Manpower

Presented by The Lowry + Word of Warning

In Brief

A DIY project. A DJ set. A celebration of everyday maleness.

Set to the music of the forty years pre-Brexit, Manpower looks at the changing male roles that led to the cry ‘we want our country back’ and sets about reclaiming the little things: the right song, the right bolt for the job, the everyday pleasures of the working man… especially those that aren’t working now.

See their trailer + read their Exeunt Magazine article.

Venue + Booking Details

Date: Thursday 10 November 2016, 8pm
Venue: The Lowry (Aldridge Studio), Pier 8, Salford Quays, M50 3AZ
Tickets: £12/10 (booking fees may apply)
Box Office Tel: 0843 208 6000

Access Information

Age advisory: 14+ (parental/guardian discretion). With no interval, the show lasts approximately 1 hour. For specific age and access information please email info@habarts.org or call 0161 232 6086.

More

A man at work. A man playing. A man playing at being a man. A woman too.

Alister and Kat have been thinking about men and power. Aspirations and expectations. Sheds and tea. Mouth-watering barbecues. Vulnerability and sheer hard work.

Two microphones, two wooden boxes, two performers. They begin to share stories of childhood, of how they came to be the people they are. They share hopes and fears, successes and failures, role models and nemeses. She DJs while he builds. She dances while he builds. He cooks. They are together.

With traditional roles for men and expectations of masculinity in flux, continued privilege afforded to ‘the white male,’ and the current political climate in the UK, Manpower has a lot to talk about… A conversation. A tribute. A healthy dose of nostalgia. A navigation through culture and people and becoming ourselves.

Who are they?

Two Destination Language make contemporary performance that’s beautiful, arresting and accessible; sometimes it’s called theatre, sometimes live art, sometimes dance theatre — Word of Warning most recently presented their heartfelt Near Gone in 2014.

Led by artists Katherina Radeva and Alister Lownie, their work explores questions of identity, belonging and culture; as a Bulgarian and a Scot working together, they use their own histories and experiences to explore these ideas.

UK-based, they are currently resident Company at Salisbury Arts Centre and supported artists at The Point, Eastleigh. Near Gone won them a Total Theatre Award for Innovation, Experimentation & Playing With Form, and the Pulse Ipswich Suitcase Prize.

What people have said about them

Immensely powerful and life enhancing.
Audience member on Manpower
…great beauty, sensitivity and humour…
★★★★★ Broadway Baby on Near Gone
…a near-perfect show.
Dorothy Max Prior, Total Theatre Magazine on Near Gone

Manpower at The Lowry was a Guardian top theatre ticket;
previewed by About Manchester, the British Theatre Guide + QuietManDave;
reviewed by Exeunt Magazine, QuietManDave + The Reviews Hub.

Credits

Conceived, devised, performed + produced by Alister Lownie + Katherina Radeva | 2016 tour produced with Jo Mackie | Lighting design by Vince Field
Thanks to Richard Owen, Cheryl Pierce, Caroline Steele + Tanya Steinhauser.
An ICIA (Edge Arts) University of Bath commission with Salisbury Arts Centre. Development supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and by Kevin Spacey Foundation, The Point Eastleigh, New Wolsey Theatre, Bristol Old Vic Ferment + Battersea Arts Centre.
Image by Alex Brenner.

Websites

twodestinationlanguage.com | @2destlang | 2destlang on Facebook | Facebook event