Peter Kay joins playwright Jim Cartwright to open flagship arts building

University alumnus Peter Kay and his Car Share co-star Sian Gibson will open the £55m New Adelphi building on December 1 ahead of Burning Bright: A Night Of Northern Stars – a series of original monologues performed by leading actors on the night, in the building’s 350-seat theatre.

Jim, writer of plays including Road and The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice, has created  bespoke monologues for actors including University alumnus Warren Brown, who starred alongside Idris Elba in hit TV series Luther and appeared recently in Liar.

Much loved and respected household names, including Sue Johnston of The Royle Family and Waking the Dead, and Coronation Street actor Beverley Callard will also be performing new work from Jim on the night.

Peter Kay said: “As ex-Salford media performance students both Sian and myself are incredibly proud to be invited to open this magnificent arts facility and we're excited to think of all of the creative work that will emerge from within it in the years to come.”

Jim Cartwright Theatre Company  

Jim describes this premiere of new work as ‘a kind of prologue, a prelude, a starry beginning’,  which prefaces the first ‘main event – the premiere of my new play, Shakespeare’s Mine – the tale of a Lancashire coal miner’s journey into the world of theatre’ – which will open to the public at the New Adelphi Theatre next spring.    

As well as housing the University’s creative and arts programmes, the New Adelphi will now be home to the newly formed Jim Cartwright Theatre Company – a professional group dedicated to celebrating northern voices.

The new company will be an artistic hub showcasing the very best of current northern talent, and encouraging and supporting the work of new northern theatre, dance, creative arts and digital arts practitioners. 

Jim, who has been appointed as Honorary Artistic Director of the New Adelphi Theatre, is writing a series of new plays which will premiere at the theatre over the next few years, with a view to then touring nationally.

The playwright will also carry out masterclasses and provide opportunities for students to work alongside his company.

Celebration of northern performers 

Frances Piper, Director of Performance at the University of Salford, said: “Jim Cartwright is one of the most important British stage writers of the last three decades and his presence has created a real buzz on campus, particularly among students who have grown up studying his plays.

“We’re hugely excited to be working with Jim, and having his new theatre company based here is extremely significant – not only because of the wonderful opportunities it will provide for our students, but in terms of creating a hub for new northern writing and performance based right here at the University of Salford.”