PUSH Festival 2023

PUSH Festival returns in the New Year for our annual celebration of North West creative talent. Over four weeks, our stages, screens and spaces will be dedicated to showcasing fantastic works from around the region, as well as offering opportunities for creatives to meet industry professionals, share ideas and inspiration and develop their skills.

This year’s festival includes newly commissioned works across a range of artforms, including theatre from Isabella Leung and Liam Rees, a new digital work by Anna West, a visual arts commission by Tara Collete that will be presented in our Granada Foundation Galleries, and Artist Films from Katie Mason and Suzy Mangion,  Martha Jurksaitis, and Steve Oliver, presented as part of the Spit That Out Film Programme that will screen at HOME on Sat 28 Jan.

As part of this year’s festival we are also presenting a range of programmed work, including performances by Box of Tricks, Ink and Curtains, Monkeywood Theatre, Mothers Who Make, Darren Pritchard, Ugly Bucket, Panoptical, Josh Coates, Amy Lowcock, sound installation by Jenny Gaskell, and a new digital work from idontloveyouanymore.

PUSH Festival 2023 will also include a series of workshops and other artist development opportunities. We look forward to making further announcements about this soon!

 

PUSH Festival 2023 full line-up:

Download the PUSH Festival 2023 E-Flyer

In this festival

Presented by Dan Thorburn and Max Graham

Filmmaking 101: Making Your Film Cinematic

Sat 27 Jan

Join Director Dan Thorburn and Director of Photography Max Graham as they go through the best way to make your film pop on screen visually.

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Filmmaking 101: Casting

Sat 2 Mar

Get a rounded understanding of all you need to know to cast your film project solo or with the help of a casting professional.

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Previously in this Festival

Tara Collette: Gentrification is Class War

Artist Tara Collette presents a brand-new solo exhibition that explores the impact of gentrification and the lack of affordable housing in our city. 

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Josh Coates presents

Sunday Morning

Sunday Morning is a digital performance you can experience on your own devices which acts as a walking tour of the internet, connecting histories of private…

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Isabella Leung presents

A Bouffon Play About Hong Kong

There is a silent disco over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour tonight. The bouffons emerge to tell us something - a story perhaps - just for…

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The Confessional

Online. A pile of wooden crates, nails in each corner, suddenly cascade to the ground. Each crate, a confession. At HOME, a live feed of…

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Presented by Grant Archer & Katie Scott

Exploring Stories Through Design

Have you got a story to tell?  Do you have a vision for how to do it, but not sure where to start?  Join us for…

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Directing for TV: deconstructing an episode of Waterloo Road

An illustrated talk that will give you an insight into how a director approaches a TV project

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Filmmaker Meet Up PUSH 2023

Sun 12 Feb, 14:00

An informal social where you can meet other members of the filmmaking community and reconnect with old friends and collaborators.

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Amy Townsend-Lowcock presents

My Fruits

They were the first Black family to move on to the estate. Mum, Dad and their six children – Mango, Apple, Plum, Pear, Grapes and…

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Liam Rees & co presents

The Enlightened Live Stream

A ‘true’ crime story, unfolding online and in person, in the UK and India.

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Liam Rees presents

The Enlightened

A ‘true’ crime story, unfolding online and in person, in the UK and India.

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Presented by Liam Rees

How Technology Can Tell a Story

A workshop with Liam Rees on how to use digital tech in theatre, ensuring it's embedded in the dramaturgy/concept, and exploring how different tech platforms…

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Presented by idontloveyouanymore

Digital Dramaturgy with idontloveyouanymore

Thu 9 Feb 2023, 12.00 - 14.00

Award winning art and performance company idontloveyouanymore will be hosting a digital dramaturgy drop-in for artists and makers of all skills and abilities.

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A Beginners Guide to Sound Design for Film

A conversational workshop that explores how to create music and sound design within films composer Andrew Heath and artist Lowri Evans.

