Dark Noon

6 - 10 Mar 2024

This event has ended
● this event has ended 
Two people holding two American flags on a yellow background
Date
6 - 10 Mar 2024
Venue
South Warehouse, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Tickets
Standard Tickets £24
Affordable Tickets £12
Aviva £10 tickets
This event has ended

Suitable for ages 14+ - Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+. Content warnings: This show contains potentially distressing themes, depictions of suicide, physical and sexual violence, haze, strobe lighting and nudity.
Running time: 100 minutes - no interval

Accessibility features available for this event: Captioning Wheelchair Access

Dark Noon is a mind-blowing theatrical experience – a brutal reimagining of the history of America

A phenomenal South African cast tear open the savagery of the Wild West myth – offering a fresh look at the birth modern America, when 35 million impoverished Europeans arrived in search of a new life.

But at what cost? Told from the perspective of Native Americans, Chinese immigrants and African slaves, the race for land, gold and a place to call home has long been romanticised – but not anymore.

They say history is told by the victors; this story is told by the vanquished.

The break-out hit of 2023’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival arrives in Manchester before a four-week run in New York. Exposing the brutality of the American Dream, Dark Noon is a must-see piece of explosive theatre.

A fix+foxy production from award-winning Danish director Tue Biering and co-director Nhlanhla Mahlangu.

Produced by Glynis Henderson Productions and Pleasance.

  • One of the most innovative, provocative, powerful pieces of theatre I have ever seen. This immersive, myth-busting masterpiece had an almighty impact on me which will continue to unfold for a very long time.

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge

  • Fresh arresting and not a little troubling. Extraordinary

    The Guardian

  • Truly Staggering

    British Theatre Guide

  • Jaw-droppingly audacious, breathtakingly fearless

    Arts Desk

  • Irresistible

    The Scotsman


  • Wildly playful and deeply compassionate. I loved every beautiful bit of it.

    Simon Amstell

  • Incredibly exciting. One of the most ambitious and fearless pieces of theatre to be presented at the Edinburgh Fridge in the past decade

    The Stage UK

  • Dripping with energy, irony and anger

    The Observer

Watch ↓ 

Dark Noon Trailer

Read ↓ 
  • Q&A: Nhlanhla Mahlangu

    Co-director Nhlanhla Mahlangu on South African liberation and what art keeps him inspired in difficult times.
  • Q&A: Tue Biering

    Director Tue Biering on the stories at the heart of Dark Noon and making art that responds to the current moment.

Ticket information

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 Friday, 10am to 8pm and Saturday from 10am to 6pm).

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

Credits

Director and Scriptwriter Tue Biering
Choreographer and Co-director Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Set Designer Johan Kølkjær
Sound Designer Ditlev Brinth
Light Designer Christoffer Gulløv
Props Designer Marie Rosendahl Chemnitz

Factory International in association with Glynis Henderson Productions and Pleasance present Dark Noon, a fix+foxy production

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 show contains potentially distressing themes, depictions of suicide, physical and sexual violence, haze, strobe lighting and nudity.

There is a captioned performance of Dark Noon on Friday 8 March 2024 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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Reframe: Director's Cut and Exhibition

Two people in yellow hazmat suits
Coming to see Dark Noon? Drop into our Reframe exhibition and see the premiere of Reframe: Director’s Cut – a film centring the responses of Black artists to the climate emergency.
Sign up ↓