x.trax presents a selection of the best contemporary music, dance, theatre and performance from the UK and beyond. As well as the hundreds of events on the streets, x.trax offers you the chance to sample a diverse range of inspirational new performance in venues across Manchester and Salford.

HIGHLIGHTS
The theatrical and musical magic of IOU Theatre transforms
Upper Campfield Market...
A contemporary music/installation double bill featuring
XUMO and HOMELIFE (FREE)...
A 12 hour marathon of electronica, multimedia performance
and installation art - DYNAM_X...
Extraordinary new theatre Somewhere the Shadow, by Jeff Noon...
The unique Music Theatre Company Base Chorus...
The astonishing spectacle of the Drummers of Burundi...
4 diverse dance companies from the North

See xtrax:underground for details of the live art/contemporary performance programme at the green room and other locations...

Cure IOU Theatre

Thurs 3rd - Sun 6th May 7.30pm
Upper Campfield Market, Liverpool Road, Castlefield
Tickets £10/£8 concs. Box Office 0161 950 5900

"IOU's inimitable style matches Heath Robinson ergonomics to Samuel Beckett's sense of purpose." The Guardian on Cure
Take the road to recovery in this richly visual and darkly humorous prescription from the award winning IOU Theatre. Plagued by an infectious collection of characters with some unorthodox practices, a hapless patient enters a realm of unearthly hospital routines in a display of rude health and angelic hallucinations. A delirious soundscape of music and song, together with an elaborate collection of mechanical devices and theatrical scenarios, form the basis of a journey through an unfathomable system that mirrors the uncertainty of illness. Cure reveals the surprising connections we can all make when we are in need of a second opinion. Different areas of the building are transformed into environments that are experienced in different ways. Be prepared to walk about the space.

IOU will also be presenting 2 shows as part of X.trax on the Streets - Look out for the premiere of the company's new show DAYLIGHT NIGHTMARE as well as a number of appearances by LEECH! a performing parasite of enormous proportions on the move throughout the city centre during the weekend.

Xumo & Homelife

Sat 5th May from 8pm
Contact, Oxford Road
FREE admission by advance ticket only
available from Potential Development 0161 273 3435, mailbox@pd-uk.com

Xumo installation in foyer and bar from 8pm,
Xumo on stage at 9pm - UK premiere
Especially for x.trax, a contemporary music double bill featuring two of the most innovative bands in Europe, both based in Manchester. Strong bass lines, innovation and the integration of music, performance and visuals link the two bands that make up this unmissable event.

Cameroon born Xumo Nounjio is a multi-media artist based in Paris & Manchester. His style is a mixture of free-form movement and ritual chanting, with strong rhythm, provided by bassist Jim Parris (Carmel) and percussionist Christophe V. Using Bantu ritual, instinctive creativity, visuals and film Xumo brings together meaning and music to bamboo sticks, wood drums and deep, strong bass lines.

Homelife on stage at 10.30pm
Paddy Steer's Homelife is the dynamic, previously hidden soundtrack funk gem that leads Manchester's new music scene. For the last three years Homelife have been more concerned with creativity than publicity. But now, the word is out. The first two albums released on their own label, MADWALTZ, have been finding their way into the hands and heads of influential people as if they had legs and voices of their own. For those who have yet to witness Homelife live, their appearance at x.trax 2001 is the next opportunity to see what all the fuss is about.

plus Rudemovements Sounds & Special Guests

Sun 6th May from 7pm
Deluxe Lounge Café, Contact, Oxford Road
Tickets/Info 0161 274 0600

See x.trax:on the streets for more information about the outdoor music events, including the Continental Drifts Stage Great Northern Sounds, Samba City and Afoxe Loni - the closing event of the street festival...

Somewhere The Shadow
adapted from a short story by Jeff Noon

Fri 4th May 8pm
Sat 5th May 8pm & 10.30pm
running time 70mins approx.
Contact, Oxford Road. Tickets from £4. Box Office 0161 274 0600

'Find me...help me...retrieve me...stop me'
Creative mix media performance for the club generation. Set in a City, sometime in the near future. Somewhere The Shadow is a dark, sinister thriller that explores genetics & sexual engineering & plays with the serial killer genre to ask some very disturbing questions...

