The Manchester International Festival is a biennial international

arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide range of art forms including music, dance, film, fine art, literature, poetry and isn't solely focused on visual arts. Arts festivals may feature a mixed program that include music, lite ...

, with a specific focus on original new work, held in the English city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and run by

Factory International Factory International is a cultural space currently being built in Manchester, UK, which is to be the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival. It is designed by the international practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture ( ...

. The festival is a biennial event, first taking place in June–July 2007, and subsequently recurring in the summers of 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021. MIF23 will take place in summer 2023. The organisation is based in Blackfriars House, adjacent to

Blackfriars Bridge Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is in the City of London near the Inns of Court and Temple Ch ...

but is due to move to a new £110 million new home,

, in 2023.

Pre-festival commissions

The Festival was promoted and initiated with three pre-festival commissions. The first of these took place in November 2005, when

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, ...

performed live at the

Manchester Opera House The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring theatre that plays host to touring musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed building. The Opera House is one of the mai ...

. Recordings of these performances were later released as the ''

Demon Days Live Demon Days Live was a limited concert tour performed by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, in support of their second studio album ''Demon Days''. Demon Days Live consisted of two residencies, with five shows played at the Man ...

'' DVD. The second was ''The Schools Festival Song'', a new piece by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

and

Nicholas Royle Nicholas Royle (born 20 March 1963 in Manchester) is an English novelist, editor, publisher, literary reviewer and creative writing lecturer. Literary career Author Royle has written seven novels: ''Counterparts'', ''Saxophone Dreams'', ''The Mat ...

sung by an 8,000-strong schools' choir, organised by Young Voices, which took place on 4 December 2006. The third was an art installation, in conjunction with the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

, by

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

-winning artist

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

, as a response to the 2003 Iraq war and as a tribute to British service personnel killed in that conflict. It was exhibited in the Great Hall of

Manchester Central Library Manchester Central Library is the headquarters of the city's library and information service in Manchester, England. Facing St Peter's Square, it was designed by E. Vincent Harris and constructed between 1930 and 1934. The form of the building ...

from 28 February to 15 July 2007.

MIF 07

The first edition of the Festival ran from 28 June – 15 July 2007. The Festival's showpiece production was '' Monkey: Journey To The West'', a re-working of the ancient

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

legend ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...

'' by

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

and

Jamie Hewlett Jamie Christopher Hewlett (born 3 April 1968) is an English comic book creator, illustrator, music video director, and songwriter. He is the co-creator of the comic book ''Tank Girl'' with Alan Martin and co-creator of the virtual band Gorilla ...

, collaborating on their first major project since Gorillaz. Albarn wrote the score while Hewlett designed the set and costumes. Adapted and directed by Chen Shi-Zheng, whose credits range from classical

Chinese opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

to the

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

movie ''

Dark Matter Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not ab ...

'', the show also featured 45 Chinese

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

s, Shaolin monks and Chinese vocalists. The production was designed and created by

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

in co-operation with the Manchester International Festival and the

Berlin State Opera The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

, and performed at the Palace Theatre. As well as ''Monkey'', the Festival showcased two other events. The first was '' Il Tempo del Postino'', a

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

show curated by

Hans Ulrich Obrist Hans Ulrich Obrist (born 1968) is a Swiss art curator, critic, and historian of art. He is artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, London. Obrist is the author of ''The Interview Project'', an extensive ongoing project of interviews. He is ...

and

Philippe Parreno Philippe Parreno (born 1964 in Oran, Algeria) is a contemporary French artist who lives and works in Paris. His works include films, Installation art, installations, performances, drawings, and text. Parreno focuses on expanding ideas of time ...

and produced in conjunction with the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, performed at the

. The other was a new stage adaptation of '' The Pianist'', combining the original words of

Władysław Szpilman Władysław Szpilman (; 5 December 1911 – 6 July 2000) was a Polish pianist and classical composer of Jewish descent. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the 2002 Roman Polanski film '' The Pianist'', which was based on Szpilman ...

spoken by actor Peter Guinness, with the music of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

performed by leading pianist Mikhail Rudy, and directed by Neil Bartlett at the

Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, England, traces the development of science, technology and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields. The museum is part of the Science Museum Group, a non-departmental pub ...

. Finance for MIF 07 The 2007 festival made a £0.2m loss (£8.8m worth of funding minus £9.0m expenditure), which was made up by the council's contingency and made up in the 2009 festival.Pdf.
/ref> The economic impact to the region was £28.8m.

