Welcome to a swamp like no other. Bickering snails, opera singing mice and a rather spineless monster. Swamp Juice is the story of six shadow puppets, it may be a puppet show and the characters are, for the most part, creepy crawlies… however, Swamp Juice is a performance that will captivate adults and children alike.

Using shadow puppetry and bits of rubbish, acclaimed Canadian performer Jeff Achtem debuts a gurgling new adventure about life in a swamp, with a stunning 3D finale. Come play in the dark whether you bring your kids or you’re just a big kid yourself! For kids 7+.

‘Puppetry like you’ve never seen it before.’ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine ?????

Out of the gate and off for a walk, went Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy.

Hairy Maclary & Friends is an official stage adaptation of the much-loved Hairy Maclary children’s books by celebrated writer Lynley Dodd.

Look forward to meeting many of your favourite characters such as Hercules Morse, as big as a horse; Bottomley Potts, covered in spots; Schnitzel von Krumm, with the very low tum and Scarface Claw, the toughest tomcat in town.

This smash-hit show, featuring live music, singing and your favourite Hairy Maclary books is a summertime treat suitable for all the family – you’d be barking mad to miss it! For ages 3+.

Tickets for these shows are £8 each. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Fay Hield’s earthy approach to singing and her haunting and powerful delivery uniquely appeals to both young and old. She is signed to Topic Records, Europe’s oldest and most respected Independent Record Label, who approached her with a view to signing her as their first new artist in 20 years.

Raised in the singing community of the West Yorkshire Pennines, Fay’s childhood was as much influenced by the bare essentials of the West Yorkshire landscape as the lively, warm music scene surrounding the Famous Bacca Pipes Folk Club in Keighley. Her debut solo CD, ‘Looking Glass’ was released to a fanfare of music media praise and brought her a nomination for the Horizon Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2011.

Since the release of ‘Looking Glass’, Fay has been in huge demand as a solo performer and as a collaborator. She has made guest appearances on guitar-supremo, Martin Simpson’s new CD “Purpose & Grace”, alongside June Tabor, Richard Thompson and Dick Gaughan and has also guested on folk scene favorites, Spiers & Boden’s new CD The Works.

Fay will be performing in a trio with Rob Harbron (English Acoustic collective) and Sam Sweeney (Bellowhead). She releases her new album, Orfeo at the end of this month featuring, amongst others, Jon Boden and Andy Cutting.

Tickets are £12, £10 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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In addition to being a double platinum selling artist, Kieran Goss’s songs have been recorded by some of Ireland’s top artists, including Mary Black, Christy Moore and Frances Black, bringing his songs to a worldwide audience and winning him fans across the globe.

While his songwriting has made him a star in his native Ireland, his live performances have made him a legend. Live on stage is where Kieran Goss truly shines. The Irish Times recently wrote of Kieran’s run of sold out shows at the Grand Opera House, Belfast: “The sense of fun is tremendous, the playing first rate and the songs sheer quality. The encores were genuine, but only because the man is too”.

Keiran has supported Don Willliams and has recently returned from tour with Eddi Reader and Fairport Convention.

Tickets are £14, £10 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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The duo play predominantly English songs and tunes on accordion and fiddle, and live shows feature Hannah’s renowned high-energy clog dancing.

Sam plays with multi award winning folk sensation Bellowhead, Jon Boden and the remnant Kings and Fay Hield the Hurricane Party. Hannah sings plays and dances with the BBC Folk Award nominated Lady Maisery and Steeleye Span front woman Maddy Prior.

The duo have already wowed crowds at last year’s Ramsbottom Festival. They have just released their highly anticipated second album, State and Ancientry.

Tickets are £10, £8 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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“Holiday of a lifetime”, Marie won it on a scratch card, “Sun, sea, sand, an exotic island paradise”.  The winning card said it all, the heaven… “an all expenses paid fortnight in a luxury hotel” and the hell… ‘”for all the family”!

The family, Katy, Marie’s daughter, teenager with attitude, Graham, Marie’s husband once the love of Marie’s life, now 15 years past his sell by date… and his Mum!  It’s a once in a lifetime experience all right, an experience that will change their lives!  Take one everyday family, heat to 36 degrees, cover in suntan oil, leave in hired car to cook, then stand back and watch, as years of family tensions boil over in a hilarious mix of laughter and tears.

What is Katy’s secret?  Why does Mum end up behind bars?  Who stole Gran!?  Find out with Fiona Knowles as she takes you on a one woman comic, compassionate catastrophe of family relationships in Stick Granny on the Roof-Rack.

