When the darkness knocks…

Chris Horkan
Creepy capers across Manchester and the North for little and big ghosts with the most.
National Archives UK

When the darkness knocks… at Chetham’s Library, Manchester 31 October 2016 Entrance is free

It’s Halloween, and there is a darkness calling from a building that has witnessed the shadows of history flood the city. Chetham’s Library has soaked itself in secrets and stories and now First Draft coming to let the building speak. Our incredible line-up of performers will be sharing new music, stories, poetry and drama to tell the tales that the building cannot speak itself.

Our performers will explore the creepy, strange and dark in this thick-walled, medieval building. Can a place ever shake it’s past? And if that past is as a priests residence, a prison, a gunpowder factory, a stately home and a school — what happens when all those histories wake up at once?

Writers:
Rosie Garland (author of Vixen and The Palace of Curiosities)
Kate Feld
Abi Hynes
Harry Jelley
Ella Otemewo
Jack Nicholls

Musician: Jez Hewes

Actor and comedian: Julie Burrow

The event is free, although we will be taking donations on the door, and you don’t need to book.

When the darkness knocks… at Chetham’s Library, Manchester 31 October 2016 Entrance is free

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