Welcome to Rochdale where we are in year two of our four year residency.
Following a year of creative consolation with local communities, we created a brand-new community arts festival, The FestiDale. Named and curated by our Rochdale Ambassadors and Champions, the two week programme was packed full of exciting new voices and established names, with events and shows for people of all ages.
One of the most exciting elements of this year’s programme was the headlining production Tales of the Dale, a live audio experience and play woven from over 200 people’s stories of Rochdale, which we collected over the summer of 2024. Helmed by award-winning theatre and audio directors Nickie Miles-Wildin and Polly Thomas, and curated with Shahid Iqbal Khan, Tales celebrated the stories of the people of Rochdale and offered an aural history of a town composed of connection and care across time and space.
We’re now working with our Ambassadors and Champions, local partners and community groups to devise a 2 year programme of legacy activity. Led by local people throughout, we hope to ensure Local Exchange benefits local communities first and foremost.
The Royal Exchange are excited to have partnered with several organisations across the festival, without whose generous support The FestiDale would not have been possible – these include Rochdale Development Agency, Culture Coop, Kingsway Park High School and Touchstones (Your Trust).
If you are an organisation from the area and want to get involved or find out more about our projects, please get in touch with Esme at esme.moszynska@royalexchange.co.uk.
