Welcome HOME: A look at HOME's site-specific theatre programme

In spring 2015, Manchester presents its newest cultural offering to the world: HOME, a purpose-built centre for international contemporary art, film and – wait for it – theatre.  Formed by the merger of two of the city’s most powerful arts organisations, the Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company, not one, but two theatres are promised within the centre, both intended as a playful platform for newly commissioned works.

It is a chance for the Library Theatre Company to finally take the helm. They have have been situated in the basement of the domed Central Library. In 2012, they uprooted and began a campaign titled On the Move, a three year project consisting of work at the Lowry and the production of one site-specific show a year, but the allure of their own, more competent space remained. The company’s strength lies in their determination, and their consistently strong productions of challenging contemporary drama and modern classics have earned them a formidable reputation that extends beyond the city. It is hoped their new home (excuse the pun) will boost the company’s national and international reputation.

With over a year to wait before doors open, HOME have devised an intelligent plan to gather momentum: a site-specific theatre programme to begin with almost immediate effect. Paving the way for their opening theatre season, artistic director of theatre Walter Meierjohann creates temporary homes throughout the city while introducing new production partners to the Manchester theatre scene.

A site-specific programme is nothing if not exciting and Meierjohann has curated a veritable smorgasbord of theatrical treats. Opening on 10 June, Dublin’s multi award-winning ANU Productions present Angel Meadow, an immersive experience that explores the predominantly Irish Victorian slum that occupied Ancoats. Breathing life into an area of Manchester that was long ago forgotten, Angel Meadow causes the past and present to fuse until the real and the imagined become indistinguishable. Directed by Louise Lowe (one of the five founders of ANU), the production promises to investigate the history and culture of Irish immigrants. As with most site-specific theatre, comfortable shoes are essential for this stroll into the past.

September brings a promenade production of Romeo and Juliet, though it is not the performance one may imagine. Meierjohann himself takes the reins as director and his imaginative rework of the classic play suggests he is flexing his creative muscles, showing himself ready for his new position. Located in the atmospheric emptiness of Manchester’s Victoria Baths, three redundant swimming pools will be given the Ti Green treatment (the designer recently responsible for Royal Exchange’s critically acclaimed Orlando), while Macedonian composer Nikola Kodjabashia provides a completely fresh score. Described as a ‘contemporary fairy-tale set in the criminal underworld of Eastern Europe’, audiences are advised to discard everything they expect from the traditional Shakespeare, including the balcony scene. Perhaps Juliet will utter the famous lines atop a Victorian diving board. One can only dream.

There is another chance to see David Greig’s The Events in October (although most of you will have hopefully caught it at the Liverpool Everyman a few weeks ago – a truly wonderful piece), while the Best of BE Festival represents the best of contemporary European theatre and the re:play festival brings it back to Manchester, supporting the city’s fringe scene.

There is little doubt that the Northwest is a current hotspot for the discerning theatre lover. HOME’s newly revealed programme and promised brace of theatres retain the excitement created by Liverpool’s newly built (and utterly gorgeous) Everyman. At a time when theatres all over the country face the prospect of closure and cutbacks, one cannot help but gloat at our luck.