29 June, 2007

In this week's programme presented by Kirsty Wark:

We're live from the brand new Manchester International Festival, for an extended edition of the programme at The Lowry Centre over the water in Salford. This will be a biennial Festival and its big sell is as a festival of "global premieres", with twenty five new works commissioned.

OPERA | Monkey: Journey to the West

PLAY | Interiors

BOOK | Perverted by Language - Short Stories Inspired by The Fall
Stephen Smith interviews Mark E Smith

PERFORMANCE| Lou Reed

FILM| Shrek The Third

THE PANEL: Paul Morley | Miranda Sawyer | John Harris |

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MONKEY: JOURNEY TO THE WEST

Monkey: Journey to the West, is a circus opera based on the most famous of the Chinese myth cycles, the fable of the monkey king. The book was banned during the Cultural Revolution, but was known to TV audiences here during the 70s and 80s.

Now it's been reinvented by the creative combo of Damon Albarn, composing, Jamie Hewlett, designing,  and the towering talent of the Chinese opera director Chen Shi- Zheng adapting and directing. A troupe of Chinese singers, dancers, acrobats and contortionists take to the stage, with an orchestra that reads like the United Nations. We'll be talking to Damon, Jamie and Shi-Zheng

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INTERIORS

At six o'clock tonight Paul, Miranda, John and I will be picked up from a bus stop in Manchester and taken to a secret location, a house somewhere in the suburbs. There, along with sixteen other members of "the audience" we will become part of "Interiors" the new site specific play devised by Johnny Vegas and Stewart Lee. There we will meet Geoffrey Parkin, who is hoping to sell his home to fund his relocation to Montenegro. Intrigued? We are. Meanwhile, Johnny Vegas reveals his secret side to Newsnight Review.

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PERVERTED BY LANGUAGE

The Fall are part of Manchester's DNA, and Perverted by Language is a new book of short stories inspired by Fall song titles.

There are contributions by Michel Faber, Stewart Lee and Stav Sheraz amongst the 23 authors.

Newsnight's Culture correspondent Steve Smith spoke to Mark E Smith about Manchester fame and this new fiction.

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LOU REED

Lou Reed is also in town to perform the British premiere of his dark, drug-infested narrative album Berlin - the story of the desperate downward spiral of a lowlife couple Caroline and Jim. Originally recorded in London with great musicians including Stevie Winwood and Jack Bruce - we don't yet know who'll be on stage with him tonight. He'll perform a track for Newsnight Review.

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SHREK THE THIRD

And from the demimonde of Lou Reed we are transported into the realm of Shrek and Fiona - no sooner have they embarked on wedded bliss than the frog king croaks it, naming Shrek as his reluctant heir AND Fiona's piling on the pressure for the patter of tiny claws. Shrek's in a state and he has to find Artie - Fiona's long lost cousin - and persuade him to take the throne in his place. Hence Justin Timberlake joins the Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett gang in Shrek The Third.

Do join us tonight for the Manchester International Festival special, from the Lowry Centre in Salford, Kirsty     

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Don't forget that you can watch Newsnight Review online via this website. The programme is available in broadband from 1200 BST on the Saturday after originally broadcast for one week.

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