Manchester International Festival 2015 lineup announced
Manchester International Festival has unveiled the first shows for its 2015 edition, with Jamie Smith of the xx, film director Kevin Macdonald and physicist professor Brian Cox all involved in the initial commissions.
Jamie xx will provide the score for a new ballet inspired by Jonathan Safran Foer’s unique novel Tree of Codes, which saw Safran Foer cut words and passages from the existing novel Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz to create an entirely new story. The xx held an 18-night residency at the 2013 MIF, playing a series of gigs to 60 people at a time in a secret location beneath the city.
The ballet will be performed by acclaimed contemporary dance company Wayne McGregor | Random Dance along with dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet, while Danish-Icelandic visual artist Olafur Eliasson will design the staging. Describing the project, Eliasson says: “Clearly Jamie's music can't live without movement and space. Clearly Wayne's choreography can't live without sound and space. Clearly my art can't live without sound and movement. Clearly creativity can change the world.”
In The Age of Starlight, Professor Brian Cox will lead a show looking at our role within the universe which, according to Cox, will feature “new technology to create an experience beyond anything that has been possible before”. That technology comes from augmented reality startup Magic Leap, which has recently attracted heavy investment from Google among others. The show – which currently has no confirmed venue or performances – will be directed by Last King of Scotland and Marley director Kevin Macdonald, with special effects from the team behind Oscar and BAFTA-winning sci-fi film Gravity.
Tree of Codes runs from 2–5 Jul and 8–10 Jul 2015 at the Manchester Royal Opera House; tickets go on sale on 20 Nov at 10am at mif.co.uk.
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