MIF 09

The 2009 Manchester International Festival took place between 2–19 July 2009; in October 2008, a press release announced the first three commissions for 2009.Pdf.
/ref> These were''Prima Donna'',

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

's debut opera, ''Everybody Loves a Winner'', a "new theatrical experience" by director Neil Bartlett, and a "unique environment within

Manchester Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

" for solo piano, violin and cello

JS Bach JS or js may refer to: Computing * JavaScript, a high-level, just-in-time compiled, object-oriented programming language * JScript, Microsoft's dialect of the ECMAScript standard used in Internet Explorer Businesses and organizations * Jonge Soc ...

works called the JS Bach Chamber Music Hall, created by

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...

Architects. The entire festival programme featuring more than 20 commissions was announced in March 2009. It included a

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

and

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

commission performed at the

Manchester Velodrome Manchester Velodrome is an indoor Olympic-standard cycle-racing track in Manchester, England, which opened in 1994. Part of the National Cycling Centre, the facility has been home to British Cycling since 1994, coinciding with the nations rise t ...

, performance art by

Marina Abramović Marina Abramović ( sr-Cyrl, Марина Абрамовић, ; born November 30, 1946) is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist. Her work explores body art, endurance art, feminist art, the relationship between the performer and audienc ...

at the

Whitworth Art Gallery The Whitworth is an art gallery in Manchester, England, containing about 55,000 items in its collection. The gallery is located in Whitworth Park and is part of the University of Manchester. In 2015, the Whitworth reopened after it was transfo ...

, a procession along

Deansgate Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile ...

organised by

Jeremy Deller Jeremy Deller (born 30 March 1966) is an English people, English conceptual, video and installation artist. Much of Deller's work is Collaboration, collaborative; it has a strong political aspect, in the subjects dealt with and also the Idealiz ...

and a collaboration between

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

and

The Hallé The Hallé is an English symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It supports a choir, youth choir, youth training choir, children's choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasiona ...

orchestra. Manchester alternative rock band Epiphany are also appearing as part of the procession. The festival also featured '' It Felt Like A Kiss'', a multimedia production created by documentary-maker

Adam Curtis Adam Curtis (born 26 May 1955) is an English documentary filmmaker. Curtis began his career as a conventional documentary producer for the BBC throughout the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The release of ''Pandora's Box (British TV series), ...

and

Punchdrunk Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...

theatre company. Other artists included

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

and

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

Antony and the Johnsons Antony and the Johnsons is an American music group presenting the work of Anohni and her collaborators. Career British experimental musician David Tibet of Current 93 heard a demo and offered to release Anohni's music through his Durtro label ...

with the

Manchester Camerata The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances. The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridg ...

Carlos Acosta Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada (born 2 June 1973) is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of ...

and

The Durutti Column The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England.Strong, Martin C. (1999) "The Great Alternative & Indie Discography", Canongate, The band is a project of guitarist and occasional pianist Vini Reilly who ...

, performing a tribute to the late

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...

. Finance for MIF 09 The 2009 festival made a £0.2m profit (£9.5m worth of funding minus £9.3m expenditure), which made up the £0.2m deficit incurred by the 2007 festival. The economic impact to the region was £35.9m.

MIF 11

The 2011 edition of the Festival ran from 30 June to 17 July 2011 and staged 27 original projects, featuring artists and performers such as

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

Victoria Wood Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, lyricist, singer, composer, pianist, screenwriter, producer and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over se ...

, WU LYF, D/R/U/G/S and Air Cav, along with the Punchdrunk's ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' production '' The Crash of the Elysium''. Manchester International Festival's director

Alex Poots Alexander Moinet Poots (born 1967), is the founding chief executive and artistic director of The Shed in New York City. He was formerly the founding chief executive and artistic director of the Manchester International Festival (2005-2015) and ...

stated that "the most important thing for us to do is make an artistically and culturally important festival that is of the highest quality". The abolition of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, which contributed £900,000 to the 2009 festival, resulted in a loss of funding for 2011's Manchester International Festival. Björk began the MIF11, with the live debut of her new album '' Biophilia'', with Dave Simpson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stating that she "provided a stunning visual display", adding that "the Icelandic singer made a typically eye-popping entrance on huge platform shoes and sporting blue and white facepaint".

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...

also performed at the festival, earning favourable reviews.

debuted his opera '' Doctor Dee'', based on the life of Elizabethan scientist and philosopher

John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, teacher, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divinatio ...

