Help from the Manchester International Festival for his next project

Comedian Vince Atta has been awarded a  creative fellowship from the Manchester International Festival.

It means financial help towards the creation of his next project, mentorship and advice - including showing one of the teams working on this year’s event.

The comic says his work is strongly based around the mixed-race living experience and he’s currently writing a hip-hop musical set in 1980s Moss Side.

Atta said: ‘I think this has come about because I felt the need to change. I'm teaching myself new skills, music production, video editing and writing plays.

‘I released, performed, directed and wrote a Christmas song and video which I was very proud of on a budget of absolute zero, hoping it would go viral. It didn't, but when applying for the fellowship I got to submit the same video as evidence of recent output – and it worked.

‘The way I've felt since lockdown took effect is that comedy is dead and there's no contingency plan. Comedians as a species were never the most unified or future-planning of folk so anyone who thinks that gigs are going to cascade down this summer is in for a real shock. 

‘A unified industry may have stood a chance... we don’t! Professional comedy will be back but most of us, as hobbyists, maybe won’t.’ 

He added that more tech-savvy - ‘ie young’ - comics are likely to survive, but those less willing to adapt will struggle.

Four other creatives also revived fellowships from the festival:  artist and photographer Audrey Albert, musician and producer Raheel Khan, dancer, actor and choreographer Yandass Ndlovu  and actor, writer and director Corey Weekes.

Published: 10 Feb 2021