WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2026
- STEVE COOKE AATA
- 3 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Previews, reviews, interviews, and recommendations with Steve Cooke
WEEKEND COLUMN SATURDAY 25 APRIL 2026
Previews: Introducing Dark Theatre, The Hallé at Aviva Studios for the first time, Nation at HOME plus 1984
Review: Young talent shines at Rochdale’s FAB Youth Arts Festival
Young talent shines at Rochdale’s FAB Youth Arts Festival
Review by Steve Cooke
Another fabulous event during the closing weekend for Rochdale’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2025-26 was FAB – Rochdale's new youth arts festival with young people taking to the streets and venues across the town.
Created with young people for young people, FAB (which stands for freedom, art and belonging) featured theatre, live music, dance, poetry, circus, exhibitions, e-gaming, murals a carnival parade and more, attracting over 1,500 visitors, showcasing work by local children and young people.
\
There were tours of the towns murals as well as the unveiling of a big new one created especially for the festival on the side of the Regal Moon building in Rochdale town centre by top mural artist Hayley Garner (aka Aylo), who curated of last year’s Common Walls International Mural Festival. This epic creation was inspired by the views and aspirations of over 100 local children.
There was a lively carnival parade through the town centre, which drew big crowds, led by local performers from Global Grooves and the Nigeria Community Association.
M6 Theatre performed a captivating show for younger children called ‘The Street Where I Live,’ at Number One Riverside, featuring Cyril the cat and his owner Granny Bradshaw.
There was an outdoor art exhibition at the Square Gallery in front of Rochdale Town Hall, featuring stunning work by art students from Hopwood Hall College who have been working with social enterprise PLACED and Rochdale Development Agency to explore the future of the town and how they would like local public spaces to look.
A special edition of the regular Teenage Market was held inside Rochdale Town Hall, promoting young creativity and enterprise, with stalls filled with handmade goods, artwork, music and more from talented local young makers.
New murals were created on Yorkshire Street, with young artists mentored by Aylo and delivered by The Butterfly Effected.
Number One Riverside hosted a Poems to Change the World Exhibition as well as poetry workshops hosted by the town’s two young poets in residence Alende Amisi and Sasha Mostafa.
Rochdale Music Service played a wonderful mix of solo and group pieces with young musicians showcasing their musical energy and talent. They also hosted workshops, with visitors exploring their own talents, trying out instruments themselves.
There was a ‘Good Shout - Youth Voices Across Art Forms’ exhibition in the town centre, bringing together young creatives and professional artists from Ebor Studio, working in photography, music and textile art for a new interdisciplinary exhibition.
Films produced by local young people from PINC College and Touchstones Rochdale’s Side by Side project were screened at the town’s Reel Cinema.
There was also a performance of ‘Ward 76’ - a play by disabled artist Sam and his mother Shirley, inspired by Sam’s own experience growing up in hospital. With humour, a touch of mystery and honest conversations it explored anxiety, disability, loneliness and the pressures of growing up.
The festival’s main sponsor, Hopwood Hall College was another festival venue, hosting a range of events and workshops including a student art exhibition and e-gaming event featuring retro consoles, virtual reality and formula one racing simulators. Budding young creatives were shown how movies are made during a hands-on film workshop and there was also an opportunity for young people to try out arts and crafts.
Skylight Circus Arts Youth Circus showcased their circus and aerial skills before inviting families to try juggling, diabolo and plate spinning.
Amaranthine by Company Chameleon was a striking dance performance staged at Number One Riverside that explored the story of two people in love, and also in conflict. The dancers navigated the push and pull of disagreement and the journey towards acceptance, with powerful moves. For younger children there was a Heritage Scavenger Hunt around Broadfield Slopes at the back of the town hall.
