Futureworlds Project ft. 24 plays at Royal Exchange

A four-day-long event at the Royal Exchange will feature 24 250-word plays written by local children and playwrights. Young people from across Greater Manchester and the North West have worked with artists, theatre-makers, teachers, activists and elders to develop creative ways of communicating their vision for the future society. The exhibition, 24 Hours in the Dark, will see audiences lying or sitting on a cushion in complete darkness while they listen to the plays, from children aged as young as seven to award-winning playwrights Chris Thorpe and Andy Sheridan. The exhibition is part of the Futureworks Project, a collection of free exhibitions, performances and speeches in the Royal Exchange’s Studio, which will become a gallery, performance space and a living library for the weekend. All 24 plays will be delivered in 50 drama-packed minutes. The energetic series also includes an exhibition centred on a specially commissioned cardboard city, which is a collaboration between young people and theatre designer Loui Whitemore, and will come complete with projections and an atmospheric soundtrack. The line-up of the free events for over the four days offers a snapshot of youths in today’s society. On the Sunday there will be a day of debate entitled ‘Future Focussed’, which is set to reveal young people’s political knowledge with provocation, discussion and inspirational, agenda setting speechmaking. The event is organised by the Futureworlds Project, part of the national Truth About Youth, which aims to engage, entertain and further the debate of the future that awaits young people.

Thu 14- Sun 17 Nov, Royal Exchange Theatre, St Anns Square, M2 7DH, Thu 6pm, Fri 6.50pm, Sat 12.30pm, Sun 11.30am, FREE – some events are ticketed, www.royalexchange.co.uk