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Panoptical presents

#BlackBoyJoyGone: REALISE

New commisioned cross arts works by 10 UK Black male, men, and transmasc artists will premiere alongside the docu-poem film #BlackBoyJoyGone to tell stories of…

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Writing for TV: the inside story of Waterloo Road

Join Cameron Roach, Executive Producer, and Lindsay Williams, Series Producer on Waterloo Road as they discuss how to create a series for television.

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Telenovela binge watching session and Q&A

Join artist Lowri Evans for a binge watching session of her online soap opera Telenovela, followed by a Q&A with the team behind the project.

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Debbie Productions presents

After The Tone Podcast Live

Join the not-award-winning After The Tone as they bring you a very special live edition of their cult podcast-cum-pub

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Getting into TV in partnership with Wall to Wall North

A chance to get a glimpse behind the scenes of Waterloo Road and meet some of the people who make TV in Manchester

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Open Set: Waterloo Road

Sat 4 Feb, every 30 mins, 10:00 - 13:30

Discover all the different roles that are involved in making a TV series on the actual set of Waterloo Road. 

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Alexa Vox presents

Alexa Vox: Patron Saint of Cabaret

A show full of stories and songs that tells the story of Alexa’s life. From scat clubs to parenthood to transition. You will be then invited…

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Presented by Monkeywood Theatre

Am I still Young? Your Story Your Way

This workshop will explore the development process behind Cathy and Hazel’s new play Am I Still Young? and give young writers the tools to tell…

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Super 8 Hand Painted Collective Film Workshop

A hands-on collective workshop where everybody works on creating a hand-painted abstract Super 8 film using DIY analogue techniques

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Propel: Mothers Who Make presents

Test The Waters

Mothers Who Make is a monthly social network for artists of all disciplines who happen to also be mothers. Test The Waters is a scratch…

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Ink & Curtains presents

Closure

A dinner party with a dark secret. Alex and Laura quickly learn that their friend Mia may not let them all leave alive. Closure wields dark…

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Spit That Out 2023: North-West Artist Film Programme

Discover a selection of recent work from artists who are living in, working in, hailing from or have studied across the North West.  

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Monkeywood Theatre presents

Am I Still Young?

A script in hand sharing of a hilarious, moving and truthful new play by Cathy Crabb and Hazel Gibson, following a mother and daughter through…

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Tea and Taxes

Fri 27 Jan, 10:30 - 13:30

Are you a freelance artist? Do you still have to complete your tax return for this year? Maybe you’ve done yours, but just want to…

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Cross Art Producer panel + Producers Get Together

Join producers working in theatre, film, multi art events and interactive art as they discuss their journey into producing and what their role involves

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Telenovela

Episode released every day from Sat 21 Jan 2023

An online soap opera set between Brazil and the UK by artist Lowri Evans

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Presented by Box of Tricks

PlayMakers: BoxFresh

Join us for rehearsed readings of extracts from work-in-progress scripts fresh off the page.

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Presented by Box of Tricks

PlayMakers: Queer Here Now

Our panel of local LGBTQ+ playwrights and theatremakers will explore queer voices, queer stories and what it means to be creative and queer in the…

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Presented by Box of Tricks

PlayMakers Masterclass: Writing for unusual spaces

Join Box of Tricks’ Associate Playwright Becky Prestwich for a practical workshop exploring writing theatre for non-theatre spaces.

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Presented by Box of Tricks

PlayMakers Culture Café: Local writers and offstage creatives

Hear all about our latest playwright initiatives and newly launched PlayMakers Offstage programme and add your voice to our ever-evolving plans.

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Presented by Box Of Tricks

PlayMakers Takeover

Brace yourself for the thrill of the new: a jam-packed day of creative conversations, insightful workshops, impassioned panel discussions and our first ever BoxFresh showcase…

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Presented by Granada Foundation Gallery

Tara Collette: Gentrification is Class War Preview

Fri 20 Jan 2023, 18.00 - 20.00

Join us for the preview of the new Granada Foundation Gallery exhibition by artist Tara Collette.

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Hopelessly Devoted

Set in an era not too long before now, Hopelessly Devoted is an intimate audio story for one.

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