SIZE OF COMPANY
Varies

SCALE OF VENUE
Small- to middle-scale

PERMANENT STAFF
Chief Executive/Artistic Director
John E McGrath

Executive Producer
Amanda Roberts

ARTISTIC POLICY
Contact is a producing and presenting theatre for new and emerging work focusing on diverse young artists, participants and audiences aged 13–30. Work can involve a mix of drama, poetry, music, dance, physical theatre, multi-media and visual arts to reflect the urban multi-cultural mix of Manchester.

REVIEW EXTRACTS
‘The only theatre in the country where under-30s beg to be let in rather than scream to be let out.’ The Guardian

‘Worth travelling miles to see… it’s tightly choreographed, controlled chaos… It is both sweet and very nasty at the same time, spectacularly silly and touchingly simple; it combines a peculiarly English sensibility with a European expansiveness.’ The Guardian (For All The Wrong Reasons)

‘I loved I Hear Voices. The questions it raised and the way it dealt with them – bang on and physical. The characters balanced around each other with the skill of dancers. It was a visual and aural treat.’ Lit Up Festival

CURRENT PRODUCTIONS
I Hear Voices A humorous and poetic meditation on the voices within – signs of madness or pure inspiration? A demon or a consolation? Three imaginative performance poets take physical journeys combining poetry with rap, beat-boxing and movement, weaving dark character twists that echo throughout history and today. (50 mins no interval, 4 on stage, 6 on road.)

For All The Wrong Reasons Commissioned by Manchester International Festival this co-production with Victoria (Belgium) is directed by Lies Pauwels and blends a diverse local company of characters, from actors and dancers to performance artist David Hoyle. This boldly staged exploration of communication and truth walks a tightrope between some very English traditions and a European exploration of the paradoxes of life. (90 mins no interval, 6 on stage, 9 on road.)

FUTURE PRODUCTION
Contact produces a biannual international festival of youth theatre, Contacting the World, and plans to engage new partners for the next festival in 2010. Visit www.contactingtheworld.org for further information.

WRAP-AROUND
After-show chat backs and workshops available, including artist development focused masterclasses, plus a range of creative work with young people. Workshops looking at creative leadership led by young Contact artist/facilitators are suitable for both young people and professional/adult groups. This can also feed venue supported work on the development of young audiences, including the use of ambassadors.

RECENT INTERNATIONAL WORK
2007 Belgium, Netherlands (For All The Wrong Reasons)
2006 Australia (Skid 180)

TOURING AVAILABILITY
I Hear Voices from April 2008
For All The Wrong Reasons during October and November 2008