Finally, Alan Bissett – writer and performer of THE MOIRA MONOLOGUES and THE CHING ROOM returns to Manchester and the Royal Exchange with his massive Edinburgh hit show – THE RED HOURGLASS.

 'A hypnotic hour. Bissett has real presence as a performer; his writing glitters with unusual erudition and deft wit.' The Independent on THE RED HOURGLASS

Spiders. Not everyone’s favourite species. In this show, in an attempt to combat his arachnophobia*, Alan Bissett has created a piece where he plays five of them. 

From the hilarious truth-telling of the Glaswegian house spider (he prefers not to be called ‘common’), the political call-to-arms of the Venezualan tarantula and the erotic murder ballad of the Black Widow, THE RED HOURGLASS is a dark, witty, sexy satire; both a laugh-out-loud natural history lesson and a compelling analogy for the state of things today.

‘Highly entertaining…Bissett’s witty, well-observed writing combines well with his bold, shapechanging performance…A delightfully unusual piece of theatre.’ Sunday Herald

* to date this has failed, and Alan Bissett remains arachnophobic…