Spring 2020

From filling the gap to taking the biscuit, soft flesh to hard lessons, via a canon of reverence + representation… Spring 2020 features artists Jo Bannon, Tania Camara, Harry Clayton-Wright, Will Dickie, Jamal Gerald, Ross McCaffrey, plus a Thursday Late for the curious.

Brought to you by hÅb with Contact, NIAMOS, Royal Exchange Theatre, STUN + The Lowry — please see our News page for updates made in light of the UK Gov’s measures.

Keep in touch by signing-up for our Weekly Warning e-mail; if you came to an event please help us by taking a few minutes to fill out our post-show audience survey; and check out what happened last season in our Autumn/Winter 2019 archive.

What is Word of Warning + where did it come from?

If you haven’t attended one of these performance evenings yet, WTF are you doing? Go and see the stimulating new work that’s out there!
 — Number 9 Reviews on WTF Wednesdays (November 2019)

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…

Consistently refreshing and surprising, no season is ever the same…
 — 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 8 years we’ve shown funny, thought-provoking, and beautiful work by the likes of Ron Athey, Amy Bell, Tom Cassani, Richard DeDomenici, Katy Dye, Nic Green, Stacy Makishi, 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…
 — 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 we present

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 twenty-first 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 by John Franklin-Johnston, greenroom’s long time programme co-ordinator; we’re grateful for the ongoing support of our occasional band of hÅbettes; thanks also to Megan McPhee for her marketing support during Spring 2020.

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.

Content Warnings

Please click here to read specific content warnings for our Performance Programme.