The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner

21 - 23 Mar 2024

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Black and white photo headshot of a person. One half of their body is clean-shaven and wearing a suit and tie; the other half is not.
Date
21 - 23 Mar 2024
Venue
North Warehouse, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Tickets
Standard Tickets £15
Affordable Tickets £7.50
Aviva £10 tickets

Thursday 21 and Friday 22 March - 7.30pm

Saturday 23 March - 8pm

We’re putting art in the heart of Manchester, within reach of everyone; and have affordable options including £10 tickets for those on limited incomes.

For information about who qualifies for £10 and affordable tickets, visit our Affordable Ticketing Policy page

* Affordable and Aviva £10 Tickets are limited per performance and subject to availability.

To book access tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org

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Suitable for ages 14+ - Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+
Running time: approx 95 minutes – no interval

Accessibility features available for this event: Wheelchair Access

Collective Ma’louba present this thought-provoking play by Syrian playwright Mudar Alhaggi that raises searing questions about refuge, justice and hope

Two actors arrive to rehearsals finding only fragments of texts, historical documents, personal memories… but where is the play? Whose story are they telling? And what are their roles?

The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner interrogates the true story of one of the most wanted Nazi criminals to escape sentencing. Instrumental to the deportation of over 100,000 European Jews to concentration camps and ghettoes, Alois Brunner evaded numerous arrest attempts – fleeing to Damascus where he was instrumental in building Syria’s intelligence services.

Arriving in twenty-first century Berlin as a refugee, Syrian playwright Mudar Alhaggi discovers Brunner’s story and begins to research obsessively before disappearing... In this gripping play, we meet two actors piecing together the fragments of Alhaggi’s research as personal experience, world history, truth and fiction all collide.

Weaving together Syrian and German history, The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner explores exile, accountability and political memory – and the complex thread that ties the past to the present.

Mudar Alhaggi is a playwright, dramaturg and cultural activist, as well as founder and artistic director of Collective Ma’louba – an ensemble of Syrian theatre makers based across Germany and France. The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner sees Alhaggi work with the multi-award-winning Palestinian/Italian director Omar Elerian (The Bush, Royal Court Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company).

In Arabic with English subtitles. Lead image by Inq design.

The performance on 22 March features a post-show talk (9–9.45pm) with the creative team included with your ticket. Discussing the themes behind the play’s creation, they’ll explore how theatre can address complex historical issues and injustices, asking how does the long shadow of history haunt the lives of artists in the diaspora, how free can they be to address sensitive subject matter and what agency do Arab theatre makers have in current European cultural life?

WATCH

MUDAR ALHAGGI: 'I RETURN TO ANY ART CAPABLE OF TOUCHING MY SOUL AND MIND'

A person lying down on stage with eyes closed underneath a coat – with another person peering over him
Playwright Mudar Alhaggi on the inspiration for The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner and the power of stories

Photos

Tickets

We have a range of affordable tickets, including options from £10 for those who may need them. You can find out more about our Affordable Ticketing Policy here.

For ticketing and box office related enquiries, please contact tickets@factoryinternational.org or call 0333 322 8679 (phone lines are open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm).

For more information please visit Ticketing and Sale of Goods Terms & Conditions – Factory International

Credits

Text by Mudar Alhaggi

Direction by Omar Elerian

Actors: Wael Kadour and Mohammad Alrashi

A production by Collective Ma’louba

Co-produced by euro-scene Leipzig, Factory International and Theater an der Ruhr, supported by the Ministerium für Kunst und Wissenschaft NRW

Supported by Fonds Darstellende Kultur – Rechercheförderung, Berlin Mondiale, 1927 Art Space – Athens and Factory International

Access information

Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.

To book access tickets and personal assistant tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org

Access bookings can be made by email or phone. They are also available in person at Aviva Studios.

Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.

The entrance to the Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.

The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.

The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.

Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.

We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.

There is step-free access to all areas of the venue, with lift access to the Warehouse from the Social. If you require step free seating for this event please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).

This play includes references to trauma, depression, torture and mild drug use.

There is an audio described performance of The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner on Saturday 23 March at 7.30pm.

Travel information

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

Our closest stations are:

Salford Central station: 0.4 miles

Deansgate station and Deansgate-Castlefield tram: 0.6 miles

St Peter’s Square tram: 0.6 miles

Manchester Victoria station is approximately one mile from Aviva Studios

Manchester Piccadilly station is approximately 1.3 miles from Aviva Studios

Click on the links above to find detailed access information for each station.

By Bike

There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.

National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.

You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

By Walking and Other Active Means

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.

All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.

Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.

A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.

Free bus services stop at all city-centre stations, and near to Aviva Studios along Deansgate, Bridge St and Quay St. Buses on these free routes are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus routes, please visit the TfGM website.

There is a car park approximately 0.6 miles from Aviva Studios at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.

There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.5 miles away from Aviva Studios at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

There are a small number of Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.

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