Sampling rough cuts from Jeff Noon's short story (published in the short story collection, Pixel Juice) this production is presented with live DJ mixes from cult Manchester label, Skam records.

Dynam_x

Sun 6th May from 12pm-12am
Zion Centre, Stretford Road, Hulme
Tickets £5 door or in advance from Pelicanneck Records,
Affleck's Palace, 0161 834 2569

Space Invaders from the UK electronic underground bring you a dynamic showcase of Atmosfericalelectronicart. 12 hours of digital art, performance, electronic music, visuals and installation, hosted by the Zion Centre.

EXHIBITION

NYX

- PAINTINGS

KRISTIAN HOLBROOK

- LIGHTBOXES

PETE GUNSON

- WOODDESIGN

PERFORMANCE

FREEFORM

- SKAM - LIVEACT (UK)

QUINOLINE YELLOW

- SKAM - LIVEACT (UK)

GESCOM

- DJs (mcr)

TURK MASTIK

- LIVEACT (leeds)

VECTOR CADETS

- DJs (leeds)

GEIOM

- DESELECT - LIVEACT (nottingham)

ALAN K

- DESELECT - DJ (nottingham)

HIPOPTIMIST

- DJ (mcr)

DAVE WHEELS

- DJ (nottingham)

SOLAR X

- WORM INTERFACE,ART/TEK(nottingham)

VISUAL ART

SPACE CADETS

- INFLATABLES (mcr)

BUBBLE

- LIVE VISUAL ART/ PROJECTIONS/ MUSIC (mcr)

VECTOR DISPLAY TEAM

- VISUAL ART/ PROJECTION (leeds)

ZOE UNDERWOOD

- VISUAL ART/ PROJECTIONS (mcr)

CEN REES

- INSTALLATION (mcr)

ACTIVE-OPTICS

- VISUAL ART (birmingham)

WOMAD presents
From the Heart of Africa
Drummers of Burund
Tananas (S.Africa)
Chartwell Dutiro (Zimbabwe)
 

Sun 6th May 7.30pm
The Lowry, Salford Quays
Tickets £6/£8/£10/13.50/£15.50. Box Office 0161 876 2000
Concessions £2 off, except £6 tickets which are £1 off

The Drummers of Burundi are famous the world over for their astonishing and powerful displays of ferocious drumming and agile dancing. They have been WOMAD regulars since the festival began in 1982.

The drummers enter dramatically onto the stage dressed in red, green and white togas, balancing huge log drums on their heads whilst never missing a beat. Energetic dance and chanting mixed with fascinating rhythms this is a truly joyous and amazing experience. Western musicians from Adam Ant and Joni Mitchell to Malcolm McLaren have been inspired by the thunderous rhythms of the Drummers of Burundi.

The Corrupted Angel Base Chorus

Sat 5th May 8pm
The Lowry, Salford Quays
Tickets £6/£8/£10. Box Office 0161 876 2000
Concessions £1 off

Base Chorus return with their unique music theatre. Gregorian chant meets tango and a million birds sing. A budgerigar croons, a lampstand dances, a tramp warbles with an angel. Darkly comic lyrics, a compelling electronic score and innovative staging; the invisible becomes visible.

'What does it cost to make a leap of faith?' 'The Heavenly Host invited you to the party of a lifetime. Every fantasy available, every wish fulfilled - even a death wish.'

At the top of the Grand Hotel, the corrupted angel Lucas throws wild parties to fuel his own disillusionment: watching the depravity of mortals and laughing. but when his personal assignment, a watchmaker, falls to his death, Lucas is hauled into the Court of Immortal Longing and interrogated by the Examining Angel. Forced to confront his crisis of faith Lucas may only achieve redemption if he can offer hope to four mortals: a tramp, a woman with a budgerigar, a man in love with a lampstand, and a psychiatrist. As dawn approaches, Lucas finds himself once again on his rooftop...
"This much oomph is hard to resist"
Time Out

Dance Northwest presents
Northern Exposure 2

Sat 5th May 1pm
Zion Centre, Stretford Road, Hulme
Tickets £5/£3 concs. Bookings/Information 0161 232 7179