The MsFits Theatre Co are award winning actress Fiona Knowles (acclaimed for her virtuoso performances in MsFit plays incl Sex & Chocolate, Women on the Verge of a T Junction, Fur Coat & Magic Knickers, Women Behaving Madly & Mad Bad & Dangerous to Know) and award winning playwright Rona Munro (Dr Who script writer and has written commissions for the RSC, NTS, Traverse Theatre, Manchester Royal Exchange, Hampstead Theatre & The Edinburgh International Festival).

Tickets are £10, £8 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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“Surely the most impressive young instrumentalist and songwriter singing in English” The Guardian ***

As a songwriter Emily Smith has been likened to “a Scottish Joni Mitchell”, but she is equally adept at presenting fresh and evocative interpretations of traditional songs. She plays piano and accordion but it’s her outstanding vocals which led to her nominations for Folk Singer of the Year and Best Traditional Track (for her song Sweet Lover of Mine) at the 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Emily first burst on to the folk scene when she won BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award in 2002 and since then she has won Scots Singer of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards in 2008 and was nominee for Live Act of the Year at the same awards in 2011. She also won the folk category of the USA Songwriting Competition in 2005 with her song Edward of Morton.

Emily is currently touring to promote her new album Traiveller’s Joy; a beautiful collection of songs written and gathered on the road reflecting her travels and ongoing respect for traditional material, much of which can be sourced back to the travelling people of Scotland.

Tickets are £12, £10 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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Taking a well-known traditional story (you know which!), this spell-binding play for young children follows a magical path through the woods. Freehand Theatre creates a memorable and reassuring journey with its delightful use of puppetry, colour and music.

Using beautiful visual effects, inventive puppetry and original music, Freehand Theatre has created a play of special magic with young children in mind. Creating a reassuring world where wolves are kept safely between the covers of books; a world in which, out of the blue, a red box has a song to sing, a forest grows before your very eyes and find out how an endearing bear gets in on the action!

Freehand Theatre was formed in 1982 since when it has been enchanting children and adults with its original and inventive productions. The show is suitable for children aged 3 to 7.

Tickets are £7. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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Mainstream folk-rockers Little Johnny England are five stellar session men who specialise in accessible pop grown from traditional roots, in the vein of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.

As individuals Little Johnny England really do have it covered, credits include Fatima Mansions, Show Of Hands, Ruby Turner, The Steve Gibbons Band and Albion Band to pick just a few.

“…Little Johnny England are a unique outfit. Five of the most gifted musicians on the folk/ rock circuit…”
Their aim in the last 10 years has been to take traditional and contemporary folk music to a wider audience and have attracted a lot of attention not only from press within the genre but also mainstream national press – having achieved a glowing four star review in Q magazine for their album Mercs & Cherokees.
After sporadic shows over the last couple of years mainly due to individual projects, they are back stronger than ever with a new studio album, Tournament Of Shadows, and a ten year retrospective double album Ten Years On.

Tickets are £12. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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Labelled respectively as ‘one of the most original harmonica players in Britain’ and ‘the UK’s top Clawhammer banjoist’, the two have joined forces to create a highly entertaining and astonishing live set.

Will has recorded on the brand new Martin Simpson’s Purpose and Grace CD, alongside the likes of Richard Thompson, Dick Gaughan and Jon Boden. He is also working with Guy Chambers on various recording projects.

The duo’s new album continues to notch up radio plays and has received many four and five star reviews in the music press. Prepare to be astonished by stunning vocals, banjo wizardry and sounds you didn’t think were possible on harmonica.

This duo is destined for great things, with their ability to encompass an amazing array of musical genres with ease, energy and excellence!

Tickets are £10. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go online www.themet.biz

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BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award nominees Katriona Gilmore & Jamie Roberts combine astounding lap-tapping guitar, fiery fiddle and their trademark harmonies with considerable songwriting talent to make a truly distinctive sound.

Since releasing their début album Shadows & Half Light in 2008 (proclaimed ‘one of the finest contemporary folk albums in recent memory’ by FishRecords.co.uk), Gilmore and Roberts have been wowing audiences across the country with their unassumingly confident displays of instrumental technique.

2010 saw the duo release their hotly-anticipated second album, Up From The Deep, which scored them a Hancock Award for Best Original Song (Fleetwood Fair).  In 2011 Katriona and Jamie spent five weeks touring with folk-rock legends Fairport Convention, completed a 30-date nationwide tour in their own right and performed at two of Britain’s largest acoustic music festivals – Cambridge Folk Festival and Fairport’s Cropredy Convention.