Young people were involved in all areas of the FAB Youth Arts Festival, gaining valuable experience, including media students who took charge of social media feeds during the event. Pete Courtie, head of culture and placemaking at Rochdale Development Agency said: “A big thank you to all the young people who helped produce and deliver this festival, supported by the council’s youth service and Create Rochdale, they have all worked so hard. FAB provided our young people with an inspiring platform to showcase and celebrate their amazing creativity and was a perfect way end to our year in the cultural spotlight. Do go and take a look at the artwork on display at The Square Gallery in front of Rochdale Town Hall and the inspiring new murals.”
Julia Heap OBE, principal and chief executive of main sponsor Hopwood Hall College said: “We were very pleased to support the first FAB Youth Arts Festival, during the closing weekend of Rochdale’s magnificent year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture. It was great to see so much cultural and artistic talent, and we were proud to help bring the celebration to life.”
Introducing Dark Theatre
Preview by Steve Cooke
Introducing Dark Theatre Rochdale, a brand new company, DRACULA is to be their first production.
“We're not interested in playing it safe. We're interested in making theatre that matters — work that is bold, funny, terrifying, and politically alive.”
Kate Hamill's DRACULA is the perfect starting point. It is sharp, fast, and subversive — a feminist reimagining of the classic story where the women drive the plot, the monster is a metaphor for patriarchal power, and nobody is waiting to be rescued.
DRACULA: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really is written by Kate Hamill (who also wrote acclaimed adaptations of Sense & Sensibility and Pride & Prejudice). It had its world premiere at Classic Stage Company, New York, in 2020.
This is not a traditional Gothic horror. The tone is contemporary, fast, and dangerous — horror and satire in the same breath. If the audience laughs, the next beat should unsettle them. The physical storytelling is political: posture, space, and movement all carry meaning.
12 performers total — 9 female-presenting roles, 3 male-presenting roles
Non-traditional and cross-gender casting is central to their ethos.
Ensemble-driven collaboration — every role matters, every idea is heard
DRACULA
A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really.
By Kate Hamill · Based on the novel by Bram Stoker, Directed by Ange Shepherd & Lise Hencken
They are still in pre-production for Dracula, pre-audition stage, so right now I don't have ticket details, but I do have a venue; St Aidens hall in Sudden, confirmed dates; 29/30/31 October 2026
The Hallé at Aviva Studios for the first time
Preview by Steve Cooke
The Hallé goes to Aviva Studios for the first time with powerhouse composer Anna Meredith’s atmospheric, immersive composition ANNO
A recontextualization of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, ANNO takes the audience through a whole calendar year in just one hour of continuous music.
Anna Meredith creates a striking reimagining of the classic work, elegantly fusing fragments of Vivaldi with her own characteristic electronic music.
ANNO is an intensely immersive production: the only light comes from the players’ tablets and the projected images of animated visuals provided by the composer’s sister, Eleanor Meredith.
Anna Meredith is a composer, producer and performer, known for her innovative, genre-defying orchestral works. At MIF23, she joined the Royal Northern College of Music Festival Orchestra for a sensational live performance of her Mercury Prize-shortlisted album FIBS.
Brought to life by the Hallé, ANNO promises a transformational experience for the eyes and ears, merging old with new in a stunning portrayal of the passage of time.
2pm, 5pm and 8pm on Saturday, 2 May 2026 at South Warehouse, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Tickets
Standard: £34
Concessions £17.75
Recommended for ages 8+ Under 16s must be accompanied with an adult 18+
Accessibility features available for this event: Wheelchair Access
Nation at HOME
Preview by Steve Cooke
Nation is a storytelling show about nationhood and national identity. Set in a fictional town - where a "very bad thing has just happened" – the show sets to explore how we arrive at unpleasant nationalist violence.
The audience are cast as people of the town and take on an interactive role in how the story unfolds.
Performed in the round, Nation brings a new theatrical experience to HOME audiences, as it's stage configuration creates a more intimate feel. The audience almost becomes part of the set – alongside always being able to see the actor, you are able to see the other townsfolk seated on the edge of the action too.
