Murder on the dancefloor

Written by Polly Wiseman and directed by Paul Jepson, it is staged at a secret city centre venue from next Saturday until Saturday, July 6.

Manchester Sound: The Massacre sees the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 collide with the acid house rave culture explosion of 1988 and each 
actor, some of whom double up as musicians, plays a character from both eras.

The cast comprises Bolton-born Leah Hackett, who as well as playing Tina McQueen in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks for two years before being spectacularly killed off in October 2008 is well known in the city for her make-up business; Rachel Austin, who starred in the Manchester Theatre Award-winning production of Black Roses at the Royal Exchange; Northern Broadsides regular Simeon Truby, who is also musical director; former professional boxer and rugby league star Adam Fogerty, who played boxer Gorgeous George in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch; Pete Ashmore, who appeared in the Library Theatre Company’s well-received Grimm Tales in Christmas 2009; Dean Anthony Fagan, who is a jazz-funk DJ in Manchester when he’s not acting; Stephen Fewell, who played Second World War code-breaker Alan Turing in English Theatre Frankfurt’s 2012 production of Hugh Whitemore’s Breaking the Code; and Janey Lawson, whose appearance in the controversial The Assassination of Paris Hilton in the 2009 Edinburgh Festival hit the headlines.

To recreate the spirit of both 1819 and the rave scene of 1989, audience members will gather at a given point in the city to be escorted to the venue. With strong language and drug references.

Box office: 0161 200 1500 or www.librarytheatre.com.