Gateshead International
Festival of Theatre
Thu 2 - Sat 4 May | Multiple performance times
at Gateshead Central Library & Multilingual Library
MANUAL
By Adam Kinner & Christopher Willes
Place of Origin: Canada
About
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MANUAL is a one-on-one performance that transforms a public library into a space of sensory encounter and heightened awareness. Staged covertly during library opening hours, participants arrive with instructions to meet a guide, and from there they are led silently through a series of tiny actions following written notes and immersive audio in headphones. They walk through the space and listen together. They look at books and read to each other. Sounds and images found in the library combine and blur. And as the piece progresses the materials they encounter come to form a manual for slowing down.
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Intermingling with the daily life of the library, MANUAL proposes a performance that develops through the act of listening and reading with another person. Through a slow and careful process, this piece stages a quiet meditation on the library as a space of shared attention.
“When I reopened my eyes at the start of the performance, it already felt like something had shifted, that I’d transitioned into a different way of being…”
Artist biographies
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Adam Kinner and Christopher Willes create performances that explore unusual states of sensory awareness. Their work is often staged in public spaces, and informed by an interest in immersive sound, listening, audience perspective, and the possibilities of participatory art. They created MANUAL in collaboration with Hanna Sybille Müller.
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Credits
Co-created by: Christopher Willes and Adam Kinner
Performed by: Adam Kinner, Alexa Mardon, Christopher Willes and Rosa Postlethwaite
Dramaturgy: Hanna Sybille Müller
Performance contributions: Alexa Mardon, Denise Kenney, Chao-Ying Rao (Betty)
Audio contributions: Michael Davidson, Colin Fisher, Thomas Gill, Terri Hron, Philippe Lauzier, Germaine Liu, Philippe Melanson. Karen Ng, and Felicity Williams.
Created with the support of: Conseil des arts du Canada, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Ontario Arts Council, Festival TransAmériques, and through creation residencies at Take Me Somewhere (Glasgow), and LA SERRE – arts vivants (Montreal).
Manual is presented at GIFT with support provided by the Québec Government Office in London
Date: Thu 2 - Sat 4 May 2024
Pick Your Time: This performance has several performance times. Choose the one that works best for you when booking your ticket.
Duration: 40 minutes
Age guidance: 14+
Venue one:
Gateshead Library
Prince Consort Road
Gateshead
NE8 4LN
Venue two:
The Kittiwake Trust Multilingual Library
High West Street
Gateshead
NE8 1EJ
MANUAL is a solo experience, designed for one person at a time. There are two performance locations available. Please choose your preferred venue when booking your ticket.
Ticket information
There are three ways to experience GIFT:
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Individual Performance Tickets £12-£8
Want to pick and choose which events you attend? Individual tickets are available for each performance, priced between £12 and £8 for concessions.
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GIFT Festival Pass £50 (£40 early bird pass)
This pass gives you access to ALL GIFT events happening across the festival. It's the best value if you want to see everything.
Pro-tip: A limited number of early bird passes are available for only £40 in March, so grab yours before they're gone!
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Pay What You Decide Tickets
GIFT is committed to making the festival accessible to everyone. There's a "Pay What You Decide" option for every event. Any amount you can contribute is greatly appreciated and goes directly towards supporting artists, our community workshop programme and the future of the festival.
By attending GIFT, you're directly supporting the development and presentation of new artistic works in Gateshead.
Any questions?
If you need any help booking tickets or have any questions about the festival, feel free to drop an email to giftfestival.info@gmail.com
