Celebrate Christmas with a Back to the Future prom
Get set to be transported back to 1955 (or is it 1985?) with HOME’s Enchantment Under The Sea disco, inspired by the high school prom Michael J Fox’s Marty McFly gatecrashes in Back to the Future
Manchester’s HOME gets nostalgic this Christmas with a party inspired by Robert Zemeckis’s much-loved 1985 favourite Back to the Future. The heart of the event will be an Enchantment Under The Sea-themed disco on 9 December, riffing on the school dance in the film where Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) memorably blows the minds of 50s high-schoolers with his blistering rendition of Chuck Berry’s rock‘n’roll touchstone Johnny B Goode. With the scene taking place years before Berry had written the song, Marty makes it sound even more exotic courtesy of an 80s-style guitar solo (“I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet,” says Marty to the awestruck teens, “but your kids are going to love it”).
For the dance, HOME’s ground floor bar will be transformed into a kitsch, underwater setting inspired by the high-school prom in the film. Local artists have been commissioned to create sea-themed ‘your face here’ standees, ranging from mermaids, King Neptune and eaten-by-an-octopus. At the bar we're promised classic 80s cocktails, diner-type hotdogs and steaming piles of mac’n cheese.
Music comes from Vintage 78 DJs, who’ll be playing original vintage 78rpm shellac vinyl records from the 1950s, in homage to McFly’s time travels. Then from 22:04 – the exact time in the film at which the clock tower is struck by lightning – you’ll be taken “back to the future”, or 1985 at least, where DJ Christopher Dresden Styles, assisted by drag queen, dancer and choreographer extraordinaire Tilly Skreams from Pop Curious?, will play the best 1980s tunes.
The free event kicks off HOME’s A Very Merry Christmas, which features a selection of much-loved 80s movies throughout December. The programme includes Back to the Future (9 Dec), The Dark Crystal (10 Dec), Santa Claus: The Movie (11 Dec), Scrooged (12 Dec), Little Shop of Horrors (14 Dec), The Thing (16 Dec), and finally three screenings of The Princess Bride (17-19 Dec), including a relaxed and a ‘Bring the Family’ screening on 17 Dec.
Other events in HOME’s Christmas celebrations include Yule Be Sorry, a festive performance from award-winning cabaret stars David Hoyle, Bourgeois & Maurice, and Jonny Woo, and a Christmas play for youngsters, WOW! Said the Owl.
For more details, go to homemcr.org