He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

The glasses are polished, the lights are low, and time will be hopping.

The Bar at the Edge of Time waits only for you, so what are you waiting for?

Leave the hours, minutes and seconds behind, step across the threshold and meet the bar's maestro mixologists, crooners and hosts. But a mystery lies at the heart of this place, a mystery hidden even from them. One that can only be solved when we spend our time together.

A multi-sensory spectacular for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Age 16+

This show is primarily aimed at patrons with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).

Tickets are £12 per person. Each ticket will include up to 2 Essential Companions.

If you would like to request any additional friends & guests tickets, or if you would like to know more about this performance, please contact Liam.Cain@thelowry.com (working hours Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm).

If In Doubt, Keep Yourself Safe
By Lilian McCrea

Where does Lil go when the world feels like it’s falling in around her? Lil goes back to bed. When everything feels all too much and she just wants a pause she pulls back the covers and lets her head hit the pillow. Lil goes back to bed. In fact, Lil goes back to bed a lot… it’s not just when things go wrong. For Lil, going back to bed is always the answer. It’s her safe space. Join Lil on a journey of safe keeping, a gentle heartfelt tale of love and loss, marrying silliness and sadness. And explore together why, no matter how old we get we will always go back to bed.

Sea Sick
By Jenny Hawkins

Jenny wasn’t always a mermaid - wait, no, a mer...person? Mer…thing? We’ll go with merperson, that feels... correct... Either way, her legs were made for land. That was until... The dark times (2020) when a spell was cast that led to 2% of the country becoming merpeople. Welcome, to the mercommunity; we trade tips on how to deal with our newly found bodies and take comfort in knowing there are merpeople just like us all around the world.

After almost 4 years, Jenny is still adjusting, trying to make her way on land, knowing the sea is behind her if they need it. But whilst re-entering human-spaces, she’s beginning to question- would things be better if they’d just stayed in the sea?


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

The Grief Box
By Dawn Hazelwood

Grief is a thing, isn’t it? It's shrouded in silence, secrecy, and set behind masks. But why when love is shouted from the rooftops? In something so horrific, can we find the beauty and the growth? So come and enter the Grief Box, Indulge in quiet conversation. It's not as scary as you think.


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

Maddox The Magic: Finds a Hero
By Lumen

Are you the hero I’ve been looking for? Yes, yes you are, and I need you, my magic isn’t working! I seem to have lost it! HELP!

Join me, Maddox the Magic as I walk about desperately trying to recruit brave heroes in a quest to help me regain my magic. Share your stories of bravery and woe, Share your tales of braving the queue in Aldi or surviving the Manchester tram. Then with the guidance of me, Maddox the Magic, take up a quest to defeat social anxiety and secure the victory!

Who will take on the quest of talking to the bartender? Or finding some toilet paper?

Play your part in this fantastical adventure and bring Maddox their magic back.


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

Damn Darwinists!
By Bouff On and Goof Off (Annie, Paddy & Verne):

Step right up to a carnival of laughter and contemplation! 'Damn Darwinists' is not your average theatre show – more like a mess of arms, legs, fish tails, dinosaur teeth, primate poop and, well, evolution. Get ready for a riotous journey into our past, present, and the uncertain future of humanity, and ask ourselves, “What the f@*k have we done?” Join us in uproar at how we've evolved from the primordial chaos to living under the spotlight of human stagnation. Get ready to laugh, ponder, and perhaps even evolve a little yourself!


Sex, Life & Horses
By Halle Wildman

Ladies and gentlemen, class is in sex-sion!

Come to this session of sex... education, with Miss Bad Bunny herself, and saddle up for a ride of misconceptions, sex toys and strap-ons – sorry, I mean safety in the bedroom. Sex is not like porn - don’t be stupid! Maybe it’s time to make a new lesson in the art of love, I’ll call it The Joy of Sex 2.0. Class will take place at 21:15 hours at the theatre. DO NOT BE LATE otherwise you will be left whipped!!


