It Felt Like A Kiss at Hardman Square 2nd to 19th July

Damon Albarn's new show for Manchester International Festival could be the most innovative thing you see this year.

Taking over a disused building in Spinningfield's Hardman Square, It Felt Like A Kiss begins with 1959, as the world begins to tap its foot to the beat of American pop and falls in love with the American Dream. But as the sixties progress, the joyful optimism of the early days falters as it becomes clear that something altogether darker is hiding behind the glamour of the American Dream.

This brand new commission for Manchester International Festival is a walk-through performance, leading the audience (in groups of nine) across five floors. It combines original music created by Damon Albarn and recorded by the Kronos Quartet with film from director Adam Curtis, in a production created by Albarn, Curtis and the innovative installation theatre group Punchdrunk.

The production will be the second time Albarn has premiered work at Manchester International Festival, following the runaway success of his award-winning Chinese circus opera, Monkey: Journey to the West, which has since shown in France, Germany and the USA.