Launderette takeovers, hip hop opera and family fun day lead exciting SICK! Festival line-up across North Manchester

A popular arts and culture festival is returning to North Manchester this May for a month-long line-up of shows including a hip-hop opera, a film festival and an ‘intimate’ performance of RENT.

SICK! Festival, which aims to engage audiences with themes surrounding health and wellness across the likes of performance, art, music and dance, returns with a programme curated by residents and organisations based across Moston, Harpurhey and Charlestown.

Running from May 3 to 31 with a series of free and ticketed events, the festival will feature shows and workshops addressing concerns that affect the health of communities including poverty, the housing crisis, climate change and mental health.

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Now in its 11th year, SICK! Festival will kick off this year with the North Manchester Film Festival on Friday and Saturday (May 3 and 4) at the Miners Community Arts and Music Centre on Teddington Road in Moston. On Saturday (May 4), SICK!’s Young Ambassadors group and artists Ria Righteous and Rachael Shore will unveil a public art installation based on the theme of safety in the area.

Rounding out the bank holiday weekend will be In Our Nature, a family fun day celebrating biodiversity. Taking place at Boggart Hole Clough on Sunday (May 5) from 12pm to 4pm, the event will feature arts, sports, live music, and activities for all.

Other festival highlights taking place across May include an ‘intimate’ performance of acclaimed musical RENT (May 7-11) and Dementia Street (May 16-18), from Harpurhey-born stand-up comic Smug Roberts about his mum's battle with dementia. Black British culture will be explored in