New musical theatre: Hair at Hope Mills

Ancoats’ independent theatre and event space Hope Mill Theatre hosts its second in-house production, Hair, later this year. The Grade II-listed former cotton mill is located in Pollard Street, and has been building up a reputation as one of the city’s best new theatrical venues. Hair tells the story of the ‘tribe’, a group of politically active New York hippies protesting against conscription into the Vietnam War. As an iconic reflection on the zeitgeist, Hair is set against a backdrop of the sexual revolution and counter-culture of the 1960s, and explores the themes of war and liberation. The musical that defined an epoch has been produced by Hope Mill’s co-owners Joseph Houston and Will Whelton, plus the new resident producer, Katy Lipson of Aria Entertainment. This will be second joint production with Aria Entertainment – a collaboration that also produced the highly acclaimed Parade, and looks set to co-produce three more new musicals at Hope Mill in 2017.

Sat 12 Nov – Sat 3 Dec, Hope Mills Theatre, 113 Pollard Street, Manchester M4 7JA, Tel: 0161 275 9141, £15 – £22, www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk