​The North West has a lot to show off and with the recent announcement of the green light being given for the Factory Arts Building  of  it’s great that that’s been recognised nationally. 

Closer to home (the pun’s subtle but it’s there) PUSH festival produced in partnership between HOME where the festival takes place and Autotrader is back to showcase the Northwests theatre, art and cinema talent.

Isabelle Crossiant, producer, said HOME are thrilled to celebrate the wonderful work the artists produce. And they should be. The variety- there’s in excess of 30 events over the 2 week period starting Saturday 14 January 2017- is astounding. 

To take a look at what’s on offer (there’s far too much for me to list here) and busy up the second half of a normally dreary month take a look here. There are deals if you book 2 theatre performances or 2 workshops together and there’s bound to be a couple of things you’re keen on.

I’m especially excited for I’m standing Next to You (16-17 January at 9:00pm) which focuses on a concept I’ve been harping on about for a while; the modern world can be lonely, despite (or because) we are all constantly virtually connected. This piece of Promenade Theatre (the audience are part of the work, as opposed to sat watching it) brought to the festival by the Mill Theatre Company invites us to enter a lonely crowd. 

Other interesting plays include The Trial (16-18 January,  7:00pm) a novel you may have read about one man’s struggle to prove his own innocence against power adapted for the stage by Evelyn Roberts and Matt Holt. 

Mighty Heart Theatre bring stories of hope and kindness from the happiest and unhappiness places in the UK on 21 and 22 January. 

There are also work in progress showings (which are often some of my personal favourites, allowing you to experience something raw about the story being told) that you can see. 

As I mentioned it’s not all theatre. There’s a preview of  Manchester-based film maker Jason Wingard’s part documentary part fictional film created over a year in the infamous Calais Jungle,  for instance.

A Place Called Happiness

There are also panel discussions to enjoy and workshops for every level of speaker, dancer, actor, artist, creator and those who don’t believe they qualify as any of those things but want to try something new. 

The trickiest part of PUSH is going to be fitting everything in alongside boring real-life commitments. But you can do without hoovering for a couple of weeks. It’s for art.