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

Mum, The Internet’s Gone
By The Third Year Theatre and Performance Students

Do you remember dial-up? Downloading a jpeg for a day? Do you ever wish for a simpler time? Before devastating news came through your phone every minute or when the only opinions that you had to hear were those that gratify your own worldview. Well not to worry! Mum, the Internet’s Gone will take you to the traditional pre-digital world of your dreams. Exploring the highs and withdrawals of our screen addicted society; it will be quaint and catastrophic, emotional and robotic, heartfelt and meaningless. See you there


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford. Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists. This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

Grow A Pair
By Mush4 (MJ, Jake, Logan & Ed):

What is a woman? What is a man? The past once said, “man is strong, tall and dominant”, and “woman is classy, polite and sensitive”. Woah-Man! To hell with your labels! Through movement, music and comedy three men and one woman fight and make fun of these labels in an effort to reclaim themselves. This show is for anyone who has ever felt stereotyped or put in a box. For the people who are “too emotional” to be a... who knows? This is for people who wear clothes too baggy to be a.. what? This is a show for people who look too straight to be... Who cares! I’m done with Stereotypes!


G.R.I.EEF
By Edward Spence

Death is inevitable. So why sit around and be sad about it? Put the fun back into funerals, pull the comedy from the crisis, find the humour in that terminal brain haemorrhage. Because everyone you love will die, and if you can’t laugh about it, all you can do is cry. And Ed knows this, but unfortunately for him, he is also dead. From clowning to standup to slapstick, join Ed on his journey through dying, grieving, and everything in between, as he tries his best to understand what it means to die. If you’ve got any grief in your life, get ready to put on a big smile, suck it up and move on.


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

You Don’t Wanna Sleep On This
By Georgie Smith

How often do you dream? What do you dream about? You’ Don’t Wanna Sleep On This, invites you to explore your subconscious mind through the imagination of dreams. With autobiographical retellings that will challenge you to investigate your dreams and the profound effect they may have on you own human experience. Lie back, and relax as we examine new worlds and hidden secrets that can only be explored through our sleep.


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

AAH!
By Hear No, See No, Speak No (Emily, Madison, Penny):

Do you dare to say her name three times? Will you take the balloon from the clown? Are you going to get in the water with a monster? All good stories start with a terrible decision, don’t they? Meet the characters that haunt your nightmares, and see what happens, because what you see isn’t always what you hear, we shouldn’t always judge a horror story by it’s monster.


Play Dead
By Abigail Ramsden

Play dead where nothing is as it seems and the truth is the ultimate prize. Enter a room where each clue is encrypted, and every revelation is just a click away.  Immerse yourself into a world of secrets and deception, where traditional storytelling collides with the digital age.


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

Don’t Kiss, Don’t Tell
By Accident and Emergency (Alexia & Elysha)

A Desperately funny clowning show, Don't Kiss, Don’t Tell is about the awkward relationship first moments, the times you ask yourself... 'are we really about to do this'? An exploration of funny looks, sweaty palms and sheepish smiles. Too nervous to show our feelings, too nervous to even speak. Fumbling and stumbling our way through situations you wouldn’t even believe. Forget laughing about it later, let’s laugh about it right here, right now!


The Failure Project
By Livv

Livv likes order. Livv likes routine. When everything goes according to plan, Livv’s life is so easy. But what about when it doesn't all go that way. When life deals her something else, Livv can't quite comprehend. Just one tiny emotion, encounter, or wrong turn can uproot her whole existence. Could it be ... failure? Help Livv in putting her failure, your failure and our failure in a box that combats the horrific and exposes the beauty in that tiny little thing called FAILURE.


About Untapped 2024 Festival

Untapped 2024 Festival brings to you Branching Out. A two-day showcase of ambitious art and innovative performances at the Lowry Theatre, Salford.

Curated by The Arden’s Theatre and Performance BA Hons degree, Untapped 2024: Branching Out brings together performance, installations and walkabouts over a two day festival of creativity. This is an opportunity to see new work and the future of theatre from emerging artists.

This year we have ten commissioned pieces and three pop up performances that stem from the theme of growth. The eclectic interpretations promise to be a beautifully chaotic experience from the individual to the collective.

“Listen very carefully. I will say this only once ………..”

After another sell-out Panto in January, Barton Theatre Company returns to The Lowry in May with ‘Allo ‘Allo by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft.

Based on the hugely successful British television series, which ran for seven seasons, this uproarious comedy tells the adventures of a hapless cafe owner, Rene, in occupied France.

All your favourite TV characters are there in the flesh, including Rene's tone-deaf wife Edith, Major-General von Klinkerhoffen and the Gestapo officer Herr Flick!

Rene and his wife have stashed a priceless portrait, stolen by the Nazis, in a sausage in their cellar, where two British airmen are also hiding until the Resistance can repatriate them.

