From a twentieth marathon event to a fourteen event marathon; a feat of prestidigitation to a radical ritual for resistance… Autumn/Winter 2019 is a season of contrasts, controversy, and celebration. To keep in touch, sign-up for our Weekly Warning e-mail.
Brought to you by hÅb — with NIAMOS, STUN (Sustained Theatre Up North), Z-arts, The Lowry — we look forward to seeing you at some or all of AW19. If you want to check out what happened last season take a look at our SS19 archive.
What is Word of Warning + where did it come from?
Consistently refreshing and surprising, no season is ever the same…
Simply put, Word of Warning is a one-stop shop for the bonkers, the beautiful, and the bizarre of new live performance — an attempt to keep alive the best of greenroom’s 25-year legacy, and to introduce new people to the possibilities of seeing live work in Manchester + beyond…
…a strand of alternative and fledgling work that has only recently got a new lease of life via Word of Warning and Emergency.
Creative Tourist on Manchester theatre (November 2014)
We take live work very seriously — but we don’t take ourselves seriously at all. Over the past 7½ years we’ve shown funny, thought-provoking, and beautiful work by the likes of Amy Bell, Richard DeDomenici, Will Dickie, Katy Dye, Nic Green, Stacy Makishi, Kim Noble, Deborah Pearson, Darren Pritchard, Proto-type Theater, Proud & Loud Arts, amongst others. We’ve also created bonkers all ages live art (Haphazard), hosted Hunt & Darton’s pop-up art-café, unleashed bizarre behaviour upon Manchester’s city centre (Hazard), and created performance festivals in blocks of flats (Domestic).
Curated by the ever-impressive Word Of Warning…
The Guardian’s Lyn Gardner, on Domestic (November 2013)
Who’s it for? Anyone looking for a different night (or day) out.
We don’t want to put you off by talking labels — yes, there’ll be theatre, live art, dance, performance etc. — our aim is to be anything but elitist or po-faced. So if you like comedy, music, gaming, or just a friendly, stimulating evening — there’ll be something you might want to take a chance on.
What our audiences have said about the work
• Astonishing. Like nothing else. Transformative, immersive, moving.
• Brave, dark, humerous, intimate, intense.
• Heartwarming, funny + engaging.
• Strangely mesmeric. A unique experience.
• Very enjoyable — felt accessible and thus enjoyable to all.
• You programme wonderful, daring performances that I have never been disappointed by.
Who is Word of Warning?
My name’s Tamsin Drury and I run an organisation called hÅb, which was greenroom’s partner for over a decade. You might not know hÅb but you might know some of our events — like Emergency (Manchester’s free marathon of live work, now in its twentieth year) and Hazard (biennial sprees of random eccentricity in Manchester’s City Centre).
Nights such as Works Ahead dismantle the idea of the arts being a wholly elitist industry, and create an environment of collaboration and conversation. Long may they continue.
The State of The Arts, on Works Ahead (May 2018)
I’ve been around a while, a really long while… and in that time, I’ve been responsible for making the Arndale Tower flash, wrapping Cathedral Gardens in 7km of hazard tape, and encouraging a mass audience conga and a glitter-cannon Hallelujah chorus! On the less eccentric side, over the years hÅb has also worked with literally hundreds of young NW artists to help them create new pieces of theatre + dance.
Please send programming enquiries to me at info@habmcr.org
I’m joined in this lunacy by John Franklin-Johnston, greenroom’s long time programme co-ordinator; we’re grateful for the ongoing support of our occasional band of hÅbettes — the friendly faces greeting you and eliciting your feedback at many of our events.
What our audiences have said about us
• Always special, bringing the unexpected and intriguing, thank you.
• Bringing some of the most interesting performance work in the world to our city.
• Fabulous for seeing things different from the mainstream machine.
• Great organisation — a reason to move to Manchester.
• I don’t know what I would do with my spare time without you.
• Refreshing company that brings diverse shows to our door steps.
• WoW are great, supporting emerging work and bringing it to new audiences.
Warnings
If would like to know specific content warnings for the work presented please click here.