1974 Productions return to Hope Mill

Following their success with the 2019 tour of Ian Townsend’s multi award winning play All The Bens (sold out dates, Greater Manchester Fringe Award for Best Drama, Nominated for Best Actor, Best Revival and Oldham Coliseum Pick of the Fringe), 1974 Productions are proud to present Ian’s new full-length play My Favourite Place In The Whole Wide World.

Longlisted for the 2019 Bruntwood/Royal Exchange International Playwriting Competition, this beautiful new play tells the story of Ruth (Claire Eden) and J (Ben Kenzie), two people in search of love and purpose in a world of confusion and loss. We watch Ruth and J grow from children to adults and see how they’ve been influenced by events and circumstances.

Shot through with humour, My Favourite Place In The Whole Wide World is an engaging and heartfelt play about growing up, finding your place in the world, and making unexpected connections.

1974 Productions have been building their reputation on the Manchester Independent Theatre scene (and beyond) since 2018, when their production of A Different Way Home won Best Adaption/Revival and Best Actor at the Greater Manchester Fringe Awards. They followed this in 2019 with a revival of Ian Townsend’s All the Bens, which toured venues across the North West (Manchester, Crewe, Oldham, Rochdale) and played a sold-out date in London. This won Best Drama at the Manchester Fringe Awards and was shortlisted/nominated in 3 other categories including Oldham Coliseum’s Pick of the Fringe. My Favourite Place In The Whole Wide World will be their first full-length play in production.

Director – James Schofield

James was attracted to the play by the mix of direct address to the audience and fast-paced dialogue, which keeps both the audience and the actors on their toes. The free-flowing script – moving from year to year and location to location – allows the production team total creativity with design, feel and look. And the engaging story and unique characters offer an absorbing insight into the lives of two people who seem totally lost and helpless to events happening around them, and yet make tragic mistakes which isolate them even more.

Writer – Ian Townsend

As well as All The Bens, Ian has had success with other plays including Being Amazing (The Octagon Bolton National Prize), The Lonely Walk Home (The BBC’s Alfred Bradley Bursary Award), The House in Sofia with a Map of its Surroundings (Kings Cross Award), Turn Around (BBC 3’s The Verb) and Granny Must Die (performed across the UK and in South Africa!)

My Favourite Place In The Whole Wide World will be performed at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester from Tuesday 1^st March – Sunday 6^th March 2022 inclusive.

As well as a reduced priced preview on Tues 1^st and a matinee on Sat 5th, there is a post-show Q&A and a BSL interpreted performance on days TBC

Full booking details and ticket prices available at www.hopemilltheatre.co.uk