Everybody Loves A Winner at the Royal Exchange 1st July – 1st August

Neil Bartlett turns the Royal Exchange into a bingo hall in this Manchester International Festival commission.

This summer, Neil Bartlett returns to Manchester with a brand new theatre show, specially created for the Royal Exchange as part of the second Manchester International Festival. The play follows a group of 20 raucous friends as they pit their luck against the numbers drawn by charismatic bingo caller Frank. Despite the friendly banter and cheap drinks, each one is secretly hoping they will be the one winner in a roomful of losers…

But perhaps, just perhaps, YOU will be the winner. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, you are invited to play along with this all-singing, all-dancing show. You might even come away with a cash prize!

This new show is a triumphant return for Bartlett following his directorial success at the inaugural Manchester International Festival in 2007 with The Pianist. This searing adaptation of Wladyslaw Szpilman’s memoirs of going into hiding in Poland during World War Two won awards at that year’s MEN Theatre Awards. It has gone on to earn widespread critical acclaim and has shown in London as well as being adapted for Radio 4. It will return to Manchester, showing at the Royal Exchange between 17th and 27th June, before the start of this year’s Manchester International Festival.