The full line up for Trafford’s Refract:22 arts festival

The annual ten-day summer arts festival, which includes live comedy, music, dance, and theatre performances, will run from Thursday, July 21 to Saturday, July 30.

Here is the full schedule for the festival:

Day one:  Thursday, July 21

Act: About Time Dance Company presents Quite Unfit For Females  

Location: On the Plaza

Time: 7pm

Genre: Dance

Price: Free

This brand-new performance celebrates the incredible achievements of the Preston-based Dick Kerr Ladies football team and how they went on to defy a ban on women’s football in 1921, when the FA delivered the bitter blow that football was yes, ‘Quite Unfit for Females’.

Day two: Friday, 22 Jul

Act: Selina Helliwell presents The Formidable Lizzie Boone (65 minutes no interval, suitable for ages 16+)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 7pm

Genre: Theatre

Price: £10 / £8

The Formidable Lizzie Boone will pull you into Lizzie's world for a night of drama, healing, and dark humour. Centred around a therapist's office, the show explores the intricacies of humanity through a woman who loves vodka with lemonade and a cat called Lionel.

Act: Kabantu (80 minutes plus interval)

Location: In the Chambers

Time: 8.30pm

Price: £15

Genre: Music

Price: £15

Kabantu is a collective from Manchester, each born in a different country, who unravel new marriages of music in a globalised 21st century.

Day three:  Saturday, July 23

Act: Mimbre presents Lifted (35 minutes)

Location: On the Plaza

Time: 3pm and 7pm

Genre: Dance

Price: Free

The all-female acrobatic theatre company Mimbre bring Lifted to Refract - a collection of funny, poetic and surprising moments, which explore in different ways what it means when one body is carried by another. Or when one person carries two people. Or when a person doesn't want to be carried. Or when three people find the perfect balance.

Act: Harriet Dagnall & Foxglove (45 minutes and 60 minutes)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 8pm and 9.15 pm

Genre: Music

Price: £10/£8

Originally from Bolton, Harriet Dagnall has been a familiar face on the Manchester‘s vibrant music scene since 2018, performing live and writing new material.  Following the release of her debut single Steal You Away in August 2020 and Tied Up in 2021, Harriet is excited to share her debut EP, set to be released in August 2022.

Foxglove are a four piece euphoric indie alternative band hailing from Manchester consisting of Abi White (vocals) Ryan Croney (guitar) Liam Croney (drums) and Joe Myers (bass).

Day Four: Sunday, July 24

Act: Joe Rooney: A Celebration of Father Ted (Two hours including interval, suitable for ages 15+)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 7pm

Genre: Comedy

Price: £10

Celebrate one of the greatest sitcoms ever made with renowned stand-up Joe Rooney for a night of all things Father Ted.

Day Five: Monday, July 25

Act: Something Underground presents The Spirit of Woodstock (Two hours plus interval, suitable for ages 14+)

Location: In the Chambers

Time: 7pm

Genre: Theatre

Price: £10 / £8

A thought-provoking, poignant, dynamic, and semi-immersive theatre collage of the worlds and era that surrounded the “Mother of Free Festivals.” Inspired by the ethos of the hippie, counterculture, and free-festival movements, Something Underground brings you its tribute to Woodstock ’69 in a one-man show.

Day Six: Tuesday, July 26

Act: Something Underground presents Children of the Revolution (Two hours plus interval suitable for ages 14+)

Location: In the Chambers

Time: 7pm

Genre: Theatre

Price: £10 / £8

The next chapter to The Spirit of Woodstock, this romp through the 70s is a highly dynamic and energetic collage of the stories, the time, the people, and the music. 

Act: Quick Duck Theatre presents Confetti (70 minutes)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time:7.30pm

Genre: Theatre

Price: £10 / £8

Felix is uptight and unlucky in love. He’s the mate of honour at his best friend’s wedding - one they’ve been planning since childhood - and he’s going to make sure it’s absolutely perfect. That is, as long as there are no distractions along the way…

A queer rom-com from Will Jackson ("Rising Comic Star"-Attitude). Confetti follows wedding planner Felix, as he embarks on a romance of his own - and you’re invited.

Day Seven: Wednesday, July 27

Act: Groove Baby presents Groove Sensations (45 minutes, for ages 0-three)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 11am and 1.30pm

Genre: Family

Price: £9 / £7

Groove Baby presents a sensational sensory voyage specially created for under 3s and their grownups.

Ranging from beautiful electronic soundscapes to hard grooving funk and jazz, the GB Trio incorporates specially created animations and actions into their eclectic set designed to entrance young and not-so-young.

