Refract:18 festival – 10 must-see music & performance events at Waterside

Following the success of last year’s Refract arts festival, the Waterside-curated showcase is back with a jam-packed 10-day line-up of live performances, art installations and making sessions for audiences of all ages. Refract:18 runs from Thursday 19 to Saturday 28 July and features a creative programme bursting with music, comedy, theatre and family events inviting you to see things differently in and around Trafford’s vibrant arts venue. Expect the unexpected, from some secret spaces and a pop-up puppet show in a magical canvas dome to intelligent amphibians taking over the world (War with the Newts, Sat 21 Jul & Sun 22 Jul, 6.30pm) and a silent disco with painting on the side (Make, Do & Bop, Fri 27 Jul, 10.30am & 1.30pm). There’s clowning and circus skills with Long Shot (Thu 19 Jul, 7pm), and cabaret courtesy subversive queer artists Mother’s Ruin (Fri 20 Jul, 8pm) and international collective Cabaret from the Shadows (Sat 21 Jul, 9.30pm). The main theatre welcomes the likes of brand-new two-hander Stuntman (Tue 24 Jul, 8pm) and the ingenious Showstopper! The Improvised Musical (Thu 26 Jul, 7.30pm), plus music from the funk-fuelled Tankus the Henge (Fri 20 Jul, 8pm) and reggae-popsters Jeramiah Ferrari (Fri 27 Jul, 8pm), while you can join talented multi-instrumentalist Minute Taker for an immersive gig in the Art Deco delight that is the upstairs Chambers hall (Sat 21 Jul, 8pm). The whole shebang comes to a close with a special party on Saturday 28 July, with details yet to be announced. Sit tight…

Thu Fri 19–Sat 28 Jul, Waterside, 1 Waterside Plaza, Sale, Manchester, M33 7ZF, Tel: 0161 912 5616, times and prices vary, www.refract.org.uk

For more events at Waterside click here.