Here's what Saffron, assistant theatre programmer at HOME, says:
“Sam Ward wrote Nation in response to the rise of far right in the UK. The story explores how politicians and the media use storytelling to construct the idea of a "nation" - and then use that idea of a nation to construct violence. Unusual, thought-provoking, and dark, this show will speak to anyone who is concerned about the way in which political stories are told and weaponised.”
To learn more, hear performer and writer Sam Ward discuss this show in this short interview: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/h1fpfmysNMc
To book tickets visit: https://homemcr.org/whats-on/nation or phone: Box Office 0161 200 1500
Thursday 28 May – Saturday 30 May at HOME 2 Tony Wilson Place Manchester M15 4FN.
1984
Preview by Steve Cooke
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
Lost In Transit bring 1984, George Orwell’s timeless dystopian novel to the stage in this bold new reimagining of a story that increasingly feels less like history and more like the present.
In a world brutally and repressively run by a shadowy organisation known only as The Party, where Big Brother is always watching, where the past is constantly rewritten and where slogans are not statements of the absurd but rules by which we all live, we follow everyman Winston Smith through this dissident yet familiar nightmare as he tries to fight back and keep hold of the one thing The Party surely cannot repress…love
Wheel chair / pram accessible
Suitable For Adults (18+)
From £10.50
To book visit: https://www.yourtrustrochdale.co.uk/whats-on/events/1984/
Duration: 2h
19:30 on Friday, 8 May 2026
Touchstones at Rochdale Ukrainian Centre, Mere Street, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, OL11 1HJ
RECOMMENDED
Saturday, 25 April 2026
Lego Club - Littleborough Library
Every other Saturday during term time. Join our free club and get creative with Lego. Suitable for all the family.
For families with children aged 2 years and above. Lego club sessions are aimed at children aged 5–12 and their parents or carers. Duplo is available for younger children.
Each session, the children will be given a theme, followed by time to let their imaginations run wild and build.
No need to book, you can just come along.
Free
11am - 12pm
Littleborough Library, Hare Hill Park, Littleborough OL15 9HE
Saturday, 25 April 2026
Reading Group - Middleton Library
Last Saturday of every month. Discover new authors and discuss books with other readers in this friendly and relaxed reading group.
Books are provided and loaned through the library. Refreshments will be provided.
No booking required, you can just turn up.
Free
1.30pm - 2.30pm
Middleton Library, Long Street, Middleton M24 6DU
Saturday, 25 April 2026
Kids' Club - Wardle Library
Come along and get creative at our craft table.
Last Saturday of every month. These themed Kids' Club activity sessions will include crafts, activities and challenges.
For families with children aged 4 and over.
Free, no need to book, you can just come along.
Free
10am - 12.30pm
10am - 12.30pm
Wardle Library, 448 Birch Road, Wardle, Rochdale OL12 9LH
Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Tuesday Reading Group - Spotland Library
Read, share and discuss a range of fiction and non-fiction chosen from our extensive list of book titles in a relaxed and friendly group.
Free, no required, you can just turn up.
11.30am - 12.30pm
Spotland Library, Ings Lane, Rochdale OL12 7AL
Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Toad Lane Concerts - Rochdale's Weekly Music at Lunchtime
This week we have - Sinead D'Abreu-Hayling soprano (Welsh Academy, WNO & RNCM) Róisín Fleming piano (MTU Cork School of Music & RNCM)The concert series has been held at St Mary’s since 2001 and was granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2020.
Running every Wednesday, Music at Lunchtime is a weekly live classical music concert series that has been going since the 1960s. The sessions were initially run at the old Rochdale Art Gallery by the local authority, but since May 2001 have been run by volunteer-enthusiasts and artistic director, Dr Joe Dawson.
£6
Phone: Dr Joe Dawson 01706 648872
Doors open 12noon, concert starts 12.30pm - 1.30pm
St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane/St Mary's Gate, Rochdale OL16 1DZ
Comments