Young People's Theatre to Present 140 CHARACTERS in Manchester, April 12-13

The norfox Young People's Theatre Company, the Library Theatre's resident company which gives young people aged between 15-18 the chance to gain valuable experience in developing their skills in a professional theatre environment, returns to Manchester Metropolitan University's Capitol Theatre in April with 140 Characters. The piece has been devised by members of the company, and will be directed by Rosie Stuart and Elisa Amesbury.

140 Characters will run Friday 12 and Saturday 13 April 2013 at 7.30pm.

Devised by young people immersed in a world of technology, 140 Characters explores the darkness, delights, and mysteries of the world at their fingertips. Audience members can help untangle the wires and even assist shaping the production via Twitter by submitting stories - in no more than 140 characters, of course - using the hashtag #StoriesGoViral. The directors will be using some of the submitted stories to develop the production and inspire storylines in it.

Previous norfox members have been accepted on drama courses at RADA, the Oxford School of Theatre, ALRA, and the Central School of Speech and Drama. Another recent norfox member appeared in The Wind in the Willows, the Library Theatre Company's hit Christmas 2011 production at The Lowry.

"The recent success of our students gaining places at some of the country's most prestigious drama schools illustrates the high standard of the work of the company," says the director Rosie Stuart, the Community & Education Producer at the Library Theatre Company.

Co-director Elisa Amesbury began her association with Library Theatre in 2010 when she undertook a year's residency as assistant director. She is very pleased to be back with the company and enjoying this long-awaited collaboration with Rosie. "We both feel strongly about shaping the show around the experiences of the young people in the group," she says. "It's exciting and a little scary for us because, in effect, the young people are in control!"

The production will play the Capitol Theatre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Cavendish Street, Manchester M15 6BG on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 April, 7.30pm (both performances will be captioned).

Tickets: £7 (£4 concessions) available from Cornerhouse box office on 0161 200 1500, or www.librarytheatre.com.

HOME, a brand new production centre for international contemporary art, theatre and film, will open in Manchester in 2014. As well as providing a welcoming space for arts lovers, it will be the home of great work which challenges, unsettles and inspires. HOME is the product of the merger of two of Manchester's best loved arts organisations, Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company. The two companies merged in April 2012, but will continue to have distinct programmes and identities until they move into the new building in 2014.

HOME's new building will include a 500 seat theatre, 150 seat flexible studio space, 550m² 4m high gallery space, up to five cinema screens, education spaces, digital production and broadcast facilities, café bar, restaurant and offices. It will provide new opportunities for artists and audiences to create work in a different way together, as well as a social and cultural hub. In one building, visitors will be able to see original new work across the visual arts, theatre and film.

HOME will be located at First Street, just off Whitworth Street West, in a lively new development. It will include a public square which is ripe for events, activities and performances. HOME will anchor the development of a dynamic creative quarter for Manchester, drawing together the creative energy emerging from Knott Mill to the west and the Palace Theatre to the east. It will change the cultural landscape in the city and the region, with positive impacts nationally and beyond.

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