A newly refurbished space, Upstairs, in The Seven Oaks pub in the centre of Manchester will launch with four productions and will be available for "affordable" hire.
The space is currently being refurbished into a performance space with an audience capacity of 45, with usage costs starting from a £25 equipment hire plus a £100 deposit, which producer Gareth Kavanagh hopes "will help spark the fringe scene in Manchester which has dwindled in recent years, especially since we've lost spaces like the Lass O'Gowrie, Fierce Bar and 3MT in the intervening years."
The venue is launched this month with the plays Philip Larkin: Masterspy by Mark Griffiths directed by Ross Kelly (8–11 January 2025), The List written and directed by Paul Daley (27–28 January), Me and Him and Who by Stephen Wyatt directed by Sean Mason (30 January to 2 February) and Sherica by Ian Winterton directed by Annie Wallace (4–10 February).
In Philip Larkin: Masterspy, which stars Dan Thackeray and Carly Tarrett, the titular poet is tasked by Margaret Thatcher "with carrying out an audacious piece of international espionage that could alter the course of the Cold War"—to steal a secret document from the handbag of Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev's wife.
In The List, featuring horror film actor Pete Gibson and Rich Dee, Paul Clement dines on his own in a Paris restaurant when he is approached by a stranger who knows his secret: he is a Nazi war criminal.
Me and Him and Who brings to the stage the story of John Nathan-Turner, played by Richard Unwin, who produced TV's Doctor Who from 1980 to 1989, with Paul Antony as JN-T's partner Gary Downie.
Sherica was awarded Best of the Fringe at the inaugural Manchester Theatre Award ceremony in 2012 after featuring in the previous year's 24:7 Theatre Festival. This new, extended version, starring Leah Eddleston, Jonathan Carley, Claire Dean, Ellie Blythin, Richard Vergette and Tristan Royle, tells the story of Katie, who earns money as a sex worker to ensure a better future for her younger sister, Katie, but finds herself being blackmailed and having to fight to keep the truth from Katie.