Oldham Coliseum's 2022 Cultivate festival begins tomorrow, offering a week of performances, workshops and even open auditions for actors keen to develop their skills or get more keenly involved in the performing arts, and for companies to reveal their works in progress.
It's the first Cultivate event since the first one in 2019, the 2020-21 festivals having been cancelled due to the pandemic.
The week features several performances, starting with Athena tomorrow night (July 18).
Red Bobble Arts' production is a "celebration of womanhood" that draws on research into mythology, powerful women from history and local real-life stories from girls and women of all ages. The project is at an early stage and the performance will be script-in-hand, with the company keen to receive feedback.
On Thursday the second round of performances is of excerpts and scenes from new works as they are being developed, presented by performers invited to appear by Oldham company Dare to Know. Find out more here
Cultivate 2022 also features 10 workshops with a variety of artists, theatre makers and industry professionals, with subjects ranging from improving your stand-up comedy to independent production and acting for the camera.
There are two networking evenings, one for writers and producers and another for directors and designers, and the festival also revives the Coliseum's Culture and Chips, a get-together for audiences, participants and the local community to discuss arts and culture in Oldham and Greater Manchester, over the nation’s favourite snack!
Finally, open audition sessions on Tuesday and Thursday allow actors (with at least one professional credit or recent drama school activity) the chance to add their names to the pool of talent on the theatre's books for future productions. Slots must be booked in advance.