Paul Clay is Executive Producer of Manchester International Festival – a biennial festival of new music, visual and performing arts. Paul has recently worked as a consultant for Manchester City Council as interim manager of the Library Theatre
in preparation for its merger with
Cornerhouse, and as an advisor to the Home project, Manchester’s £25 million new space for Contemporary Arts, Theatre and Film at First Street.
by Emma Thackham
WAKE-UP! I’ve never been a morning person, maybe that’s why a career in theatre was so alluring! My alarm goes off at 7am and I stagger out of bed. I’m training for a triathlon at the moment, so most days start with a banana and a session in the gym or pool.
MORNING
I get to the MIF office at 9am most days, desperate for coffee and like everyone I begin by wading through stacks of email. Today’s diary also holds some interesting meetings. The first is with the BBC Asian Network to talk about the visit of the astonishing Sufi Singer Abida Parveen who is playing the Bridgewater Hall on July 6th. It’s a real coup for Manchester and the only UK performance from this amazing artist.
I run from this meeting to one with Dave Haslam (Hacienda DJ legend) to talk through the DJ’s he has programmed for our Festival Square site. This year he has come up with a range of local and national talent from Dialog to the brilliantly named ‘Disco Mums’.
LUNCH-TIME
Is normally a sandwich at my desk, but today is lunch with Festival Director, Alex Poots, to catch up on all of the projects we are undertaking.
Images by Leemo Rante MIF 2013 | 4th -21st July
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Paul Clay, Executive Producer for Manchester International Festival, describes his working day...
This year the Festival is presenting 20 world premieres and more than 30 events in total, so it’s difficult to stay on top of it!
AFTERNOON
Back to the growing piles of emails and a discussion with our Press Department about a Culture Show special on Masque of Anarchy. Actress Maxine Peake and Royal Exchange Theatre Director Sarah Frankcom have spent an afternoon rehearsing the piece with a film crew in tow and it’s been a really successful session.
AFTER-HOURS The international nature of our work means that things don’t always happen in normal office hours. 7.30pm brings a conference call with the design team for the XX, they are LA based which means all of our conversations happen in our early evening and their early morning. The design is coming on very well,
it’s going to
be a truly amazing event for those lucky enough to have got a ticket.
I relax in the bath with a large glass of wine before getting to bed around midnight. A final check of emails brings an invite to take Life and Death of Marina Abramovic which premiered at MIF 2011 to Chile in 2014, which might fit well after it’s journey to Toronto and NY later this year. It’s great to see works commissioned by the festival continue to reach new international audiences!
Paul Clay
The Diary
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