Manchester International Festival

Synopsis

The Culture Show captures the best of the 2009 Manchester International Festival. This programme goes behind the scenes with artist Jeremy Deller, as he gets the festival off to a bang on Sunday July 5th. Famous for recreating the Battle of Orgreave and for fusing acid house with brass band culture, Deller has been at work for months on a massive procession down Deansgate. Thousands are expected to take part, in this one-off event combining art, music and protest politics.

There’s also a rare TV interview with Ralf Hϋtter, founder member of reclusive German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk - and stars of a one-off concert at the Manchester Velodrome.

Lauren Laverne talks to Guy Garvey. His band Elbow are working with the original Manchester band, the Halle Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall.

There's also a profile of the Young at Heart Choir. Made up of singers in their 70s and 80s, Young at Heart made its name with their unique take on songs by the Clash and James Brown. The Culture Show caught up with them rehearsing a brand new show for the Manchester Festival – End of the Road, based around iconic Manchester songs.

Plus, Carlos Acosta prepares to perform new work at the festival, exploring the idea of the male muse in ballet. His programme includes work by Balanchine's classic Apollo and Robbins' A Suite of Dances.

A panel of cultural critics discuss all these highlights from Manchester plus performance art from Marina Abramovic, and a new work by German artist Gustav Metzger.

Credits

Presenter

Lauren Laverne

Presenter

Mark Kermode

Producer

Edward Morgan

Producer

Danielle Graham

Broadcasts

1. Wed 8 Jul 2009
   19:00
   BBC Two (except Northern Ireland (Analogue), Wales (Analogue))
2. Sun 12 Jul 2009
   00:30
   BBC Two (Scotland only)
3. Sun 12 Jul 2009
   01:10
   BBC Two (England, Northern Ireland, Wales only)