Library Theatre's re:play set for Salford in 2014

The eight productions have been announced for the Library Theatre Company’s re:play Festival 2014 in January 2014 – the festival which rounds up the most exciting and talked-about new theatre in the previous 12 months on Manchester and Salford’s fringe theatre scene – at The Lowry in Salford.

For the first time, the festival, now in its seventh year, features a show aimed at children and family audiences, Billy, the Monster, and ME!

“Our re:play Festival is firmly established as one of the key events of the theatre calendar in Manchester and Salford,” says Chris Honer, the Library Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, who chairs the panel which selects the productions for the festival.

“Last year’s festival was our most successful yet with record audiences keen to see the best of the previous year’s shows, and I fully expect re:play 2014 to be equally as successful. The range of work emerging from the fringe gets broader every year and it’s great to be able to give it wider exposure.”

This year’s productions are:

All Our Friends Are Dead – An evening of dark, surreal and anarchic sketch and character comedy, presented by Norris & Parker.

Away From Home – A one-man show about male escort Kyle and his relationship with a premiership footballer, presented by Working Progress Theatre Company and Hartshorn-Hook Productions.

Billy, The Monster and ME! – Join Billy on his rip-ROAR-ing adventure and help save the day! A family-friendly show for children aged three upwards, presented by Colour The Clouds.

Lunch – A man, a woman, a bench in a park near the sea, and lunchtime both will never forget. Steven Berkoff’s black comedy, presented by Hyde Festival Theatre Company.

The Man Who Woke Up Dead – A taut physical theatre thriller, influenced by 1950s film noir and the dystopian worlds of George Orwell, presented by Square Peg Theatre.

One Hand Clapping – An adaptation of the 1961 novel by Anthony Burgess about modern society’s fast transformation into a mini America, presented by House of Orphans and The International Anthony Burgess Foundation.

The Rise and Fall of a Northern Star – Stella Grundy’s one-woman performance about the life and music of the infamous MADchester icon Tracy Star, presented by Stella Productions.

To Walk In Your Shoes – A piece of verbatim theatre which challenges the myths and untruths surrounding what it really means to seek asylum, presented by RedBobble Theatre Company.

re:play runs from 20 January – 1 February, 2014.