CYC – Live Art Alive

Josh Wilkinson in CENSUS at CONTACT
Image credit: David Hall

Written and Performed by Malandra Jacks

Commissioned by hÅb and CONTACT

CONTACT

Mancunion theatre company Malandra Jacks was formed in 2017 by Josh Wilkinson and Chloe Barlow. Both have their roots firmly based in North Manchester and create work with a strong social conscience so perhaps no surprise that CENSUS is a celebration of Moston. Three miles from the city centre and 20 minutes on the bus yet a world away in so many ways. The next 75 minutes is a riotous and heartfelt journey that introduces the audience to local people, landmark locations, a history of the area and the social problems facing this community as it navigates present day working class identity.

The staging design by Faz Barber is highly effective. The simple white set is clean cut and created on blocks that allow maximum flexibility creating bus rides, living rooms with fireplaces that become conference lecterns, or plain walls that suddenly have windows to chat through. All of this is enhanced and utilised to the maximum by Projection Designer David Hall who does a beautiful job of creating maps of the area overlaid by images and video footage that create a vibrancy and immediacy to the whole production. This is clearly a labour of love by Malandra Jacks, Dramaturg Kate Bradham and the whole creative team.

Josh and Chloe bounce unto the stage with energy and enthusiasm as they immediately whisk the audience unto a bus trip to their home town. This trip is peppered with stories of weary mums, combative women, the odd bloodied man to be either stepped over or aided…and of course the invaluable information that it is indeed possible to travel on the 117 bus with a double mattress. Once in Moston there are audio recordings and video footage of local people talking about the area and what home means to them. There is a lively visit to their terraced house where they both live with Joshs’ mum Sue. Both children of divorce in lower income families there are also the splashes of what make each of us special and unique. Chloe lived with her Grandma who was a classically trained singer while Josh was welcomed into the world like the baby Jesus of Moston with hospital visits by Caroline Aherne and the local Lord and Lady Mayors.

Josh Wilkinson and Chloe Barlow in CENSUS at CONTACT.
Image credit: David Hall

A jump back in time to a social chronicle of 1905 Moston Characters At Play by John Ward is a poignant reminder that this area has always been home to characters forged through hardship and shaped by grit and determination. A lively interactive game of working class bingo wins one lucky audience member a loaf of Warburton’s …there is no artisan bread just yet but gentrification of the area is looming and may yet produce a war amongst the locals regarding beans, cheese, or avocado on toast. The sobering aspect of this production is the attempt to analyse what is modern working class identity when there no longer are jobs. Newspaper headlines and statistics appear peppered across the stage like graffiti and some of the statistics are damning. However this is a story of a community who want to be seen and heard for the positives and not just the negatives

The core of this production is about what strong community values mean and how they enhance and are the very backbone of what makes an area viable. There is a focus here on community groups and local volunteers who maintain youth clubs and local hubs. CENSUS gives them a powerful and inspiring voice that celebrates how they support and enrich the lives of local people. The impact is tangible as we sit in CONTACT watching a show developed by local people who were themselves supported by Youth Zone, by CONTACT itself through CYC(Contact Young Company) and The Agency. The show closes on the sobering news that the latest round of funding cuts has closed yet another vital community hub, Whitemoss Youth Club. We can only hope that the positive and hopeful voices in Moston and the surrounding areas remain loud enough to be heard and CENSUS is an important part of that social agency.

CENSUS 13th- 16th September 2023

Malandra Jacks

Key Moston Statistics | SOURCE Manchester City Council’s Intelligence Hub

Pupils achieving 5+ in English and Maths: Moston 25.52%, versus 73.36% Chorlton and 40.10% national average

Universal credit claimants: Didsbury West- 614 (7.72%), Chorlton- 723 (11%) versus Harpurhey- 4383 (43.5%) and Moston- 3039 (35%)

Residents claiming unemployment benefit- Didsbury West- 250 (3.12%), Chorlton- 280 (4.2%), Harpurhey- 1135 (11.3%)

CONTACT

Contact Young Company

Directed by Matt Fenton

Choreographed by Yandass Ndlovu

After 3 years, a 6.75 million pound building and redevelopment project and a global pandemic, CONTACT finally opened its doors to the viewing public again. The iconic building on Oxford Road launches with a powerful new dance production Everything All of the Time. Directed by the theatre’s long standing Artistic Director Matt Fenton and choreographed by Manchester’s Yandass Ndlovu, it is absolutely fitting that CYC (Contact Young Company) are the first to grace the main stage. The result is an hour long immersion in the visceral emotions of young people who were undoubtedly impacted by living in a pandemic but whose identity is ultimately shaped by so much more in this rapidly changing world.

Everything All of the Time skillfully blends dance and spoken word against a soundtrack of artists such as Gaika, Migos and Phaeleh. The result feels seamless and yet edgy with performances that flow from sharply observed satirical reflections on 2020 to tender reflections on love and self into blistering dance that exalt physical strength and our capacity to still breathe in a world than has seen us masked and fearful. One of the most emotive moments may well be the simple sounds of unabashed noisy breath sounds whether in a haka inspired piece or elsewhere, there was something so pure and adulterated in those moments on stage. The stage itself creates a powerful impact… vast and sparse with a simple white backdrop that allows the performers to be the absolute focus at all times. Every inch of the vast staging is utilised whether in spotlit pole dancing or in groupings that fill the space or utterly own it as 16 performers advance on their audience, 16 faces, 16 stories…all special and memorable

Whether reflecting on justice for George Floyd, burning forests, saving Hulme Hippodrome or the cancellation of Holby City; at the heart of this production is the theme of connection and inclusion. Moving through the aisles while singing about being born believing I belong in boxes or on stage coming together in rapturous embraces, speaking from the heart while sitting in the boxes or breaking the fourth wall as they stare straight out into the eyes of their audience…CYC immerse everyone into this production. Director, choreographer and performers ensure that this dance piece allows for everyone to find their own deeply personal response.

CONTACT is all about putting young people at the front and the core of its organisation. This is a theatre which strives to not just empower young people through the arts and creativity but to give them a voice in how that happens. Young people feature at the very heart of all decision making and CONTACT is a national exemplar of best practice in relation to young people and diversity. The major redevelopment of the building has seen its young members be a part of every stage of the decision making process from choosing architects and plans to the development of new recording studios, free work and social spaces to new performance spaces and a unique health and science development space supported by The Welcome Trust. In dialoging with and giving young people the very best resources what CONTACT has achieved in Manchester is something that really celebrates the youth of our city. There is an established history of CYC cohorts who have gone to great success in the arts. A new cohort is chosen every year and they get to develop their talents in spoken word, performance, music, dance,etc. Working with other established exciting companies such as Slung Low and HighRise Theatre, also allows the cohorts to make valuable industry connections and go on to work on new projects and support the next set of cohorts as emerging artists. Tonight’s performance is a wonderful testament to a shared vision that has never been diminished by funding cuts to the Arts or indeed a global pandemic.

This production is brimming with creative flair, humour, tenderness, unbridled energy and raw talent. Gaika is cited as one of the creative influences for this work. He terms his own work as Ghetto Futurism and a quote from him seems to perfectly sum up CYC and the ethos of CONTACT

This is who we are and we’re here to stay. You can’t turn us off.

CONTACT 6th – 9th October 2021