Katriona has previously toured as part of Tiny Tin Lady, Rosie Doonan’s Snapdragons and the Albion Band, while Jamie has played with young English traditionalists Kerfuffle since 2007.

Tickets are £10. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

“His solo stage show is a musical travelogue through time and space.  His right hand dexterity on bouzouki was nothing short of amazing.” – Frets Magazine

For more than 40 years, Andy has been a world music pioneer and icon for traditional music and musicians. Founder member of bands such as Sweeney’s Men, Planxty, Patrick Street, and Mozaik, he has been hailed as “a tradition in himself” (Irish Press).

‘His artistry is quite simply unique.’ – The Independent.

Musician, singer and songwriter, few others can equal his repertoire: Irish traditional songs, dexterous Balkan dance tunes, and a compelling canon of his own material that defies description.

“Andy Irvine is Woody Guthrie’s representative on earth.” – Hot Press

Tickets are £12, £10 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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The Big Figures are a proper R & B band in the classic Dr.Feelgood mould. Radio 2 DJ Mark Radcliffe and his best mate of over thirty years PJ Walmsley bonded over the Feelgood’s debut album Down By The Jetty when they met in hall of residence in September 1976. They vowed that one day they would emulate their heroes Lee Brilleaux and Wilko Johnson and be lead singer and guitarist in their own snarling, spitting rhythm and blues combo. Being bone idle, it took them three decades to get round to it.

The illustrious line-up is completed by three more hunks of burning Lancastrian love, ‘Go-go’ Johnny Jobson (harmonica), Cameron Sweetnam (bass) and Andy Hyams (drums). Feelgood aficionados will know that The Big Figure was the drummer in the original group and that explains the name of this band, rather than any reference to the middle aged spread experienced by certain members.

Tickets are £10. Please note that this event is standing. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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When angels fell, some fell on the land, some on the sea.  The former are the faeries and the latter were often said to be the seals – Anonymous Orcadian

Through the ages, from Maine to Scotland, stories are told of seals becoming women and fishermen falling in love. Limbik’s sublimely inventive production of The Harbour is a beautifully told, visually arresting piece of theatre. Combining a variety of story telling techniques, the show is a contemporary re-telling of the folklore  of the selkies, mythical creatures that shed their skins from seals to become humans.

“Fresh, immediate and charged with emotion” -The Scotsman

The story follows the lives of a mother and her fisherman son, forever overturned when he brings home a woman from the sea. Using bittersweet humour and haunting live music, the show unearths an over-fished world, filled with impossible desires.

“A haunting tale beautifully told…impressive and skilful.” British Theatre Guide

Founded in 2008 and based in Suffolk, Limbik are taking their award-winning show on a National Tour across the UK., with support from the Arts Council of England. Their innovative and imaginative performance will delight audiences young and old.

Tickets are £10, £6 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Po’Girl have become one of the most successful bands ever to emerge from Canada, weaving a blend of musical influences, sweetness, grit & soul they play what can only be described as 21 Century roots music. These urban minstrels pen harmony drenched melodies you’ll find yourself humming. They wow audiences across the globe with their powerful, passionate and spirited live show.

The beauty and mystery of Po’ Girl music, a sound that has beguiled fans the world over, springs from the dynamic, improbable, mesmerizing bond shared by its two principal singers and writers, Allison Russell and Awna Teixeira. The interplay between these two stunning performers is truly something to behold. Always restless, they write their flashes of sadness, their loss, their good love, their faint dreams of home into songs that matter deeply to them.

After adding the impossibly talented musician Benny Sidelinger (The Shiftless Rounders, Benny and Eleanor) and the marvellously eccentric drummer Mikey ‘Lightning’ August – to their number, Po’Girl  released their new album Follow Your Bliss last year to great acclaim.

Tickets are £14, £12 concessions. To book for any of these events please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Since releasing her debut solo album in 2005 and being awarded Best Up and Coming Artist at the 2005 Scots Trad Music Awards, Jenna Reid has undoubtedly remained one of the brightest young talents ever to grace the traditional music scene.

A protégé of the greatest names in Shetland fiddling, Jenna has appeared all over the world with Shetland fiddling sensations, Filska’, Scottish super group, Deaf Shepherd and Dochas.  Jenna has performed with the The Unusual Suspects, The Finlay MacDonald Band, The Julie Fowlis Band and most recently, Blazin’ Fiddles. Jenna features on the Transatlantic Sessions performing alongside musical directors, Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas.

