An exciting art, film, theatre and music extravaganza will descend on the city as part of Manchester Pride Fringe this August.
High profile silver screen stars such as Imelda Staunton, Andrew Scott, Bill Nighy and Dominic West will all appear at the festival to launch the new British film Pride.
The film will have a red carpet preview on August 11 and the cast will take part in a public Q&A in Selfridges on Friday August 22 and on August 23 at the People’s History Museum, before marching in the Pride parade.
Pride tells the story of the unlikely alliance between London-based LBGT activists and a group of striking miners from a small Welsh community in 1984.
PRIDE: Film poster advertising the Brit drama
Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive of Manchester Pride, said: “This year’s Pride Fringe is vibrant, varied and has a host of high-profile events. Our award winning programme of music, theatre, art, culture, comedy and sport across Greater Manchester offers something for everyone.”
Alongside the film, Manchester Pride Fringe will play host to a celebration of LGBT culture which brings together artists and practitioners from across Greater Manchester and beyond.
Coming Out: from Script to Screen will bring together Coronation Street’s co-creator Tony Warren and writers Jonathan Harvey, Damon Rochefort and Debbie Oates to discuss the concept of characters coming out in soaps.
Based at the Lowry, MediaCity:UK, the discussion on August 19 will also attended by actress Brooke Vincent and hopes to reveal how the story moves from script to screen.
Mark said: “Our aim was to make Pride Fringe as accessible as possible. The majority of events are free to attend and we hope that communities from Greater Manchester will join us for one of the many performances, activities and exhibitions, which we hope will get everyone talking, having fun and ultimately join in with the Pride celebrations.”
Kicking off proceedings in the build-up to the parade is Byte, an art experience taking place in Sackville Gardens at 1pm on Saturday August 2.
This new artwork created Paul Harfleet sees the Alan Turing memorial act as a catalyst for conversation and debate. Byte will invite passers-by to take a bite of an augmented apple, as the symbolism and relationship to Alan Turing is explained.
Harfleet is the mastermind behind The Pansy Project which was conceived in Manchester in 2004 when the artist began to plant pansies at the site of homophobic abuse.
THE PANSY PROJECT Pansies planted at sites of homophobic abuse
Over the last decade, this ‘guerrilla gardening’ project has evolved into an internationally recognised artwork and has featured in festivals and exhibitions around the world.
With his brother Tom, Harfleet has won two Gold Medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.
On August 7 at Grill on New York Street, the uber glam La Voix will star in an evening of dining and cabaret. Later that week, Queer as Folk’s Denise Black will be taking centre stage, reprising her role as Hazel for a night of Karaoke at New York New York on August 9.
The Metrolink Sessions, on Wednesday 13 August, will see artists, including ten piece brass fusion band Twisted Tubes, perform on board a chartered tram travelling from Manchester to MediaCityUK.
For those looking to get hot under the collar this Pride, Cockadoodle is sure to deliver. An erotic art exhibition, on display in Twenty Twenty Two in from Friday 15 August is the first European solo exhibition from Canadian artist Maurice Vellekoop.
Drawing on his portfolio of gay erotic art, Vellekoop’s exhibition will feature excerpts from both his ‘Pin Ups’ series and his latest work ‘Transworld’.
Moston Miners Community Arts and Music Centre will play the unusual host to a Secret Screening on Friday 15 and Saturday 16. Organisers are staying very tight lipped about the film but encourage visitors to join the mysterious experience in this intimate venue.
To get the full line up, visit manchesterpride.com/fringe
Image courtesy of Man Alive with thanks
