| The Vanishing: Part 1 | - The Vanishing: Part 1 will take place on June 29 12.00 鈥 10.30 in the Great Hall, Manchester Town Hall.
- Michael Mayhew is a Manchester artist who has been creating performance work for over 20 years.
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Just where do the vanished go? Michael Mayhew attempts to answer this question in a new performance, The Vanishing: Part 1. Inspired by his own experience of vanishing, Michael decided to create an installation at the Town Hall for other people to share their experiences. Gone but not forgotten 鈥淢y father committed suicide when I was a teenager and I have a sister who went away. On a trip to Australia four years ago, I started to think about finding this woman called Carol, my sister, who left for Australia in the seventies," explains Michael. "I became really interested in how people vanish from our lives; where do they go and what does vanishing mean.鈥 A time to share As part of the performance, people will be asked to tell their stories, stories that are often untold, says Michael. 鈥淲e all have a memory of someone who isn't there anymore, either through death, a relationship that has died away, or from people just walking out. There is a huge loss of people from people鈥檚 lives and I think it is a really silent story. 鈥淲e will listen to the stories and try to understand how people vanish and what someone is left with when they have gone.鈥 People and planet | "We all have a memory of someone who isn't there anymore, either through death, a relationship that has died away, or from people just walking out. " | | Michael Mayhew |
As well as lost people, the performance will consider the lost world. "We will look at how someone vanishing from our lives relates to places in the world that are dying away,鈥 Michael explains. The performance will begin with The Gathering, in which stories will be collected from people. In the evening, there will be a performance created from these stories. 鈥淭he audience, who will be lying down on beds in the Great Hall, will be told the stories by performers, who will also be taking an imagined journey through parts of the world that are disappearing. "Performers will travel through Antarctica, the Aral Sea, across the Equator through the Brazilian Rain Forest, and through Somalia and China.鈥 Finding an answer The Vanishing is a long-term project which will be taken to Europe, Russia, China and on to Australia, where Michael will continue his search for his sister. But first, Michael wanted to hear stories from the people in his own city. 鈥淲e wanted to start the performance here because it is an international city and this is an international issue. The city is an extraordinary place for human beings because there are so many different people here.
 | | The vanishing world |
The ultimate aim of the project, though, is for people to realise that the world around us is disappearing, says Michael. 鈥淲e need to change the way we engage with the planet, as we have a really big problem on our hands. This issue has been used as a political football but we wanted to engage people on a personal level.鈥 If you would like to share your story, email ric@panda-arts.co.uk to book your 20 minute slot. Tickets for the performance are available from the Contact Theatre on 0161 274 0600 or at www.manchesterinternationalfestival.com | 
