LIberation- Credit: Ella Mayamoth
Grace Hatchell reporting in from Manchester, where the streets have been taken over by a stampede of… puppets?!
Manchester International Festival 2025 has well and truly roared to life – quite literally – with a thundering herd of life-sized puppet animals galloping through the city centre. We’re talking giraffes, elephants, beasts of all shapes and sizes, stomping through the streets on a 20,000 km journey from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle. It’s called THE HERDS, it’s the brainchild of The Walk Productions (yep, the folks behind Little Amal), and it’s one of the boldest bits of public art Grace has ever had the joy of witnessing. Equal parts magical and menacing, it’s a wake-up call about the climate crisis – no filter, no fluff.
And if you think that’s dramatic, wait until night falls…
🎭 At Aviva Studios, a certain A Single Man takes to the stage – not just any stage, mind – this is a world premiere ballet-theatre hybrid (try saying that after a cocktail), adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s iconic novel. The production’s got Jonathan Watkins choreographing, a brand-new score from Jasmin Kent Rodgman and John Grant, and the legendary Ed Watson stepping into the lead. Oh yes, highbrow and heartbreak in equal measure.
Meanwhile, over at the Royal Exchange, we’ve got Liberation kicking off – a powerful, poetic new play by Ntombizodwa Nyoni, looking back 80 years to the Fifth Pan African Congress right here in Manchester. It’s about activists, legacy, liberation, and why these stories matter just as much today. Directed by Monique Touko, it’s intimate, urgent, and proudly rooted in Black British history.
But don’t you dare go thinking MIF25 peaked on day one – no, no, my loves, it’s only just begun.
Then it’s a full-on art takeover. We’re talking…
🎨 Footballers meets fine art at Football City, Art United., with World Cup champ Juan Mata teaming up with artists like Ryan Gander, Rose Wylie, and Eric Cantona (yes, that Eric Cantona) in an exhibition where gallery walls meet goalposts.
🔊 A moving sound installation from Shilpa Gupta in Rochdale, collecting voices and stories across borders and boundaries.
🌿 The first solo international show by Santiago Yahuarcani at the Whitworth – straight from the Amazonian town of Pebas to the gallery halls of Manchester.
And there’s so much more bubbling away – from the ever-electrifying Blackhaine to queer Indigenous collective FAFSWAG, boundary-breaking composer Rushil Ranjan with his Orchestral Qawwali Project, and genre-defying performances from Mary Anne Hobbs, Anna Phoebe, and even an exhibition curated by primary school children imagining Manchester in the year 2125. (Honestly, kids have all the best ideas.)
Let’s not forget Festival Square, MIF’s buzzing cultural HQ at Aviva Studios, back in full force with live music, free events, talks, DJs, dancing, and probably more falafel wraps than you can shake a glow stick at. Nearly 200 local acts are on the bill – handpicked from the region and ready to light up the stage.
This is also the first MIF curated by Low Kee Hong, the new Creative Director with a big imagination and a bold vision. He’s all about dreaming differently and connecting global artistry with local soul – and let me tell you, the programme absolutely reflects that. John McGrath, the big boss at Factory International, calls this year a “new step” for the Festival – and Grace couldn’t agree more.
So if you’re near Manchester (or need an excuse to be), don’t sleep on this. Theatre, art, music, activism, football, puppets, climate justice, and community — it’s all wrapped into one beautifully chaotic cultural hug.
See you on the streets. I’ll be the one side-eyeing the rhino and running late for a ballet.
Manchester International Festival | MIF25 | Dream Differently – Factory International
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