Part of The Flare Weekender 2014, presented by Flare + Word of Warning

####Venue + Booking Details
Date: Saturday 14 June 2014, 1pm
Venue: Z-arts, 335 Stretford Road, Manchester, M15 5ZA
Tickets: £5/3 Saturday 1pm; £16/10 Weekender Pass
Box Office Tel: 0161 232 6089

####Order of Appearance (subject to change)
Drunken Chorus (UK) ¦ Just Like Larry Walters
In 1982, Larry Walters tied 45 helium balloons to his garden chair, and flew up into the sky. We want you to imagine that. We want you to close your eyes and hold on tight, as you drift up… over the city… over deserts… over jungles… over mountains…

Through tales of human endeavour, dance routines, and songs from The Greatest Ever Party Album, Drunken Chorus try to piece together something magical; only to find themselves surrounded by half-inflated party balloons, scraps of rubber and burst bubbles. An early version was seen at Z-arts during Emergency 2013.

Drunken Chorus are a London-based performance company, co-directed by Chris Williams and Sheena Holliday, creating challenging yet accessible work. Their shows are often messy and complicated — inspired by, amongst other things, stand-up comedy, horror movies and human endeavour. They also support early career artists through the DRUNKEN NIGHTS programme, as well as working with community groups.

Creative Consultant: Cathy Naden ¦ Composer: John Avery ¦ Choreography: Lydia Cottrell ¦ Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England ¦ Developed at Battersea Arts Centre + Cambridge Junction, with support from Hatch Nottingham.

www.drunkenchorus.co.uk ¦ @DrunkenChorus

Leentje Van de Cruys (Belgium/UK) ¦ Kitsch’n Sync (ltd capacity)
The latest in a series of solo domestic performances created by Leentje Van de Cruys, Kitsch ’n Sync was commissioned by hÅb for Domestic, and takes place on a ¼ ton of potatoes in a dilapidated kitchen. It’s a heartfelt and funny exploration of the reality of being a housewife: killing time in a kitchen with only the latest domestic appliances for company. It’s about the glamour of wearing killer heels and yellow rubber gloves.

Belgian actress and theatre-maker Leentje Van de Cruys has been making quirky solo performances about domesticity and women’s identity for the last 10 years, recent shows include Going to the Chapel, Feedback, HORSE, The Best Party Ever and Knitting to Worry About. She regulalry performs and tours with contemporary theatre companies including Quarantine, Reckless Sleepers, Plane Performance and Proto-type Theater, and is the lead actress/vocalist in In May, a music theatre piece written by Frank Alva Buecheler + composed by Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy).

Conceived + performed by Leentje Van de Cruys, based on a text by Esther Gerritsen ¦ Sound sculpture: Paul J Rogers ¦ Lighting design: Tamsin Drury ¦ Directorial consultant: Peader Kirk ¦ Dramaturg: Matt Fenton ¦ Commissioned by hÅb ¦ Supported by The Future

@Leentjevdc

Anna Fenemore (UK) ¦ Biography, Autobiography and Lies (workshop)
An interrogation of biography, autobiography, ‘truth’, ‘authenticity’, fictionalisation and lying as solo performance-making strategies; Fenemore’s workshop introduces making strategies that exploit the tendency for collaborative biographical and/or fictional performance material to be (more often than not) read as autobiographical ‘truth’ by audiences confronted with a solo performer.

Dr Anna Fenemore is director of Pigeon Theatre, and a lecturer in Physical Performance at the University of Leeds.

pigeontheatre.com ¦ @PigeonTheatre

The Artist’s Forum, chaired by Michael Pinchbeck (UK)