, at the Palace Theatre. Directed by Rufus Norris, the production was described as "by no means an opera in the conventional sense" by ''The Guardian''s Alfred Hickling, who described ''Dr Dee'' as "an erudite affair", giving it four stars. Finance for MIF 11 The 2011 festival made a £0.1m profit (£11.3m worth of funding minus £11.2m expenditure). The economic impact to the region was £37.6m.

MIF 13

The Old Woman at the Palace Theatre, Manchester

The festival returned in 2013 and ran from 4 to 21 July attracting an estimated quarter of a million attendees, generating £40 million for the city of Manchester. The 18-day Festival included over 300 performances of more than 30 new commissions and special events which included collaborations with artists such as

Maxine Peake Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Mart ...

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album ''Blue Lines'' was release ...

and

Tino Sehgal Tino is an Italian name or nickname, often a diminutive of the names Agostino, Costantino, Martino, Antonino, Valentino, Giustino, Sabatino, Faustino, and other names ending in -tino. Tino may refer to: People Given name * Tino Ausenda (1 ...

Rob Ashford Rob Ashford (born November 19, 1959) is an American stage director and choreographer. He is a Tony Award, Olivier Award, Emmy Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner. Early life and education Born in Orlando, Florida and ...

and

directed a new adaptation of ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' at the Church of St Peter in Ancoats. Branagh starred as Macbeth alongside

Alex Kingston Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston (born 11 March 1963) is an English actress. Active from the early 1980s, Kingston became noted for her television work in both Britain and the US in the 1990s, including her regular role as Dr. Elizabeth Corday in ...

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy '' Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

in a performance which ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

''s Dominic Cavendish described as "a thrilling and cinematically fluid production" in his five star review. The production was co-commissioned with New York's

Park Avenue Armory __NOTOC__ The Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, generally known as Park Avenue Armory, is a nonprofit cultural institution within the historic Seventh Regiment Armory building located at 643 Park Avenue on New York City's Upper East Side. The inst ...

where it played to rave reviews in May and June 2014. During the shows run at MIF13, ''Macbeth'' was broadcast to cinemas around the world by

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London, which broadcasts live via satellite, performances of their productions (and from other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I grew ...

. One of the main events was ''Massive Attack vs Adam Curtis'', a collaborative performance from

Robert Del Naja Robert Del Naja (; born 21 January 1965), also known as 3D, is a British artist, musician, singer and songwriter. He emerged as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective the Wild Bunch, and later as a founding member and sole cons ...

and Bafta-winning filmmaker

which took place in the Mayfield Depot. Robert Wilson directed

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

and

Willem Dafoe Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...

in a surrealist adaptation of

Daniil Kharms Daniil Ivanovich Kharms (russian: Дании́л Ива́нович Хармс; – 2 February 1942) was an early Soviet-era Russian avant-gardist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. Early years Kharms was born as Daniil Yuvachev ...

' short story ''The Old Woman'' at the Palace Theatre. MIF13 introduced a members scheme which granted people access to priority booking for the most highly anticipated events. Also new was a £12 ticket scheme, allowing

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

residents on lower incomes access to more events after festival organisers acknowledged some tickets were out of the reach of local residents on lower wages. Manchester City Council provided £2 million in funding and the festival boosted the local economy by £38 million. Finance for MIF 13 The 2013 festival broke even (£11.9m worth of funding minus £11.9m expenditure). The economic impact to the region was £38m.

MIF 15

Manchester International Festival returned in 2015 and ran from 2 to 19 July.Manchester International Festival site
/ref> On 19 November 2014 Manchester International Festival announced the first three new commissions for MIF15. ''Tree of Codes'' is a new contemporary ballet directed and choreographed by

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...

with music composed by Jamie xx and visual concept by

Olafur Eliasson Olafur Eliasson ( is, Ólafur Elíasson; born 5 February 1967) is an Icelandic–Danish artist known for sculptured and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer's ...

. The performance, took place 2–10 July 2015 at

, was inspired by the book '' Tree of Codes'' by

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels ''Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), ''Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), ''Here I Am (novel), Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fict ...

and featured soloists and dancers from The Paris Opera Ballet. ''The Tale of

Mr Tumble ''Something Special'' is a British children's television programme presented by Justin Fletcher. It was created and co-directed by Allan Johnston. It is broadcast by the BBC, debuting on 1 September 2003. It is designed to introduce children to ...

