Facilities and resources
Our facilities have created an on-campus cultural hub for creative events and activities.
In 2003 Music and Drama took up residence in their impressive new building, The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, which has been provided by the University at a cost of over £6 million. The facilities include:
The John Thaw Studio Theatre
We proudly named The John Thaw Studio Theatre after the BAFTA award winner John Thaw, who went to school just across the road from the University.
The John Thaw Studio Theatre is our main 'laboratory' and is used for many different kinds of performances, rehearsals and workshops.
It is equipped with superb technical facilities, including camera kits, sound-editing and video-editing suites. Particularly valuable as an experimental arena for new and innovative work, it also hosts visits by external theatre companies.
The programme has featured artists and companies such as M6 Theatre Company, Envision Theatre, the TiPP Centre, Tango Arts, Lawnmowers, Emilio Barreto, Tara Arts, Odin Teatret and Eugenio Barba, Action Transport, Tik Tak Boom, The Hungarian State Theatre, Quarantine, Feelgood Theatre, Exodus Theatre, Tim Crouch, Andy Smith, The Sue MacLaine Company and The FLARE Festival.
The Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall
The Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall seats 350 spectators, and is the primary venue for the concerts and recitals of our fellow staff and students in Music. It also sometimes hosts interdisciplinary events, with staging of works such as Brecht/Eisler's The Mother, Monteverdi's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Harrison Birtwistle and Tony Harrison's Bow Down.
The Lenagan Library
Generously endowed by Ian Lenagan, this library complements the extensive facilities of The University of Manchester Library, and houses collections in Drama and Music. These consist of book holdings, multiple play texts, CDs, audio tapes, videos and DVDs. A viewing suite (sponsored by the Granada Foundation) and listening facilities are available.
Altogether the Martin Harris Centre is an exciting and important venue on the campus at Manchester. All the key elements in both disciplines' work have been brought together, offering many new opportunities and promoting interdisciplinary ventures within music and drama. Our students enjoy exploring the potential of our new performance and research spaces.
