MIF15 - The Skriker and Wonder.land

Every other year our July is marked by Manchester International (arts) Festival -

At MIF11 we were immersed in the world of Doctor Who - 

chased by a weeping angel and finding the key to the TARDIS during the wonderful

CRASH OF THE ELYSIUM by Punchdrunk

{there was an awful lot of running!}

At MIF13 I wept at the beauty of Mikhail Baryshnikov's movement in THE OLD WOMAN

We were mesmerised by Maxine Peake's performance of THE MASQUE OF ANARCHY in a candle lit Albert Hall

And of course we were just blown away by Kenneth Brannagh and Alex Kingston in MACBETH

{and to top it all I "met" the god like Tom Hiddleston!}

And so to MIF15 - 

Two days - two very different shows.

Saturday night saw us meet up with Kathie to experience the

 powerful and disturbing Skriker-

Maxine Peake yet again - a stunning lead performance - 

but the set and soundscape and ensemble were all breathtaking -

Megan kept muttering about verfrendungseffekt and Brecht -

and i will never think of faeries the same way again!

Don't be fooled by the smiles in the photo - we were still in a state of shock!

For a complete change of pace on the Sunday -

Megs, Ben and I had a sunny afternoon in the city -

and saw the new Damon Albarn musical wonder.land

The reviews had been mixed - 

but we really enjoyed the mix of traditional musical and multimedia -

with a a clear message for teenagers and virtual and real worlds.

Well worth a watch when it transfers to the National in the autumn!