity is accessible and open to everyone who wants to come along.
Curated by the Royal Exchange Theatre’s Rochdale Ambassadors and Champions with days dedicated to families, performances featuring both professional and community performers and opportunities for the people of Rochdale to take centre stage, there’s something for everyone in this brilliant programme.
This year’s festival is generously supported by multi-disciplinary architecture studio Levitt Bernstein, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Oglesby Charitable Trust, with key festival partners Kingsway Park High School, Touchstones (Your Trust), Culture Co-op, Rochdale Development Agency and Rochdale Borough Council.
Festival highlights include...
EVENING CONVERSATIONS – written and performed by Sudha Bhuchar
After acclaimed performances across the UK, including at the Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre (London), EVENING CONVERSATIONS, Sudha Bhuchar’s reflection on life and the legacies we give our children, arrives at the Den. Delving into the complex topics of identity and difference through shared experiences, the production touches on generational divides and the way we re-evaluate our lives as we grow older. There will also be space around the performance for reflection and community conversation, and Sudha will also be hosting a writing workshop.
TALES OF THE DALE – four unique performances that celebrate Rochdale
This headlining Royal Exchange Theatre production puts the voices of Rochdale residents at the heart of this festival.
Four uniquely different plays are performed across three days:
WELCOME TO ROCHDALE - BIG NIGHT OUT...AND SEXY CHIPS!! - PRIDE IN ROCHDALE -
DO THE CRUCKLE
The production is developed by award-winning theatre and audio directors Nickie Miles-Wildin and Polly Thomas and curated with Recipient of the Hodgkiss Director Award Oliver Hurst and award-winning writer Shahid Iqbal Khan. Each show explores different themes and collectively features over 200 stories from far and wide across Rochdale that have been woven into live audio experiences with participatory fun and performed by both professional actors and community members.
COCONUT – led by theatre practitioner/facilitator Ria Phatarphekar-Karmarkar
This performance invites ten participants from the Global Majority to take part in the production, talking, connecting and reflecting together, over a meal, on the experience of being ‘othered’ in the UK. Audiences have the opportunity to listen and learn from those taking part and are invited to carry on the conversations afterwards.
CULTURE CO-OP TAKEOVER – ISLAMIC CULTURE TAKEOVER
A takeover of the Den on Thursday 8th August featuring workshops and an evening of uplifting poetry, song and percussion inspired by South Asian storytelling and rhythms, with live performances from the exceptionally talented Muslim artists Shahbaz Hussain, Elmi Ali and Aminah 786.
TALES OF TOUCHSTONES
Whilst Touchstones Rochdale may be closed, they will be taking over the Den on Thursday 15th August with an exciting programme of delights for young and old, including drop-ins throughout the day with lots of things to try out and get involved in (including a mini museum!) Performances include Scrumptious! presented by Beggars Belief, a magical show about friendship and ice cream.
SEND DAY
Rochdale company Skylight Circus are bringing their open access Circus For All, delighting participants with opportunities to master juggling, plate-spinning, diabolo and more. The Bridgewater Hall are running their usual Be Hear Now (9th August) participatory music and movement session from the Den, with Rochdale group PossAbilities Day Centre performing as part of the session.
For families...
FAMILY FUN DAY FOR UNDER 10s
Children (and their respective adults) are invited to take part in craft activities, games and puppet making, where the sky’s the limit to adventure. With free food and face painting too, everyone’s invited to turn up to this interactive and exciting day whenever suits them best. The day also features performances of Anansi and the Lost Sun from Swallow’s Wings Puppetry along with a puppetry workshop, and a Family Story Making Workshop from Rochdale’s M6 Theatre Company.
FAMILY PRIDE DAY – with Rochdale in Rainbows, Pride Stages Bursary (LGBT+ Foundation), Big Imaginations. Audiences of all ages are invited to Family Catwalk Extravaganza by Ghetto Fabulous and performances from Bennettiscoming and Violet Blonde supported by Pride Stages Bursaries, all presented with Touchstones. The day also includes taster sessions for the Royal Exchange’s Collective, open to young people aged 14-25, and Culture Co-op bring their iconic Queer Publishing including queer zine creating, tote bag printing and more! The last evening of the festival is concluded with a great big Dance Party in the Den with family friendly go-go dancers and a DJ from
Culture Co-op, giving The FestiDale the send-off it deserves as we celebrate two brilliant weeks of performances and workshops.
Further performances and workshops from Rochdale based artists across The FestiDale are on the website, including a Writing Inspired by Place workshop from Chris Hoyle, a Creative Writing workshop with Cartwheel Arts, Fractured but Fearless work-in-progress from Soul Sisters: Empowering People in partnership with Odd Arts and Laughter Workshop with Awakening Minds, with music from the 70s inspired Katie and the Bad Sign, Shenanigans and PoolEra.
The bespoke Front of House training programme also returns as in previous years, with participants supporting The Den as Visitor Experience Volunteers. Focusing on key elements of customer service, the course is designed to help participants build confidence, learn new skills and give them practical experience. This year, they are partnering with the New Pioneers Group – Men's Lab in Rochdale to deliver the programme. The Men's group is aimed at working-age adults who are either working
part-time already or looking for work.
Event Ready is a brand new 15-day course, in collaboration with Factory Academy, designed to give participants an insight into the performance events industry and an opportunity to work at The FestiDale in Event Delivery. Equipping them with essential skills, knowledge and hands-on experience through a comprehensive curriculum, this opportunity is open to Rochdale residents aged 19+.
There’s still chance to get involved in the performances too – they are looking for community members to work alongside professional actors to bring Tales of the Dale to life. This opportunity is open to absolutely anyone in Rochdale over the age of 14 with no performing experience necessary.
You can express your interest via a short sign-up form on the website, with details here:
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