“Young, gorgeous and inordinately talented, utterly captivated the audience from start to finish.” The Scotsman

Nominated as Best Instrumentalist at the 2007 Scots Trad Awards, Jenna’s career continues to go from strength to strength.  Jenna is joined by sister Bethany, the youngest every winner of Shetland’s young Fiddler of the year competition.  Edinburgh based guitarist, Kevin Mackenzie completes the trio.

Tickets are £12, £8 concessions. To book for any of these events please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Drawing from folk music’s long tradition while keeping pace with the ceaselessly changing times, Karine’s talent for crafting unique, enduring melodies all come together in songs of powerful contemporary relevance.

Her songs deal with humanity in all its many guises: there is tenderness, triumph and sorrow, raised flags of rebellion and independence, flashes of anger at power abused and misused.

“a passionate, perceptive songwriter” Uncut

Karine tours most often as a trio with her brother Steven Polwart (acoustic and electric guitars, ukulele & vocals) and singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Inge Thomson (accordion, percussion, loops & vocals).

Her fifth studio album is due for release this summer.

“exceptionally subtle and melodic” Q

Tickets are £16, £14 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Felix is secretly in love with his best friend Filomena.  But as kind-hearted and generous as Filomena is, Felix does not have a lot going for him. George Clooney he ain’t.

It is a classic case of ‘will the boy get the girl?’, played out in an a unique, impeccably Chaplinesque style, by two much loved French characters, Felix and Filomena, who have been charming European audiences of all ages for many years.

Suitable for family audiences ages six and above, this is a rare chance to see the famous French theatre company Le Voyageur Debout perform in English on their debut British tour.

Set up in 1996, the Le Voyager Debout tour clown performances all over France and beyond. Their shows are halfway between American silent movie theatrics and French mime. Their charming and delicate shows always delight audiences.

Tickets are £10, £6 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Spiro rework traditional melodies into beautiful, complex rhythmic pieces that make use of repeated phrases and patterns, like a British folk answer to Steve Reich or the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Varied in mood, from lyrical to slinky, it’s like the soundtrack to an imaginary arthouse classic.

The musical heritage of northern England is at the heart of the quartet’s sound. Those are the traditions that gave birth to the band in the first place. But Spiro has grown in the 18 years since they first came together in Bristol. Instead of looking at its genre as a boundary, the band began searching for strands that connect the historic and the modern.

“Spiro’s music defies categorization … brilliantly played and arranged, lyrical yet groovy, traditional yet contemporary, raucous yet tender.”
Max Richter, composer

“The sounds that hit you first are sounds that you are familiar with; they sound folky, but once you start listening to the music and how it’s composed you hear elements of systems music – people like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, dance music. All sorts of musical influences are woven into this very contemporary music. This is soulful music, passionate music and I love it.” Peter Gabriel

The band released their new album Kaleidophonica in February this year to great acclaim. Tickets are £12, £10 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Not appropriate is the most overused term of disapproval in the teacher’s canon. Join Kevin as he explores his former life as a teacher. A show that will appeal to anyone who has ever taught or – for that matter – been to school; parts of which are likely to be not appropriate.

“Kevin’s stage charisma and poise set him head and shoulders above the previous acts.” – The Times.

Kevin Precious is a stand-up comedian, MC and promoter (and former teacher) based in Brighton. He has performed his stand-up comedy routines at top venues all over the country inc: Jongleurs; Jesters, Bristol; the Glee, Birmingham and Cardiff; the Stand, Edinburgh; the Comedy Cafe, London; the Frog and Bucket, Manchester and Rawhide, Liverpool. Added to this, he has worked for leading comedy agents such as Off the Kerb, Christian Knowles Productions, the Comedy Club, UK Comedy and Mirth Control.

“If he were any more laid back he’d fall over – we fell over laughing.” – The Evening Standard.

Tickets for the show are £8. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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Lovable comedian Patrick Monahan blends a high energy style with hilarious and engaging stories of his Irish/Iranian/Teeside heritage. Laugh and be hugged at the same time!

“Lovable stuff” Independent

Patrick is the winner of ITV’s comedy talent show Show Me The Funny! He started off on the comedy circuit in his native home land of the north east of England before being invited to perform all over the world from as far away as the Adelaide Fringe Comedy festival 2011 in Australia, to Dubai, Doha, Abu Dabhi, Barbados, St Lucia, St Vincent, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland, Germany, to the Edinburgh International Festival and various venues and comedy clubs up and down the UK, including the Royal Albert Hall in London!

“Raised the roof” The Sun

Tickets for the show are £14, £12 concessions. To book please call the ticket office on 0161 761 2216 or go on line www.themet.biz

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