Balmy Army: a Contact takeover

Join a cabaret-style sharing of work by madchester’s semi-notorious Balmy Army – featuring protest, poetry, song and more. –

Balmy Army: a Contact takeover

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About Balmy Army: a Contact takeover

Balmy Army brings the future of mental health into the present with an evening sharing of art, activism and mutual care. Get ready to meet the next generation of disabled artists/activists.

Expect Freudian mad drag, trauma-informed and ‘northern dad’ karaoke, DSM 5 ASMR, tinfoil hat films that are actually true, a launch for our Asylum Magazine edition and the hustings for the first ever audhd trans mentally unstable person to run for Mayor of Manchester – all washed down with homemade oreo ice creams and Jack’s human bubble machine.

This cabaret-style evening is presented by and features the work of Balmy Army – a Gen Z IRL madpride group who love being there for each other through their emotional wobbles, messy feelings and sadness about it all.

Overly post-political in a time of crisis, Balmy Army love caring and are over the haters. Join the group at Contact as they march through their feelings in a safe, welcoming and relaxed environment.

Balmy Army: A Contact Takeover is bonkers in the most beautiful way. What could go wrong? And how could that be any worse than what we already have?

About the Event

Triggers

Balmy Army is a project made by people with lived experience of mental health struggles. You can expect content including all kinds of mental health and intersecting experiences. There will be specific triggers given out before specific bits of material. During each event, there will be lots of people to talk to if you find yourself with big feels. Our events are relaxed, it’s fine to walk around the space, go get air, stim and so on.

Vibes

Balmy Army is a chilled space, we support each other to make work about stuff that can be hard. It is also a space to be really silly. We love that there can be joy in our resistance. We love that there can be resistance in our joy. So the vibe is wonky/tender/silly/sad/ragey/beautiful. We aren’t providing you with a show with a diner after. You may have to move a chair around and help out, someone may ask for a tissue, a hug or be very socially awkward around you (we embrace it all).

We promise to try and make you feel very welcome, and feed you double cream oreo.

Access

There will be space to lay down, stimming toys, soft lighting, ear defenders, snacks, space to walk around, plenty of quiet areas, weighted blankets, an easy read version of the programme, and buckets full of - ‘we understand because it’s the same for us’

There will be a safer/braver spaces policy at the door, you will be expected to agree to this to help make everyone welcome and safer.

We will have a mental health first aider available for audiences.

About the title, and language

We use the language around mental health from a place of love. In no way are we intending to cause harm. Everyone who works on Balmy Army is a person who has struggled with their mental health. We use the language we do to both reclaim language that historically has been used against us and also to bring some silly and joyful vibes. Language is fun, celebrating who we are is amazing, punching down is gammoncore lovers.

Credits

Balmy Army: A Contact Takeover is part of Balmy Army x Balmy Ukraine. A project by the vacuum cleaner in partnership with Contact, The Independent Cultural Initiatives Go, and Art Therapy Force, with Jenna Omeltschenko, Evyn Seaton-Mooney and Toni-Dee Paul. Presented as part of Manchester International Festival 2025. Originally commissioned and produced by HOME and Factory International for Manchester International Festival 2023.

Shout out to Alexis from 42nd Street (we love you Alexis), Sian from Manchester Mind, and all at Contact but special shout out to Lizzy and Beth for the deep work of safeguarding young people. Love for Claire and Sherry from Arts Council England.

In Ukraine, so much love to Anna Burdina from The Independent Cultural Initiatives Go, Veronika Skliarova and Natalia Shapovalova from Art Therapy Force, psychotherapist Rayan Capozzi, and artists Oksana Chyzh, Mariia Felenko, Anastasiia Kosodii, Kateryna Krokha, and Andrii Ptitsyn.

Balmy Army x Balmy Ukraine is funded by the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants, using public funding by Arts Council England, and The Baring Foundation.

Dates & times

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