Act: Groove Baby presents Groove into the Woods (55 minutes for three- to seven-year-olds)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 1.30pm

Genre: Family

Price: £9 / £7

Come on a jazz and funk fuelled family adventure into the deep dark woods. Who will we find and will they be bad or good? Specially designed for ages 3 - 7 and their grown-ups. A fun mixture of animation, interactive music making and solid groove from the Groove Baby Organ Trio.

Act: Sarah Louise Young presents Julie Madly Deeply (Suitable for ages 13+, 75 minutes no interval)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time:7pm  

Genre: Theatre

Price: £12 / £10

The hills are alive with the return of this critically acclaimed Off Broadway and West End hit. Adored by millions, Dame Julie Andrews is a genuine showbiz icon. This charming yet cheeky cabaret takes an engaging look at fame and fandom, through the eyes and voice of award-winning performer Sarah-Louise Young.

Day Eight: Thursday, July 28

Act: Quick Duck Theatre presents Fashion Spies (60 minutes, suitable for ages seven plus)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time:6pm

Genre: Family theatre

Price: £10/ £8

Fashion Spies puts audiences right into the heart of the show. Find yourself on an undercover mission as you travel around the world with Quick Duck Theatre - your choices will help to thwart the biggest threat that fashion has ever seen. Devil Wears Prada meets Spy Kids in this fabulous and surreal choose-your-own-adventure comedy.

Act: Superfan presents Like Animals (60 minutes, suitable for ages 12 plus)

Location: In the Chambers

Time: 8pm

Genre: Theatre

Price: £10 / £8

Like Animals is a funny and poignant investigation into love and communication in human (and not-so-human) relationships, inspired by true stories of animal language experiments, performed by a real couple.

Day Nine: Friday, July 29

Act: Ofthe Jackal presents Splat! (45 minutes no interval, suitable for ages three to seven)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 11.30 am and 2.30 pm

Genre: Family

Price: £9 / £7

A physical comedy following two aspiring artists - one dedicated and serious, the other erratic and messy.  The two characters attempt to complete their masterpieces via a journey through the history of art, with chaotic consequences.

Act: Waterside presents Laugh Riot Comedy Night with Luisa Omielan, David Mills, Lee Peart and Jonathan Mayor MC (Two hours including interval, suitable for ages 16+)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 7.30pm

Genre: Comedy

Price: £15 / £10

Waterside’s legendary comedy night for Refract is back featuring a top drawer line up created especially for Refract.

Act: Ofthe Jackal presents Withered Optimism (55 minutes no interval, suitable for ages 12+)

Location: In the Chambers

Time: 8pm

Genre: Theatre

Price: £10 / £8

A tender comic ode to the tyranny of work, exploring the eroded boundary between work and leisure and interrogating the constant connectivity that has replaced it. Its put-upon protagonist dreams of a simpler life, but is stretched to breaking point by the corporate world.

The show is accessible for hearing and non-hearing audiences.

Act: Etta Ermini Dance Theatre & Van Huynh Company present Glam (25 minutes)

Location: On the plaza

Time: 12:00pm and 4pm

Genre: Dance

Price: Free

A vibrant dance and circus cabaret and humorous outdoor street performance celebrating fabulousness. Audience members are encouraged to join in the fun to dance with the cast in this gloriously fast paced show of acrobatics, hand to hand, disco, feathers, glitter and glamorous make-up.

Day 10: Saturday, July 30

Act: Kerrin Wise & Ben Neal present Facades ( 20 minutes per session, suitable for ages 13+)

Location: In the Chambers

Time: Various times

Genre: VR dance experience

Price: £6

Inspired by iconic moments from film, Facades is a virtual reality dance experience that uses the architectural features of windows, mirrors and doors as metaphors for duality, reflection and portals. This surreal ‘VR noir’ presents hauntingly beautiful choreography from unique perspectives, inviting the viewer to step into the frame, move beyond the veneer and take a closer look.

Act: Riot Jazz (90 minutes plus interval, suitable for ages 14+)

Location: In the Cabaret Club

Time: 7.30pm

Genre: Music

Price: £15

Drawing from Jazz, Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass, Balkan, Trap, Grime, Dubstep, Latin, Classical, this 9-strong troupe is comprised of three trumpets, three trombones, drums, sousaphone, and is fronted by the prodigious MC Chunky.  Riot Jazz write and play whatever their hearts desire. And the same goes for their unique take on covers, which range from Britney Spears to Todd Terje.

Be prepared for a unique, genre-bending exhibition of exhilarating music fit for any occasion, guaranteed to have every crowd on their feet.