'' a new theatre show for young children and families;

Justin Fletcher Justin Fletcher (born 15 June 1970) is an English actor, comedian, singer and television presenter on the BBC pre-school television channel CBeebies. Speaking and performing in various, often self-created, roles, he specialises in slapstick c ...

invited audiences to step inside the colourful world of one of the most cherished TV characters, the show took place at Manchester Opera House from the 11–19 July. Manchester International Festival announced their full line-up in Spring 2015. On 21 January 2015, it was announced that the next MIF15 commission would be '' Wonder.land'', a new musical with music by

, book and lyrics by

Moira Buffini Moira Buffini (born 29 May 1965) is an English dramatist, director, and actor. Early life Buffini was born in Cheshire to Irish parents, and attended St Mary's College at Rhos-on-Sea in Wales as a day girl. She studied English and Drama at Gold ...

and that it would be directed by

Rufus Norris Rufus Norris (born 16 January 1965) is a British theatre and film director, who is currently the Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive of the National Theatre. Life and career Norris grew up in Africa and Malaysia, attended North Bromsgr ...

. ''Wonder.land'' is inspired by ''

Alice In Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

and is a co-production with The National Theatre. It was performed at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from the 29th of June to 12 of July 2015. ''Wonder.land'' will tour to the National Theatre opening on Monday 23 November 2015 and running into 2016. The 2015 festival had initially been expected to attract 250,000 visitors, however the end figure was 259,648. point 3.5 and appendix 1
Pdf.
/ref> Finance for MIF 15 The 2015 festival broke even (£12m worth of funding minus £12m expenditure). The economic impact to the region was £38.8m. In November 2014 it was announced that Alex Poots, Manchester International Festival's founding director, would be stepping down from his role after MIF 15. Poots left to take on the role of chief executive of the Culture Shed in New York. In May 2015 it was announced that Poots would be succeeded in 2015 by John McGrath, the Artistic Director of

National Theatre Wales National Theatre Wales (NTW) is a theatre company known for its large-scale site-specific productions and its grassroots work with diverse Welsh communities. It is the English-language national theatre of Wales, and refers to Theatr Genedlaeth ...

. ;2016 The festival announced a co-production of ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'' between themselves

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

and Sadler's Wells Theatre to be directed by Akram Khan and performed at the Palace Theatre, Manchester in September. The production will then go on tour to

Bristol Hippodrome The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as re ...

, the

Mayflower Theatre Mayflower Theatre (formerly the Gaumont Theatre and originally The Empire Theatre) is a Grade II listed theatre in the city centre of Southampton, England, with a capacity of 2,300. It features West End theatre shows when they tour the United Ki ...

, Southampton and Sadler's Wells Theatre, London later in the year.

MIF 17

The 2017 Manchester International Festival took place from 29 June to 16 July. The first four commissions were announced in autumn 2016, together with a creative community programme called "My Festival". The festival opened with a parade of disparate individuals from Manchester on a runway in Piccadilly Gardens, "What Is the City but the People?", and closed with a celebration of the installation of a statue of

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' HOME A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

. Major productions included ''Fatherland'', created by

Frantic Assembly Frantic Assembly is a theatre production company. They have worked in over 40 countries and are widely studied as practitioners for A-Levels in the UK. Background Frantic Assembly was formed by three students of Swansea University in 1994. No ...

's Scott Graham, musician

Karl Hyde Karl Hyde (born 10 May 1957) is an English musician and artist. He is a founding member of British electronic group Underworld. Hyde has also released a solo album, made albums with Brian Eno and Matthew Herbert, and contributed towards the sco ...

and playwright

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is an English playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is now an Artistic ...

;

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

' ''Cotton Panic!'', telling the story of the

Cotton Famine The Lancashire Cotton Famine, also known as the Cotton Famine or the Cotton Panic (1861–65), was a depression in the textile industry of North West England, brought about by overproduction in a time of contracting world markets. It coincided wi ...

; and New Order performing with a 12-piece synthesiser ensemble from the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

, a show entitled ''Σ(No,12k,Lg,17Mif)'' produced in collaboration with artist

Liam Gillick Liam Gillick (born 1964, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) is a British artist who lives and works in New York City.

. In all, 380 performances of 32 commissions and events took place over 18 days, with a record 300,000 visitor count.

MIF 19

The 2019 Manchester International Festival took place from 4 to 21 July. The opening event was a collaborative bell-ringing event created by

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. Other productions announced in late 2018 include ''Tree'', a musical work about South Africa, by

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

and

Kwame Kwei-Armah Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1999 unti ...

, and ''DYSTOPIA987'',

Skepta Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...

's vision of the future.

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

will have a major presence at the festival, exhibiting his painting and sculpture, showing a series of his films and presenting three nights of shows by 'Lynch-inspired musicians', all at HOME.