Communications with London, using a wireless disguised as a cockatoo, add to the many embarrassments this intrepid proprietor endures in the company of his patrons.

News that the Führer is scheduled to visit the town inspires tricksters disguised as Hitler to frequent the cafe. Meanwhile, Rene summons all the wit he can muster to save his café and his life.

**********************************

This amateur production of 'Allo 'Allo is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd

Lesbians are dirty, aren’t they?

With incredible strength, a pole and a lot of humour, this powerful solo performance explores identity, objectification and what it is to be a gay, 'barely visible' woman in a raw and physical journey of empowerment.

With elements of physical theatre, pole and contemporary dance, Rowena Gander and acclaimed physical theatre director Elinor Randle, bring playfulness, authenticity, and boldness to this mesmerising work.

Created, performed, and choreographed by Rowena Gander
Directed by Elinor Randle (Tmesis Theatre – Acclaimed Liverpool based physical theatre company)
Lighting Design by Phil Saunders
Sound Design by Noel Jones
Produced by Claire Bigley

Recommended Age 13+

By Helen Edmundson
Based on the novel by Jamila Gavin

Angels and abandoned children, glorious music and murder most foul whirl through this enthralling, moving and richly colourful tale of 18th century England.

At Gloucester Cathedral, Alexander Ashbrook, heir to an aristocratic estate, has his heart set on becoming a composer; but his stern father refuses to listen and despite his love for the beautiful Melissa, flight seems his only option. Far darker conflicts are at play for Meshak, son of the brutal Otis Gardiner who preys on young unmarried mothers – promising to deliver their babies to Coram’s new Foundling Hospital but instead meting out a terrible fate.

Their stories entwine eight years later in London, where two Coram orphans, Toby and Aaron, find themselves on parallel adventures, and the great Handel is at work on a new score, Messiah, embodying the hope of love and salvation over evil.

Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Jamila Gavin's Whitbread Award-winning novel premiered at the National Theatre in 2005 before transferring to Broadway. Nominated for several Olivier and Tony Awards, it won the Time Out Live Award for Best Play. Anna Ledwich, formerly writer in residence at CFT (Pinocchio) and Artistic Director of Theatre on the Fly (2012), whose recent directorial work includes Anthropology (Hampstead), directs.

This production has occasional mildly suggestive language; themes of child infanticide and exploitation, abuse towards women and disability in 18th century England; and depictions of childbirth and violence including hanging, knife fights, murder and drowning.

Age Guidance: 12+
For further information and Content Warnings – Click Here

Accessible Performances

Wednesday 26 June 2024, 7.30pm. Audio Described by Talking Theatre. Touch Tour available at 6.30pm.
Friday 28 June 2024, 7.30pm. BSL Interpreted by TheatreSign 

Winter 1934 and an avalanche stops The Orient Express dead in its tracks. A murder. A train full of suspects. An impossible case. Trapped in the snow with a killer still on-board, can the world’s most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, crack the case before the train reaches its final destination?

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s greatest literary achievements, with a final twist that is amongst her very best. Gripping, tense and masterfully cryptic, this brand-new production is a deliciously thrilling ride and an ingenious murder mystery, guaranteed to keep you guessing until the end of the line.

Following a sell-out tour of the best-selling crime novel of all time, And Then There Were None, Fiery Angel and Lucy Bailey (Director of West End Witness For The Prosecution) will bring Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of another Agatha Christie classic to the stage in 2024.

THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON RETURNS

The National Theatre’s acclaimed production returns in an all-new UK tour. War Horse is an unforgettable theatrical experience which takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France. Based on the beloved novel by Michael Morpurgo, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness. At its heart are astonishing life-sized horses by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to thrilling life on stage.

At the outbreak of World War One, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the Cavalry and shipped to France. He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in No Man’s Land. Albert, who remained on his parents’ Devon farm, cannot forget Joey. Though still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find Joey and bring him home.

Age Guidance: 10+


Accessible Performances
Wednesday 25th September 2024 at 7.30pm AUDIO DESCRIBED (Touch Tour available at 6pm)
Friday 27th September 2024 at 7.30pm BSL Interpreted
Saturday 28th September 2024 at 2.30pm CAPTIONED

Camelot is in trouble. King Arthur knows that if he doesn’t turn things around, this civilisation will be forgotten, and be known as nothing more than a rather dull time in British history. But when three hapless squires approach him about changing that legacy... a legend is born.

