Created by the Royal Exchange Theatre's Open Exchange
Co:LAB or the Collision Laboratory - is a festival to showcase embryonic ideas from the next generation of theatre-makers in the North West.
It is a response to local artists who say that they need time, space and money to begin to explore ideas and collaborations, and a chance to test the work on a live audience.
The Festival aims to showcase theatre made in non-traditional ways with unexpected creative collisions and collaborations.
Pop in for a performance, join us for a drink or stay for the whole festival – all events are pay what you decide! Simply reserve your tickets below or turn up on the day.
Co:LAB festival is part of Open Exchange
The Open Exchange has been generously supported by The Leche Trust and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
VENUE: The Studio, The Great Hall, The Front Room, Members Suite and The Lounge.
PERFORMANCE DATES: Friday 20, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July 2018
TICKETS: All Co:LAB shows are Pay What You Decide.
Pay What You Decide not only allows you to pay what you can afford, rather than a fixed ticket price, but also removes the financial risk of buying a ticket for a show in advance without knowing whether you are going to enjoy it or not. Tickets will be available to book in advance as usual, but there is no obligation for you to pay until after you have seen the show.
You can then decide on a price which you think is suitable based on your experience, which means if you haven’t enjoyed it at all, you don’t have to pay anything.
Please ensure you have arrived and collected your tickets 15 minutes before the show starts in order to secure your seats.
At the end of the show, you can decide what to pay, either by cash on the door or by texting ‘CLAB18 £5’ to 70070. You can choose from £3/£5/£10/£15/£20.
FRIDAY 20 JULY
10am - 10pm in The Lounge AFTER BIRTH by Highlight Collective
A multi-media installation putting the hidden issue of maternal mental health in public.
7.30pm - 8.00pm in The Studio TUCH by Amy Lawrence
Cataloguing moments of epic touch with other bodies and indulges in its absence.
8.30pm - 9.30pm in The Studio BAAL by Knaïve Theatre & Impermanence Dance Theatre
Exploring how text, dance and music can intersect in this bold adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s dark, poetic and brooding first play.
10pm - 10.30pm in The Studio PRINCE GORGE by Sophie Coward, Eliyana Evans and James Varney
Prince Gorge is a live band and a narrative poem which sees small royal boy Prince George of Cambridge grow up to become a Queer performance artist and cult leader.
10am - 10pm in The Lounge AFTER BIRTH by Highlight Collective
A multi-media installation putting the hidden issue of maternal mental health in public.
7pm - 7.45pm in The Front Room COMMIT by Big Liars
An interactive show about a young black man making a personal decision on a very public stage.
8.30pm - 9.30pm OVER MY DEAD BODY by Ali Wilson and James Monaghan
The end. The darkness. The rebirth. Heaven. The afterlife. The passing. The dot dot dot...
10pm - 10.30pm ETA CARINA by Violet Blonde, The Kommanderrr and Claire McNulty
Eta Carina is an ageing supernova on the edge of space performing to an earth they have left behind. A dystopian world. A tyrannical father. A choice to be made.
SUNDAY 22 JULY
10am - 10pm in The Lounge AFTER BIRTH by Highlight Collective
A multi-media installation putting the hidden issue of maternal mental health in public.
3pm - 3.15pm, 4pm - 4.15pm and 5pm - 5.15pm in The Great Hall A PART OF ME by New Vision Theatre Company
An immersive piece of theatre following the lives of three characters whose only freedom to be themselves is when they are online. Exploring the projected image we portray on social media versus the reality of the lives we lead.
3pm - 3.30pm, 4pm - 4.30pm and 5pm - 5.30pm in The Lounge AFTER BIRTH by Highlight Collective
"This is not what I’d imagined. If I was your bathroom you’d have called a plumber by now. I’m leaking.” How do mothers voice they're struggling during a time society expects to be the best?
3pm - 3.30pm, 4pm - 4.30pm and 5pm - 5.30pm in The Exchange Suite ALTAR/ALTER by Lydia Cottrell and Michael-Jon Mizra
A ritualistic hang out for a generation who have replaced the evening fires with a laptop screen.
6pm - 6.30pm in The Studio CATCHING COMETS by Ransack Theatre and written by Piers Black
A scratch performance of hope, bravery, disasters and heroes.
7pm - 8pm in The Studio THE WITCHING WAY by Ali Matthews and Leo Burtin
A DIY rock opera about a teenager born and raised a witch.
BSL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES:
TUCH, Friday 20 July 7.30pm
COMMIT, Saturday 21 July 7.00pm
OVER MY DEAD BODY, Saturday 21 July 8.30pm
AFTER BIRTH, Sunday 22 July 3.00pm
A PART OF ME, Sunday 22 July 4.00pm
ALTAR/ALTER, Sunday 22 July 5.00pm
CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES:
BAAL, Friday 20 July 8.30pm
PRINCE GORGE, Friday 20 July 10.00pm
ETA CARINA, Saturday 21 July 10.00pm
CATCHING COMETS, Sunday 22 July 6.00pm
THE WITCHING WAY, Sunday 22 July 7.00pm
EASY READ 1 PAGE SYNOPSIS:
A PART OF ME
AFTER BIRTH
ALTAR/ALTER
BAAL
CATCHING COMETS
OVER MY DEAD BODY
PRINCE GORGE
THE WITCHING WAY
TUCH
ETA CARINA
AUDIO DESCRIBED PROGRAMME:
AUDIO DESCRIBED INTRODUCTION: