Max Richter’s Sleep

Carmel Smickersgill, Tours & Activities Editor
HOME

Max Richter’s Sleep at HOME Manchester, Manchester 18 September 2020 Entrance is free — Visit now

Max Richter’s Sleep is one of the more extreme pieces of music to be written in the 21st Century. This 8.5-hour long odyssey is designed to be listened to during a full night’s sleep with Richter describing it as a piece that should be experienced rather than listened to. When the piece has been performed live, audiences have listened on beds rather than seats, where, through Richter’s sub-bass and comforting drones, they are encouraged to find slumber.

This September, HOME will be showing the 2019 film created in celebration of the piece. Emmy-nominated director Natalie Johns weaves in BAFT-winning Yulia Mahr’s personal archive and performance footage from Berlin, Sydney, and Paris to create a rich portrait of a shared artistic process, along with contributions that illuminate both the science and story behind the work. Mahr and Richter are long time collaborators who have continued to create work in lockdown, exploring the themes of human experience and connection.

A piece that should be experienced rather than listened to

The film reflects Richter’s vision to disassemble the rush and chaos of modern life, replacing it with an experience of meditative calm and community. Through following the process behind an ambitious open-air performance of this extended opus, you are given an insight into the artistic and practical problems a piece of such enormous scale creates.

Take yourself away from the outside world and enter one of complete calm with this award-winning documentary and Max Richter’s Sleep.

This preview screening will be followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with Richter and Mahr.

Max Richter’s Sleep at HOME Manchester, Manchester 18 September 2020 Entrance is free Visit now

What's on at HOME Manchester

Where to go near Max Richter’s Sleep

Manchester
Restaurant
Indian Tiffin Room, Manchester

Indian Tiffin Room is a restaurant specialising in Indian street food, with branches in Cheadle and Manchester. This is the information for the Manchester venue.

The Ritz Manchester live music venue
Manchester
Music venue
The Ritz

The Ritz was originally a dance hall, built in 1928, has hosted The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and The Smiths and is still going strong as a gig venue now.

Homeground
Manchester
Event venue
Homeground

Homeground is HOME’s brand new outdoor venue, providing an open-air space for theatre, food, film, music, comedy and more.

Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
Burgess Cafe Bar
at IABF

Small but perfectly-formed café – which also serves as the in-house bookstore, stocking all manner of Burgess-related works, along with recordings of his music. It’s a welcoming space, with huge glass windows making for a bright, welcoming atmosphere.

Rain Bar pub in Manchester
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Rain Bar

This huge three-floor pub, formerly a Victorian warehouse, then an umbrella factory (hence the name), has one of the city centre’s largest beer gardens. The two-tier terrace overlooks the Rochdale canal and what used to be the back of the Hacienda, providing an unusual, historic view of the city.

Manchester
Bar or Pub
The Briton’s Protection

Standing on the corner of a junction opposite The Bridgewater Hall, The Briton’s Protection is Manchester’s oldest pub. It has occupied the same spot since 1795, going under the equally patriotic name The Ancient Britain.

Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
Castlefield
Gallery
Castlefield Gallery

The influential Castlefield Gallery sits at the edge of Manchester’s exciting Castlefield district, an ideal home for thought-provoking contemporary art.

What's on: Cinema

Culture Guides

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

A woman sits in a car with hands holding the steering wheel.
Cinema in the North

Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.

Okechukwu Nzelu
Literature Events in the North

If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.