New partnership with First Draft lets the artists in

Thanks to support from Arts Council England we are about to enter an exciting new partnership with First Draft, Manchester.

They have been awarded a grant to put their regular events at the Castle Hotel on pause for the time being, in order to focus on a programme of special one-off cabaret nights in cultural venues. They’re also venturing out across the North, with events in Newcastle as well as Manchester.

Each line up will consist of the usual First Draft mix of literature, comedy, drama, music, and other sorts of less categorisable performances. Then, for each event, they will commission a mix of emerging and established artists to create brand new pieces of work inspired by the venues or a collection held there. They will also commission online pieces around each event, which will be published on the First Draft blog.

The venues for 2018 and 2019 will be Chetham’s Library, Manchester Jewish Museum and The Portico Library in Manchester and The Lit & Phil, Woodhorn Museum and Newcastle Castle in Newcastle.

Jane Beardsworth, Director North, Arts Council England said, “It’s fantastic to see a successful grass roots literature organisation like First Draft receiving funding through our National Lottery funded Grants for the Arts programme to expand its reach across the north of England. Working in partnership with The Writing Squad, one of our National Portfolio Organisations, this project will help to connect museums, libraries, artists and audiences across two major northern cities and I look forward to seeing how it develops.”

Squad Director Steve Dearden said, “We are excited to be working in partnership with First Draft Let the artists in! It’s an excellent opportunity for new writers to create and perform new work alongside more experienced and well known performers of all disciplines, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with.”