, a regular at MIF, stars in a show about

Nico Naftiran Intertrade Company Société à responsabilité limitée#In Switzerland, limited (NICO) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC bu ...

, ''The Nico Project''. A custom-built structure at the

Science and Industry Museum The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, England, traces the development of science, technology and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields. The museum is part of the Science Museum Group, a non-departmental pub ...

will house ''Atmospheric Memory'', a performance piece portraying speech in the air. Other artists appearing at or creating works for the festival include Chim-Pom,

Abida Parveen Abida Parveen ( Urdu, sd, ; born 20 February 1954) is a Pakistani singer, composer and musician of Sufi music. She is also a painter and entrepreneur. Parveen is one of the highest paid singers in Pakistan. Her singing and music has earned ...

Ivo van Hove Ivo van Hove (born 28 October 1958) is a Belgian theatre director known as the artistic director of Toneelgroep Amsterdam in the Netherlands and for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. On Broadway, he has directed re ...

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

Tania Bruguera Tania Bruguera (born 1968 in Havana, Cuba) is an artist and activist who focuses on installation and performance art. She lives and works between New York City and Havana, and has participated in numerous international exhibitions. Her work is i ...

and

Controversy surrounding authorship of ''Tree''

On 2 July 2019,

published a story describing how Tori Allen-Martin and

Sarah Henley Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pi ...

had been removed from their work on ''Tree'' under what they said were questionable circumstances. The two writers had worked on the project for four years. In 2015, Elba had asked them to develop his idea for a musical based on his album ''Idris Elba Presents mi Mandela'', on which Allen-Martin had also collaborated. When Kwei-Armah joined the project in May 2018, he rewrote part of their material. ''Tree'' was later billed as "created by Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah". Allen-Martin and Henley described that their creative input had included research, scriptwriting as well as the play's title, and that they were threatened with legal action if they went public with the story. MIF issued a statement to counter their description of events, describing ''Tree'' as a new work based on an original script by Kwei-Armah that was entirely his creation.

Factory International

Factory International is a £110 million theatre and arts venue to be built on the former site of

Granada Studios Old Granada Studios (known simply as Granada Studios and previously known as The Manchester Studios) is a television studio complex and events venue on Quay Street in Manchester with the facility to broadcast live and recorded television programm ...

, in the

St John's Quarter St John's is a proposed £1 bn development of a 6 hectare plot within central Manchester, England. The site is being developed by Manchester Quays Ltd (MQL), a partnership between Manchester City Council and Allied London. Development The dev ...

of Manchester being developed by Manchester Quays Ltd (MQL), a development partnership between

Allied London Allied London is a property development and investment company that develops landmark projects ranging from re-use to regeneration developments across retail, commercial, office, residential, restaurant, and leisure sectors. The company also offe ...

and

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

, and is to be the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival. Its name comes from

Factory Records Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, the Duru ...

, the independent record label founded by the late

. The venue, designed by

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a re ...

from the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), is due to open in 2023. Additional board members were added in 2017 to strengthen the skill set taking the project forward. During the Manchester International Festival (MIF) in 2021, Factory International was used as a venue for 'Arcadia' an art installation, design by

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten and Henrik Ibsen. Early life Warner was born in Oxfordshire, England, t ...

, even though the construction works were not yet complete. The exhibition included recorded contributions from

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He is known for his appearances in film, television and theatre, and work on radio, on audiobooks and as a narrator. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Elizabe ...

, RoxXxan,

, Brian Cox, Lioness,

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Aw ...

and many others.

Opening Programme

In September 2023 Factory International announced their opening programme. It includes Free Your Mind, an immersive Matrix films-themed dance, music and visual effects experience directed by

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...

, You Me and the Balloons, the world's biggest ever show by

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, and is also active in painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attribute ...

, and The Welcome, a series of special events and performances curated by the people of Greater Manchester.

References

Notes

: The original timeline was as follows: :* May 2016 – planning application submission :* January 2017 to December 2018 – construction :* January 2019 to June 2019 – commissioning of facilities and test events :* July 2019 – opening ceremony ;Reference to Note 1 * point 5.0
Pdf.

External links

Manchester International Festival official website
– including links to press reviews * {{Twitter
Greater Manchester Fringe Festival
– runs annually in July 2007 music festivals 2007 establishments in England Arts festivals in England Art biennials British biennial events Culture in Manchester Festivals in Greater Manchester Music festivals established in 2007 2007 in British music