Teaming up with one of UK theatre’s best comedy writers and directors, John Nicholson (Peepolykus), award-winning funny men Le Navet Bete (The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island, Dracula: The Bloody Truth) are back with a brand-new laugh-out-loud show for theatre. A comedy for the whole family, this hilarious retelling of the Arthurian legends will have audiences crying with laughter and becoming part of the legend themselves.

“Ingenious and effortlessly Hilarious” – The Stage

“If all theatre was this good we wouldn’t need TV” - BBC

“A company on top form and leagues ahead of anyone else doing this work. Completely outrageous but always on the money. Simply Beautiful” - What’s on Stage

"What Le Navet Bete does, and with such conviction, is persuade us that theatre is not an elite activity. It can, and should be, for everyone." - Reviews Hub

THE THEATRICAL PHENOMENON RETURNS TO THE UK

BRINGING ITS AWARD-WINNING
BLUEVOLUTION WORLD TOUR
SHOW TO THE UK FOR THE FIRST TIME

AEG Artistic Presents is thrilled to announce that Blue Man Group’s Bluevolution World Tour will be returning to the UK in 2024.

At Blue Man Group, audiences of all ages will rock, laugh and party as three bald and blue characters explore the world and discover music, comedy and surprises at every turn.

Blue Man Group’s Bluevolution World Tour will showcase classic Blue Man favourites in a music extravaganza from explosive paint drumming, comedy antics and unforgettable audience interaction along with brand new content, including the addition of a new female character exclusive to the current World Tour. In addition to the three Blue Men, the World Tour’s new character called “The Rockstar” replaces the traditional band as a multi-instrumentalist, with her eccentric style combined with her dynamic musical stylings complementing the multi-sensory nature of the show.

Created in 1991 by Chris Wink, Phil Stanton, and Matt Goldman, Blue Man Group has evolved into one of the most successful and recognisable stage shows, reaching 50 million people worldwide, picking up countless accolades and awards, as well as becoming part of the pop culture zeitgeist with appearances across shows from the Royal Variety Performance to Arrested Development to The Tonight Show. Co-founder Chris Wink says, “When we first began creating performances centered on this innocent, curious character called Blue Man, we never dreamt where he would lead us. We are so honored to be able to share our show with the people of the UK and beyond. With no language barrier to overcome, as the Blue Men don’t speak, fans of all ages, cultures and nationalities can enjoy the experience.”


Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult 18+

Presented by Pilot Theatre

Written by Manjeet Mann

Directed by Tessa Walker

★ ★ ★ ★ The Stage

★ ★ ★ ★ British Theatre Guide

Pilot Theatre brings you an electrifying adaptation of Manjeet Mann’s acclaimed novel. Amber is trapped – by her family’s rules, by their expectations, by her own fears. But on the running track she is completely free. As her body speeds up, the world slows down. And the tangled, mixed up lines in her head get s t r a I g h t e r . . .

This landmark production made especially for audiences of 11+ combines physical theatre, mesmerising visuals and a talented ensemble cast, setting the stage for a transformative story of revolution, empowerment and courage.

Olivier Award-winner Sally Cookson (A Monster Calls) directs the critically acclaimed Bristol Old Vic production of WONDER BOY by Ross Willis, a heart-warming and inspiring story about the power of communication.

“An audaciously inventive, sparky yet sensitive, giddily enjoyable new play that deserves to be packed to the rafters” ★★★★★ Guardian

Sonny is twelve. Living with a stammer, he’s finding his way in a world ruled by vicious vowels, confusing consonants, and let’s not forget the biggest beast of them all – small talk. 

Sonny’s only friend is Captain Chatter, a comic book hero of his own creation, but in the real-world language is power and Sonny must find a way to be heard. When cast in the school production of Hamlet by the Headteacher, he finds the real heroes are closer than he thinks.

Packed with playful humour, dazzling visuals and thrilling original music this innovative production includes live creative captioning on stage throughout.

Winner of the 2023 Writers’ Guild Award for Best Play.

Age Guidance 12+ (strong language throughout)


★★★★★ ‘AUDIENCE ROARING WITH LAUGHTER AND LOVE FROM THE FIRST MINUTE’
Whatsonstage

★★★★★ ‘IT'S SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL’
The Guardian

★★★★ ‘BOUNDINGLY IMAGINATIVE’
The Times