MIF 2015 | The Best Bits (So Far)

SINCE its inception in 2007, Manchester International Festival has gone from exciting start-up to established power-player on the international arts scene. Its influence reaches far and wide, and it brings plenty back to the city too, with an estimated 250,000 attendees (including 50,000 attending free performances) and benefits to the local economy to the tune of £38m in 2013.

WHAT IS MIF?

Well before Glastonbury, MIF was hosting controversial rapper and self-proclaimed rockstar Kanye West 

But what Manchester International Festival really brings to the city is much more intangible than that: the thrill of discovery, the buzz of major artworks being created on your doorstep, the feeling of having your mind broadened in a day.

So, at the dawn of  MIF 2015, we amp up the mood even further by taking a stroll down memory lane with these images of festivals past: 

Monkey: Journey to the West , MIF07

Monkey: Journey to the West made the headlines for MIF07 with its daring, dazzling combination of Chinese opera and circus from composer Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett together with director Chen Shi-Zheng and a cast of actors, acrobats and musicians from China and Europe.

PJ Harvey, MIF07

PJ Harvey brought her signature smouldering intensity to MIF07 with a one-off gig at the Bridgewater Hall.

Kanye West, MIF07

Well before Glastonbury, MIF was hosting controversial rapper and self-proclaimed rockstar Kanye West at the Manchester Apollo.

Jeremy Deller's Procession at MIF09

Jeremy Deller opened MIF09 with Procession, which used the whole city as his performance space.

Kraftwerk at the Manchester Velodrome, MIF09

MIF09 was all about finding the most unexpected places to host performances: the winner was Kraftwerk at the Manchester Velodrome - the German musicians played as Olympic cyclists whizzed by.

Elbow and The Halle Orchestra, MIF09

Local boys (and international rockstars) Elbow took on local orchestra (and international classical stars) The Hallé with two special performances which Guy garvey described as "a love letter to the city".

Zaha Hadid Architects/JS Bach, MIF09

Zaha Hadid Architects took the spaces theme to its limits with its white ribbon-inspired cocoon for performances of Bach at the Manchester City Art Gallery.

Bjork, MIF11

Bjork brought the weird to MIF11 with her groundbreaking Biophilia residency.

Snoop Doggy Dogg, MIF09

And Snoop brought the Snoop with a multimedia presentation of his debut album, Doggystyle.

Victoria Wood's That Day We Sang, MIF11

In a tantalising juxtapostion to Snoop, Victoria Wood's That Day We Sang was rapturously received by audiences and ended up as the Royal Exchange's Christmas play.

Macbeth, MIF13

Audiences sweltered as the rain poured and flames danced in this high-profile production of Macbeth performed in a deconsecrated church. Kenneth Branagh starred and directed while Alex Kingston vamped it up as Lady Macbeth.

The Masque of Anarchy, MIF13

In 2013 Maxine Peake broke into the MIF inner circle with The Masque of Anarchy, Shelley’s poem about Peterloo, hauntingly recited just yards from where the massacre happened.

The Old Woman, MIF13

Unexpected combinations abounded when revered ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, Hollywood actor William Dafoe and the experimental theatre director Robert Wilson met in a production of The Old Woman.

Despacio, MIF13