The most unusual-looking theatre building you’ll ever come across, Contact has undergone more radical changes of direction than your average performing arts organisation.

Built as the performance space for Manchester University Drama Department, it was briefly used by the ‘69 Theatre Company before that became the Royal Exchange Theatre Company.

In 1972 the building became home to the Manchester Young People’s Theatre, aka Contact, a sadly now little-remembered repertory company under the likes of Richard Williams, that presented many of Alan Bleasdale’s stage successes and gave young actors such as Mark Rylance and Rick Mayall early roles.

The set-up later changed again to take Contact back to its young people's theatre roots, and a rebuild in 1999 produced the highly-distinctive current ventilation chimneys.

Now fully open again after a £6.5m re-vamp in 2020, the emphasis is even more on young people doing it for themselves. Contact’s aim is to enable young people to change their lives through the arts as well as enabling audiences of all ages to experience new shows. Contact is the leading national theatre and arts venue to place young people at the decision-making heart of everything. Young people aged 13-30 lead the organisation, working alongside staff in deciding the artistic programme, making staff appointments and acting as full board members.